The Confessor

Sooner or later most of the thriller series that are not domiciled in a single location or country end up with a Vatican/secret society installment. Silva's series had always been a prime candidate for that - and that is exactly what this third novel is.

Meet Mario Delvecchio, a 51 years old restorer in Venice, working on a Bellini altarpiece and being his usual lonely self, even when the team that is restoring the rest of the church. Until he gets some news from Munich arrive that is - a friend of his is killed and it seems like the book he had been writing is missing.

The Italian restorer is actually Gabriel Allon, an assassin for the Israeli secret services. Ari Shamron, his ex-boss, knows how to pull the right strings and before show more long the art is (temporarily) abandoned and Gabriel is racing across Europe. And the pursuit takes him from Rome to London and from France to Germany. Somewhere along the line, he ends up with half of the police force of Europe trying to get him (for various reasons), discovers a secret Catholic society that had been instrumental in some of the decision made by the Popes and meets a Pope - who turns out to be an interesting character. Of course there is a lot more - a beautiful woman, an assassin and an old secret from the early days of WWII.

When I read a book from this series for the first time, I was not sure if I really want to read a series about an assassin. But it somehow works - Allon is not perfect but he does not pretend to be; he kills because it is his job - and he pays the price for it. This book is not an exception (including almost managing to die) and the story is as compelling as the previous two in the series. The plot should not have worked - it is so overused that I was not sure I can read one more book on the topic without being bored. And yet it works - partially because the Jewish and Catholic faith had been the historical counterparts in a long war; partially because Silva can write. Including managing to pull a surprise ending when you do not expect it - one that is not necessarily needed but without it, the book will be incomplete - even if I would not have thought so if it was not there at all.

I can see the end of this book changing some things in the fictional world of Gabriel Allon. I will be interested to see how Silva handles that going forward. And I wonder if we will meat the Pope again - the pair of a Jewish assassin and a Catholic Pope sounds like someone's dream (or nightmare for some people) but the two men are very similar in a lot of ways.

Overall another great book by Daniel Silva. show less

I'd read a previous Gabriel Allon novel a while back & remember it being a fairly decent read. I could say the same about this one. The story evolves around yet another corruption within the Catholic Church, although also includes the supposed role of this corruption during the Jewish roundup during WWII. It was an interesting take, as I'd not really read anything tying these two together before. I listened to the abridged audio, and most of my criticisms may be attributed to that. For me, there were lots of character names that I had trouble keeping track of & I sometimes had trouble remembering if it was a good guy or a bad guy. I was a little disappointed with the climax. The story built up pretty well, but then the climax came all a show more bit quickly & without so much drama. Again, this may have been due to my reading of the abridged audio. I do think Gabriel Allon is an interesting main character, although character development is sketchy. You get the feeling there's a lot about this guy you don't really know, and it would be nice to see him open up a little. show less

I have to admit I broke one of my reading rules with The Confessor. Normally, I read a series in order from the beginning. However, The Confessor is the third installment in Daniel Silva’s long running series starring art restorer and sometime Israeli agent Gabriel Allon. Basically it was the first in the series that I had on the shelf, and after reading it I very quickly went out and ordered the first two…and all the rest that I didn’t already have waiting on the shelves. Yes, it was that good! Allon writes with a sophisticated style with rich details and deep characters that is missing from most spy craft thrillers. Allon is a troubled agent who wants to put his old life behind him, but he is not cliché. He will be there for show more his country when the need arises, as it does in The Confessor. The plot is multilayered and unpredictable. The action is intense when it should be without being overdone. Frankly, The Confessor is a perfect example of how to do a thriller the right way. A great story by Daniel Silva and am looking forward to the rest of the series. show less

It was a matter of time before the Gabriel Allon series delved into a secret plot involving the Vatican. Sure enough, The Confessor (#3 of the series) has a plot that involves explosive Vatican secrets and a secret society (Crux Vera) whose members will stop at nothing to defend the power of the Catholic Church. Add Nazis misdeeds to the mix, along with a plot to assassinate the Pope, and you have an intriguing set-up for a Gabriel Allon thriller.

Gabriel’s friend, writer Benjamin Stern, has been murdered, and all traces of the book he was working on have been taken. Gabriel (who serves as an assassin for the Israeli secret services when not working as an art restorer), is commissioned to solve the murder. Allon’s pursuit of the show more mystery leads from Rome to London, Venice, and Munich, with police forces on his tail, along with Stern’s murderer, a mysterious Swiss assassin (known as the Panther) who is in the pay of Crux Vera. The most explosive secret that Allon uncovers is complicity of the Catholic Church in the capture and transport of Jews during the Holocaust of World War II (this revelation is no spoiler, as the reader can learn of it from the book jacket). The plot is complicated, and naturally, there’s a fair amount of violence. A climax of the tale comes when the Pope himself acknowledges the Church’s dark past in a speech at a Jewish synagogue, and throws open the hidden records to the public. Meanwhile, the evil Cardinal who is behind the plot to kill the Pope has second thoughts, and commits suicide. All is neatly tied up when Gabriel tracks down the Panther assassin and dispatches him.

I experienced this work as an unabridged audio book and found it enjoyable and engrossing. In audio format, the plot was sufficiently clear (and the number of characters of sufficiently small number) to be readily followed during daily auto commutes. While not the most exciting work of popular fiction that I have read lately (to that honor goes a few by Greg Isles and Michael Connelly), I found it a worthy work of escapism.

Note: The potential role of the Catholic hierarchy during the Nazi holocaust remains a controversial issue. John Cornwell's indictment in his book "Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII" has not been widely accepted in academic realms, and has spawned book- length rebuttals. The particular focus of Cornwell's book does not bear directly on Silva's plot, which involves fictional characters lower in the Catholic hierarchy and non-existent institutions. show less

The Confessor by Daniel Silva is the third installment in the fictional adventures of the reluctant Israeli agent Gabriel Allon. Working as art restorer Mario Delvecchio, Allon is called one more time into service to investigate the mysterious murder of his friend Benjamin Stern. As the investigation progresses, Allon discovers that Stern has been working on a book, that once published would cause a scandal in the Vatican and do great harm to the Roman Catholic Church.

At the Vatican, the new pope vows to uncover the truth about the church's response to the Holocaust. Powerful forces, especially the secret society known as the Crux Vera, within the Roman Catholic Church are not happy about the Pope’s initiative and are willing to go show more to great extremes in order to stop it. Gabriel is pulled into the internal struggle through his investigation which takes him around Europe, discovering the hidden secrets of the past.

This novel is also thought provoking. What was the church’s role during the Holocaust? The story and characters are gripping and I was drawn in from the beginning chapter. The author is very accomplished in presenting his story in an interesting and tightly wrapped manner. I consider the Gabriel Allon series to be one of my very favorite and one I consistently preorder because they just keep getting better and better. I've read the entire series but am currently listening to them in audio, impeccably narrated by John Lee. show less

Daniel Silva is such a good writer, but unfortunately I have read "this story" at least a half dozen times before. If you are into the Vatican and the politics and power plays involving the Catholic Church over the centuries, and in particular its history during WWII and their relations with the Jews and the Nazis then you should enjoy this book. I, however, didn’t care for it so much. Oh, and did I mention the secret society? (Yes, another one!)

Overall I thought the plot was on the weak side. The book started off really slow because Silva had to set up the story with the Vatican and the ensuing intrigue and it never really took off. Parts are great, but then it would drag again as the pieces and characters slowly worked their way to show more a conclusion.

What I enjoy most about all the Gabriel Allon novels is the art and restoration, and the Israeli intelligence operations as well as the personnel involved. All of that shines in this book as it does in the others. What I didn’t like was the stereotypical secret society stuff, and the real power brokers, and how good versus evil plays out.

Anyway, that said, I don’t rarely get to read a series of novels in order so I can see how many of the elements I did not like were necessary for his later books, the introduction of the characters and such. And there were two or three really good surprises that I did not see coming so for that I bump it up a half star from average to just above average. show less

An artwork restorer is called back to his “real job”: to hunt down the killer of his Jewish friend, who was writing a book to expose the Catholic church’s conduct during WWII. With the help of allies of both religions, he must evade killers who want the church’s secret to stay secret. Non-stop action with brilliant twists, this is an excellent thriller. Kudos to the narrator, who deftly handled various accents.