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Title: Not a Spy Thriller, No Gabriel Allon
Review: I enjoyed two other of Silva's books about the artist and spy Gabriel Allon (The Messenger and The Secret Servant), but this one was a disappointment. It is not a spy thriller so much as a political conspiracy tale -- and a heavy handed one at that. Silva doesn't do politics as well as he does espionage. Just in case you want a synopsis, Republicans are evil and controlling the world. Wow, never heard that one before. Also, the female characters in this book are really distasteful. The one we are intended to sympathize with -- a Washington DC corporate lawyer -- is a whiner. Oh honey, how dare you go off to prevent terrorist attacks when you promised to be here to support me? Sheesh. And the other females are worse -- cardboard bitches and temptresses. The Amazon description says this is a "Gabriel Allon novel," but as far as I can tell, he's not in the book at all. (I'm not all the way through the book, but I would be suprised if he showed up at this point.)
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