While a few scenes take place upon American soil, the bulk of the story occurs east of the Atlantic Ocean. Daniel SilvaĮven though the novel is set in the 21 st Century, Silva likens the fictional Russian government to the post-monarchy dictators and revolutionists of the early 20 th Century. It is designed for entertainment with just a bit of politics thrown in. The deaths are brutal but I did not find the writing too graphic. In The Defector both sides of the fight are driven by this most dangerous of emotions. The large cast of characters demands a familiarity by the reader. Silva does try to weave previous books into the narrative. The twists and turns of the story were only outnumbered by the bodies left in the Israeli spy’s wake.Īs referenced above, I believe reading the earlier novels would have helped. He sets out to find the truth and the cloak and dagger commences. However, Gabriel Allon did not fall for the ploy. Thus it was easy for the Russians behind his kidnapping to trick the Brits into believing a re-defection occurred. Unlike most men in hiding, Grigori flaunted his presence in London. The plot line revolves around the disappearance of the defector Grigori Bulganov. Regardless, I found the story entertaining and I am glad it was close at hand. Perhaps a reader needs to be more familiar with the series. This particular thriller has a very large cast of characters. The series revolves around Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon. Since the book is over 450 pages and upon my dad’s bookcase, The Defector was the perfect companion for my week of waiting rooms and just plain waiting. If any of you follow Silva closely, you may have read the novel a decade ago. It was the first book I have read by Silva. In fact the further into the book, the harder it was to put down. I found The Defector by Daniel Silva intense.

The defector silva