Daniel Silva: The Black Widow, Harper Collins, 9780007552368, 12, 99, C format Trade Paperback, German edition not yet published (probably 2017, they normally run one year behind)

Daniel Silva’s mastery of writing extremely well researched spy novels has been well documented with his former novels such as his latest, “The English Spy”, “The English Girl” or “Fallen Angel”. But what really gave me the chills is the precision with which he predicted the ISIS attacks in Europe in his newest book “The Black Widow”.  His story differs only slightly as his settings are in Paris, Amsterdam and Washington DC. He completed the work on this novel before ISIS struck with their atrocious attacks on Paris and Brussels.  Daniel Silva writes in his “Foreword” that he almost set aside the typescript for the novel when the attacks actually happened but then decided against it. His author’s notes and acknowledgements always provide terrific insight into facts gathered for his novels. Do read them!

"The Black Widow" must be backed by some incredible research; a 528 page strong book which I feel could have been edited to make it more compact, there are some lenghty parts that repeat  but all in all, a chilling page turner one is unable to put down. I cannot help wishing that secret service agents of the likes of Gabriel Allon hopefully exist fighting and infiltrating ISIS evil network far from our public knowledge.  Silva is one of the very best spy novel writers in the market without a doubt. 

As to the story, I will not reveal too much as it would spill the beans. Gabriel Allon is about to become the chief of Israel’s secret intelligence service when ISIS detonate massive bombs in the Marais district of Paris.  The terrorist mastermind behind this attack is soon identified by the French and Israel intelligence services as an Iraqi intelligence officer from one of Saddam Hussein’s infamous nightmare prisons, his prophetic nom de guerre is Saladin, the man who conquered Jerusalem back from the Christians in the 12th Century.  The French request Israel’s help as one of the places struck was the Weinberg Centre.  Hannah Weinberg, a close friend of Gabriel’s  and founder of the Center for  Anti-Semitism,  was one of many killed during the terrorist attack, Gabriel feels obliged to eliminate the man responsible for their death and to stop ISIS before

more atrocious attacks are executed.  

If this operation is to be successful, Israel’s, French, British and American intelligence have to forgo what is usually not their strongest suit, sharing secret service information and working hand in hand.  Gabriel has no doubt that key to the success of avoiding future attacks can only be achieved by infiltrating ISIS’s network. As Saladin seems to have employed the help of so-called “Black Widows”, the wives of ISIS martyrs, Gabriel recruits a young female multi-linguistic Jerusalem doctor called Natalie Mizrahi. Her task is to gain Saladin’s trust and to become part of a future mission. The next 350 pages keep you very uncomfortably on edge.  I really do not even want to think about the realistic possibility behind this fictive plot, particularly when it comes to ISIS attacks on American soil.