The Cellist

Orlov lebt schon lange gefährlich. Stets ein wachsames Auge auf Russland versucht er sein Auskommen in London. Dort, schwer bewacht, geht er seinen Geschäften nach. Das er eines Tages seinen Feinden zum Opfer fallen würde, war ihm schon lange klar. Als Sarah Bancroft ihm ein Meisterwerk verkaufen will, findet sie Orlov tot in seinem Büro und löst damit eine internationale Krise aus. Gabriel Allon will Rache für Orlovs Tot. Er versucht es auf seine ganz eigene Art. Bei seinen Recherchen um Olrovs Tot stößt er auf eine junge Frau, die ihn zu einer alten Bekannten führt. Wer Allon kennt, ahnt es bereits. Eine schöne junge talentierte Frau, ein altes zu renovierendes Meisterwerk und kräftiges Gerangel mit den Geheimdiensten dieser Welt. Doch dieses Mal ist alles anders. Ein neuer Plan muss her. Alte Bekannte ziehen los und müssen tief in ihren Geldbeutel greifen. Allons Partitur geht auf, hinterlässt im Osten verbrannte Erde und ihm am Schluss ein Loch in der Schulter. Daniel Silva erzählt von der Macht des Geldes. Investmentfonds, Börse und Handel – das treibt Allon dieses Mal um.

Spannender Plot, polit- und gesellschaftsaktuell. Das Ende ist ok, war aber schon besser.

A poisoned Russian dissident, an investigative journalist on the run and a non-descript German banker. Linking these three is not easy for Gabriel Allon but he will most certainly not just watch when one of his friends who once saved his life is killed with Novichok. The traces soon lead to Isabel Brenner who works at RhineBank in Zurich, the world’s dirtiest bank. Apart from calculating risks and laundering money, she also plays the cello like a professional. Deceived by her misogynist co-workers, she starts to leak information about the “Russian Laundromat”, the bank’s way of cleaning Russian oligarchs’ rubles. It does not take long for her to be convinced to work with Gabriel Allon to bring the bank and the Russians to fall. Their main target is Arkady Akimov but he himself is actually only a small figure, it is somebody much bigger and much more influential who is behind the Russian money. In the twenty-first novel of the series about the legendary Israeli spy and art restorer turned into director-general of the world famous intelligence service, Daniel Silva focusses on another current topic: the political influence which money can buy, especially money which was acquired illegally and washed through layers of fake firms by banks which are only too willing to profit. The author also managed to incorporate the Covid restrictions as well as the challenges to the American democracy that we have witnessed in January 2021 making it highly topical. The cellist is a remarkable character, on the one hand, she is a highly intelligent cool mathematician who knows how to juggle with numbers and money. On the other hand, as a woman, she experiences the misogynist behaviour of her colleagues in a dominantly male business and despite her skills is prevented from unfolding her full potential. She finds solace in music, the cello she can play on her own and the impact the tone has on her own mood but also on others is amazing. The Russians are an old but nevertheless still interesting topic in spy novels. It is not the cold war scenario of piling up destructive weapons anymore, the war between the systems is fought a lot more subtly today. Nerve agents like Novichok have become broad knowledge and the fact that money makes the world go round is also well-known. Having the financial means leads to the necessary power to rule the world, regardless of democratic systems and boundaries which only seem to exist on paper. Silva proves again that he is a masterful storyteller. He brilliantly interweaves different plot lines to create a high paced and suspenseful novel. Still after so many instalments, one does not get exhausted by the protagonist since the author always finds a completely new story to tell.

A poisoned Russian dissident, an investigative journalist on the run and a non-descript German banker. Linking these three is not easy for Gabriel Allon but he will most certainly not just watch when one of his friends who once saved his life is killed with Novichok. The traces soon lead to Isabel Brenner who works at RhineBank in Zurich, the world’s dirtiest bank. Apart from calculating risks and laundering money, she also plays the cello like a professional. Deceived by her misogynist co-workers, she starts to leak information about the “Russian Laundromat”, the bank’s way of cleaning Russian oligarchs’ rubles. It does not take long for her to be convinced to work with Gabriel Allon to bring the bank and the Russians to fall. Their main target is Arkady Akimov but he himself is actually only a small figure, it is somebody much bigger and much more influential who is behind the Russian money. In the twenty-first novel of the series about the legendary Israeli spy and art restorer turned into director-general of the world famous intelligence service, Daniel Silva focusses on another current topic: the political influence which money can buy, especially money which was acquired illegally and washed through layers of fake firms by banks which are only too willing to profit. The author also managed to incorporate the Covid restrictions as well as the challenges to the American democracy that we have witnessed in January 2021 making it highly topical. The cellist is a remarkable character, on the one hand, she is a highly intelligent cool mathematician who knows how to juggle with numbers and money. On the other hand, as a woman, she experiences the misogynist behaviour of her colleagues in a dominantly male business and despite her skills is prevented from unfolding her full potential. She finds solace in music, the cello she can play on her own and the impact the tone has on her own mood but also on others is amazing. The Russians are an old but nevertheless still interesting topic in spy novels. It is not the cold war scenario of piling up destructive weapons anymore, the war between the systems is fought a lot more subtly today. Nerve agents like Novichok have become broad knowledge and the fact that money makes the world go round is also well-known. Having the financial means leads to the necessary power to rule the world, regardless of democratic systems and boundaries which only seem to exist on paper. Silva proves again that he is a masterful storyteller. He brilliantly interweaves different plot lines to create a high paced and suspenseful novel. Still after so many instalments, one does not get exhausted by the protagonist since the author always finds a completely new story to tell.

Silva scheint das Buch zur persönlichen COVID und US Wahl Drama Bewältigung verfasst zu haben. Ein Gabriel Allon der einem Grippevirus klein bei gibt, es ist kaum zu glauben. Auch das Trump bashing wertet das Buch ab. Sehr schade. Ich hoffe, das nächste word wieder ein richtig würdiger Gabriel Allon Thriller.