The Collector

Synopsis: Gabriel Allon is the world’s most famous spy. Living in Venice in retirement, he’s pressed back into action when the world’s most valuable painting goes missing—for the SECOND time! The Concert by Johannes Vermeer, stolen from the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990, has apparently been living in a vault on the Amalfi coast. Now, it has been stolen from it’s illicit hiding place and the owner of the seaside mansion is murdered. Gabriel is asked to find the painting, find the killer, and eventually things wind their way back to Russia, a plan for Ukraine and heaven help us, can Gabriel help avert a nuclear catastrophe?

Review: I’m quite a bit late to this party. Gabriel Allon, Israeli super-spy, linguist, artist and art expert, is the protagonist of a staggering 23 novels by Daniel Silva! This is the most recent installment, but it’s my first, so I’m a novice for sure. I was attracted to this book because I am fascinated by the story of the art theft of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. In the wee hours of March 18, 1990, two men in police uniforms pushed the buzzer at the Museum, stating they were responding to a disturbance and asked to be let in. The museum guards were then tied up, and 81 minutes later the fake policemen absconded with 13 works of art, most famous of which is The Concert by Johannes Vermeer. It remains to this day the largest theft of property in the world, and shockingly, also remains unsolved. There continues to be a 10 million dollar reward offered by the museum for information leading to recovery of the stolen works. This was the hook that got me interested in this book, as the painting in question here is the stolen Vermeer. For the purposes of this novel, it has been held by a shady South African shipping mogul in his Amalfi mansion in a vault. Now it has, in turn, been stolen by a shady character known only as The Collector. Readers, to prevent you from making the same mistake, if what you’re really interested in is the REAL heist, this book does not really address that, so maybe find another book. Nonetheless, it was a fast paced spy thriller, with an overlay of art history and interesting bits about art restoration. I thought the dialogue was well written, but found the plot twists a bit confusing…. one minute the book is about stolen art, the next its about Russia planning to nuke Ukraine as false flag attack, etc…. landing us squarely in espionage/spy territory. Not the kind of book I usually read, but I enjoyed it, and I would read more in this series.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: The Aperol Spritz seems to be having a moment. It originated in Italy, near Venice, as a lower alcohol alternative to Campari, and it’s beautiful shade evokes an Adriatic sunset. Served in a large wine glass, it’s the favorite of celebrities and wannabe influencers everywhere these days. The history of this drink, a Venetian staple that has become an orange tidal wave in the last 20 years, is worth a read!

Mix in a glass over 2 cubes of ice

1/2 glass of prosecco

1/3 glass of Aperol

a splash of seltzer water

garnish with orange slice or green olive