The Collector (Gabriel Allon #23)

The Collector by Daniel Silva is the 23rd book in the Gabriel Allon series - a Mossad agent who wanted to be a painter. 

Gabriel is now retired and living in Venice with his wife and children. He and Chiara have opened an art restoration company. 

When General Ferrari of the art crime squad show up asking Gabriel to evaluate a painting, Gabriel knows there will be more to it than a simple appraisal. 

What he finds in the home a recently murdered shipping tycoon in Almalfi is a painting that has been missing for decades. A painting stolen from the Isabella Gardener Museum in 1990. 

What follows is classic Allon. Daniel Silva is a master of storytelling, weaving in current events, historical fact and enough suspense to keep you up all night reading. 

Silva, Daniel. (2023). The Collector. New York: Harper. 

The White Lady

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear is another example of her amazing storytelling! If you don't yet know her work, seek it out today at your local bookstore or library.

Elinor White was born in Belgium. She was ten when the Germans invaded. Her father left to join the army. Elinor, along with her older sister and mother were just moments late to escape by train. Now they will try to ride out the war without being noticed by the soldiers. 

Then one day Isabelle comes to their door. She wants the three of them to go on a picnic above the train tracks. And while there count the number of trains and their details. The Germans will likely overlook three women on a hill trying to make the most of the day.

In 1947, Elinor is now living in an estate in the English countryside - in a home given to her for her service as a spy in both world wars. She keeps to herself. But when she sees the young couple down the lane being harassed by to men from London, she feels the need to get involved.

Winspear's words will pull you in within the first page and take you on a thoughtful, suspenseful read. She is one of my favorite authors. 

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2022). The White Lady. New York: Harper. 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman (Gabriel Allon #22)

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva is the 22nd book in his Gabriel Allon espionage series.

Gabriel Allon has finally retired from Mossad. His days of traveling the world on secret missions, or even his days of sending others on secret missions, is over. He and Chiara and the twins are moving to Venice where he can concentrate on art.

A few paintings by Old Master have recently been discovered in a private collection - code for likely forged with a small chance of being an authentic lost treasure. 

When an art dealer friend asks for help, Gabriel so be hunting the world's best forger. 

Silva is a great writer and storyteller. Read him!

Silva, Daniel. (2022). Portrait of an Unknown Woman. New York: Harper.

The Cellist (Gabriel Allon #21)

The Cellist by Daniel Silva is the twenty-first book in his Gabriel Allon series. Allon is an Israeli spy who is now the head of Mossad.

Victor Orlov, a Russia oligarch fled to UK years ago. Not that the Kremlin ever forgot about him. Case in point, he was just poisoned, apparently by an envelope dropped off by the journalist Nina Antonova.

Filled with all of the characters you have loved in previous books, Allon heads to London to help solve this mystery whose path will lead all over Russia and North America. 

Silva is a beautiful writer. His words are always well chosen and his plot twists impeccable. His is one of the best writers around. If you don't know about him and like political intrigue, espionage and a fast pace, get started today.

Silva, Daniel. (2021). The Cellist. New York: Harper.

The Rose Code

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is about the women who broke codes for England during World War II and the person who betrayed them.

Bletchley Park recruited from anyone who might be able to help break codes - mathematicians, puzzle aficionados, men and women.

Three code breakers who were inseparable during the war are brought back together in 1947 when one of them receives a coded message in the mail - using a cypher they used to pass notes during the war. 

Osla, a German speaker is a debutante who dated Prince Phillip. Mab is from Shoreditch and took a secretarial course to get out and help her family. Beth is a master at crosswords and seeing patterns.

They are called to crack one more code - one that will save the lives of two of them. 

Quinn is a storytelling mage. Her historical fiction puts the reader right in the thick of it. Choose any of her books and you will be up well past your bedtime thoroughly engrossed.

Quinn, Kate. (2021). The Rose Code. New York: William Morrow.  

The Consequences of Fear (Maisie Dobbs #16)

The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear is her sixteenth book featuring the amazing Maisie Dobbs, private detective and psychologist. London, October 1941.

Freddie Hackett, a boy who runs messages through the blackout, witnesses a murder during a bombing raid. He then delivers his message to the same man he saw stab someone.

When the police do not believe him, Freddie goes to Maisie Dobb's office. He has run messages for her for her war work and knows she solves crimes. 

Winspear is a masterful writer whose research (including within her family history) makes for scenes in which you can feel the bombs drop. If you like mystery, historical fiction or just damn well written books, read this series. 

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2021). The Consequences of Fear. New York: Harper. 

The Book of Lost Names

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is a beautiful tale of resistance. 

Eva Traube Abrams is a Florida librarian. At the age of 81 she see an article in the newspaper with the photo of a man holding a book she has not seen in sixty years. This man is in Berlin, his life's work trying to reunite books with the people from whom they were stolen during World War II. This book seems to contain some sort of code. 

In 1942 Eva and her mother fled Paris after her father was arrested along with thousands of other Jews. A man who had been paid to help them if anything happened, gave Eva blank documents and pens, telling her to create papers for her and her mother. 

Arriving a small village along the mountains, Eva's papers attract some attention - by the network of people trying to save Jewish children fleeing the Nazis. Her skills at copying and drawing stamps can be used by the resistance.

Harmel has written a beautiful book of hope. Read it.

Harmel, Kristin. (2020). The Book of Lost Names. New York: Gallery Books.

The New Girl (Gabriel Allon #19)

The New Girl by Daniel Silva is the nineteenth book in his Gabriel Allon espionage series. If you have not started this series yet, start today!

 At an exclusive private school in Switzerland, a girl begins the term late. She is quite and a bit different than the other students. First of all she has her own security even though the school has its own – many children of important people attend this school. Secondly, one teacher thinks the girl is not who she says she is; not even her name seems real. Then the girl is gone.

 Sarah Bancroft manages the Nadia Al-Bacari collection at the Met. When a wealthy collector she has worked with reaches out to her it is not to buy a painting. It is to set up a meeting between him and Gabriel Allon. Somehow Khalid ben Mohammed, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, knows that Sarah is former FBI and has worked with Allon. KBM is desperate to meet a man whom most in Saudia Arabia think is the devil. Because his daughter has been kidnapped.

 Silva is a masterful storyteller. Readers are hooked by the end of the first paragraph. This is on of the best fiction series, hands down.

 Silva, Daniel. (2019). The New Girl. New York: Harper.

The Alice Network

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is an amazing historical novel about a missing cousin and a female spy network.

1947 - Charlie St. Clair in traveling from the United States to Switzerland with her mother. They are going because Charlie is unwed and pregnant. But Charlie has other ideas - she is searching for her cousin, Rose, who has missing since the middle of the war. Everyone else has stopped looking.

Charlie has the name of someone in London who might know what happened. So when their ship stops in the UK, Charlie ditches her mother and heads to London - based on a name scribbled on a scrap of paper.

Eve Gardiner is in no mood for visitors. In fact, she really only speaks to one person - her driver, Finn. What they don't know is the reason Eve is angry and usually drinking.

Eve Gardiner was recruited to join a female spy network in 1915. She was sent to infiltrate a restaurant in France - a restaurant owned by a man who gladly served German officers.

Charlie convinces Eve and Finn to go with her to find her cousin - who worked for a restaurant and an evil man during the war. A story that will bring up all of the demons of Eve's past.

Quinn has written an incredible book. Go buy a copy right now if you have not already done so!

Quinn, Kate, (2017). The Allice Network. New York: William Morrison.

The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope #8)

The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal is the eighth book in her Maggie Hope series - an espionage / mystery series set in WWII.

Maggie Hope has done a lot for the war effort - from helping to break codes to being dropped into France during Nazi occupation. But someone thinks she knows too much.

After being drugged, Maggie finds herself on an island off of Scotland. She is there with other British soldiers and spies in what amounts to a fancy prison. No one knows when they will be released - an almost no one knows where they are.

When there is a murder, all of the are suspects. And the bodies drop in the Agatha Christie style mystery, other people are starting to wonder where Maggie Hope is hiding. In fact, she is need to testify in a major criminal case in London - without her a serial killer may go free.

MacNeal has created a wonderful character, set in one of history's most interesting times. This is a must-read series.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2018). The Prisoner in the Castle. New York:Bsntam.

The Other Woman (Gabriel Allon 18)

The Other Woman by Daniel Silva is the eighteenth book in his series featuring Gabriel Allon, a Mossad spy who just wants to be an art restorer.

In the continued time of every country spying on every other country, whether friend or foe, everyone is fighting for information. Israel has developed an agent from Russia and is sharing their finds with England and the United States.

When that spy thinks he has been burned, Mossad sets up a way to pull him out and resettle him in a safe place for all of his work over the years.

But the layers of espionage have other ideas. There is a French n the mountains of Andalusia whose knowledge could disrupt the spy services of the United States and England. She has been keeping tabs since she fell in love with a spy in Beirut in the 1960s.

Silva is a masterful story teller who weaves current day news into his stories. He is one of the best authors writing today.

Silva, Daniel. (2018). The Other Woman. New York: Harper.

A Rising Thunder (Honor Harrington #13)

A Rising Thunder by David Weber is the thirteenth book in his science fiction, space opera featuring the amazing Honor Harrington. After years of war between the star nation of Manticore and the republic of Haven things were coming to an end when a new enemy snuck in and attacked Manticore’s home worlds. Combined with rising tensions with the Sol system this could spell trouble for Manticore.

Weber’s series features one of my favorite fiction characters. Honor Harrington started out as a captain in the Manticore Space Navy. Now she is one of the most powerful figures in her star empire. Filled with politics, military strategy, and (at this point) more characters than I can count, this is still one of my favorite series. If you are a fan of science fiction, strong female lead characters, space opera, politics, military fiction or just good story-telling, read this series. Start with this series, or the companion young adult series about Honor’s ancestor Stephanie Harrington.

Weber, David. (2012). A Rising Thunder. New York: Baen.

Jane, Unlimited

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore is a genre blend done really well.

Before Jane’s aunt Magnolia left for her last photography trip, she made Jane promise that if Jane was ever invited to Tu Reviens, the mansion and island off Long Island owned by the Thrash family, she would accept.

When Jane sees her old tutor, Kiran Thrash, and Kiran invites Jane to the house for the seasonal gala, Jane accepts. Since her aunt’s death she has no reason to stay in the city.

What follows is a wonderfully written multiverse. At one point, Jane has the option to choose between five choices. Readers follow each choice to its outcome before going back to that same decision where Jane chooses a different road. Each story varies greatly and include a mystery, espionage, science fiction, fantasy, and a horror. With each option readers learn more about Jane and the person her choice allows her to become.

This is a great book. If you are a fan of the story, you must read it!

Cashore, Kristin. (2017). Jane, Unlimited. New York: Kathy Dawson Books.

The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope 7)

The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is the seventh book in her Maggie Hope series of mystery / espionage historical fiction.

Maggie has gotten herself to Paris - in the midst of the Nazi occupation. It is not only a dangerous place to be anyone at the time, but she must avoid an SS officer who would recognize her as a British spy. But she felt she had to go to look for her half-sister.

Sarah and Hugh are also in Paris, their cover a ballerina and her husband who plays in the orchestra. Their task is to find the report and samples of another spy - the information that will determine on which beach the Allied invasion will take place.

MacNeal is a master of making tension in her readers. Each page is both wonderfully written and crafted, and on the edge of discovery by the Nazis.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is a must-read series.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2017). The Paris Spy. New York: Bantam Books.

House of Spies (Gabriel Allon #17)

House of Spies by Daniel Silva is the seventeenth book featuring Gabriel Allon, a Mossad agent who was first recruited after the terror at the Berlin Olympics. Since then he has been a top agent who wants nothing more than to be a paint restorer and spend quiet time with his family. If only the world would allow it.

Gabriel is now the head of the office. Most chiefs stay in Jerusalem and run things from a desk. But Gabriel has a personal reason to need to catch the ISIS terrorist calling himself Saladin. One of his bomb killed a friend in Paris. Gabriel will join his team in Europe to track any trace of the terror mastermind.

Christopher Keller, ex-SAS, will give the team a criminal element needed to catch a criminal. Keller has been living in Corsica working for a mafia don and has connections to the underside of Europe.

Silva is an amazing writer who grabs readers with the first paragraph. His characters are compelling, his plots sometimes a bit too close to our current reality, and his twists and turns are the work of a master planner. Anyone who likes to read needs to read a Daniel Silva book. Start at the beginning with The Kill Artist or read his stand along spy masterpiece TheUnlikely Spy.

Silva, Daniel. (2017). House of Spies. New York: Harper.

Guilty Minds (Nick Heller #3)

Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder is the third book in his Nick Heller series. Heller is a private intelligence operative based in Boston.

A Washington power broker hires Nick to stop a story that is about to break on a gossip news site. Slander Sheet is about to print a fake story - set up to withstand a cursory investigation - about a Supreme Court Justice. Heller has 24 hours to bring them proof that the story is fake and stop them from releasing it to the public.

But someone has got to great lengths to have this story printed, and the Justice ruined. Heller finds a witness, only to have someone kidnap her.

Finder writes great thrillers. I discovered this series at book three, but had no problem following the story. I will go back and read the previous novels. It is a fun read if you like thrillers.

Finder, Joseph. (2016). Guilty Minds. New York: Dutton.

The Queen's Accomplice (Maggie Hope #6)

The Queen's Accomplice by Susan Elia MacNeal is the sixth book in her Maggie Hope series - a historical mystery, espionage series set during World War II.

England 1942. In London the Blitz has paused but the blackout continue. It is starting to seem like someone is taking advantage of the darkness and the transience of women working for the war effort. Someone is killing ATS women.

Maggie Hope is currently assigned to the SOE (Special Operations Executive) office overseeing spies in France. She is under appreciated and her expertise is being ignored by those in power - who have never been undercover - when she is borrowed by MI-5. Maggie is tasked to work with DCI Durgin at Scotland Yard. to find the man responsible for killing SOE recruits. A man the media has dubbed the Blackout Beast.

MacNeal has created a great character in Maggie Hope. The books are a wonderful mixture of historical, mystery, suspense and espionage as we follow Maggie's time in the war. This novel reads like a fiction version of Devil in the White City.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2016). The Queen's Accomplice. New York: Bantam Books.

The Black Widow (Gabriel Allon #16)

The Black Widow by Daniel Silva is the 16th book his series featuring Gabriel Allon.

Gabriel Allon was recruited years ago, first being called to hunt down the member of a group who killed 11 Israelis at the Munich Olympics. Since then he has done many things for the state of Israel. Gabriel wishes the world were a place where he could be a painter or an art restorer full time.

Now, as he is about to take over the office, Gabriel is sent to Paris in the wake of a terrorist attack that has killed one of his friends. His hand-picked team will follow clues around the work to find the man behind the attack. The trail will lead them to some very dangerous places in the world and end in a place we hope terrorists never reach.

Silva has created an amazing character in Gabriel Allon. This series is fast-paced, intelligent and addictive. If you have not read it, start at the beginning. I will read anything he ever publishes!

Silva, Daniel. (2016). The Black Widow. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Journey to Munich (Maisie Dobbs #12)

Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear is the twelfth book in her historical mystery series featuring Maisie Dobbs.

It is 1938. Maisie Dobbs is back in London after time spent in Spain, once again being a nurse in a war. She is still recovering from a personal loss. When she returns to London, she is not sure where she belongs. Her old flat is rented out and her house has too many memories. She finds herself walking toward her old office when she encounters a man with whom she used to work.

Robert MacFarlane is no longer with Scotland Yard. He now works for the Secret Service. And he has a job for which he needs Maisie's help. Having no plans of her own, Maisie agrees to a meeting.

The German government has been holding a British man in one of their prisons - at Dachau. They have agreed to release him, but only to a relative. Unfortunately, the man's only relative - his daughter - is not well enough to travel. And she does (slightly) resemble Maisie. The man is a boffin, or engineer, and England needs him for the likely war with Germany. Luckily, the Germans do not know how valuable an asset they have captured.

Maisie will come in contact with the Nazi machine, in a city cowed by fear. On top of her assignment, she will be asked by a family friend to look in on his daughter who is rumored to be in Munich, and ask her to come home - a request that will put Maisie in more danger as she is going not as herself but as Edwina Donat.

Winspear is an amazing writer. Of the one hundred plus books I read each year, this is one of my favorite series. Maisie Dobbs is one of the best protagonists in fiction. Read this series from the beginning. Read it now! Go on, run to your library or bookstore and get started!

Winspear, Jacqueline. (2016). Journey to Munich. New York: Harper.

Desert Dark

Desert Dark by Sonja Stone is about a school that trains teens to work in the field of black ops for the CIA.

Nadia Riley is having a terrible time at the beginning of her junior year. Her best friend hooked up with her boyfriend. And her math teacher accused her of cheating - until she does another test in front of him. Now she is short on friends and just wants to disappear. But be careful what you wish for...

A man shows up at her house with an opportunity. There is a hidden test within the PSAT - sixty questions that test the way you think. The average student gets one or two right. Students who get recruited to the Desert Mountain Academy - a government funded private school - usually get about 20. Nadia Riley got them all right.

Nadia is assigned to a team that is already at school. She has some catching up to do. She will have to fit in with three different students to form a team that can work together and protect each other during the survival tests. Her team is Libby (her roommate), Damon and Alan with a team leader, Jack.

Along with trying to catch up and fit in, Nadia will be caught up in the rumor of a double agent at the school. The whole reason Nadia got to join the school is because the girl she is replacing was killed.

Stone's debut novel is a fast-paced, thrilling story filled with espionage, martial arts and puzzles. This is a great read!

Stone, Sonja. (2016). Desert Dark. New York: Holiday House.