The Fallen Angel

When you start reading The Fallen Angel written by Daniel Silva you get the feeling of “been there (The Da Vinci Code), done that (Angels and Demons).” Although this novel mimics the murder and corruption in Vatican from the Dan Brown’s books but the difference is that The Fallen Angel deals with stolen art and antiques.So, it is safe to say that it is not entirely like the Dan Brown’s mystery books.

The Fallen Angel...Vatican again!

The Fallen Angel book

The story starts with a murder in St. Peter’s Basilica and as the reader goes deeper in he finds himself in the middle of an international web of politics, war and religion. The protagonist of the story, Gabriel Allon, is portrayed as an expert art restorer. Besides being friends with the Vatican he also serves as an intelligence agent for the Israel government and sometimes as an assassin.As an expert on Roman Catholic and Jewish religion as well as European and Middle Eastern geography and history Daniel Silva tells this researched tale to the readers in a very detailed manner. This book has an exciting storyline but at times too much attention to detail makes it a little heavy for the readers. Although this book does not have the mystery of breaking the codes and solving the puzzle like Dan Brown’s novels but there is still much to intrigue the readers and getting them hooked to reading this novel.

Daniel Silva’s master piece

Exciting books by Daniel Silva

Many of Daniel Silva’s books like The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin and The Kill Artist have been successes; some of them have the same protagonist.This book shows the character of Allen going about his job of restoring artwork when he is asked to investigate the murder of a young woman named Claudia Andreatti. An employee of the Vatican Museum, Claudia Andreatti is thought to have committed suicide by jumping off the catwalk in St. Peter’s. But Allon does not buy the whole story and thinks that she was murdered. The Fallen Angel revolves around Allon trying to solve the mystery behind the murder leading him to discover that Andreatti was trying to gain knowledge about the missing artwork and antiques when someone found out about her secret and made her pay for it. In order to avoid public humiliation and another such tragedy the church decides to keep Allon’s investigation a secret. 

“Rule number one at the Vatican,” Allon is told, is “Don’t ask too many questions.”

The whole book is full of suspense and Silva takes his readers into a world full of spies, thieves, historians, art experts and archaeologists mystifying them at each step of the way till the very end.