Now the death of a journalist leads Allon to Russia, where he finds that, in terms of spycraft, even he has something to learn. He's playing by Moscow rules now.
It is not the grim, gray Moscow of Soviet times but a new Moscow, awash in oil wealth and choked with bulletproof Bentleys. A Moscow where power resides once more behind the walls of the Kremlin and where critics of the ruling class are ruthlessly silenced. A Moscow where a new generation of Stalinists is plotting to reclaim an empire lost and to challenge the global dominance of its old enemy, the United States. One such man is Ivan Kharkov, a former KGB colonel who built a global investment empire on the rubble of the Soviet Union. Hidden within that empire, however, is a more lucrative and deadly business. Kharkov is an arms dealer?and he is about to deliver Russia's most sophisticated weapons to al-Qaeda. Unless Allon can learn the time and place of the delivery, the world will see the deadliest terror attacks since 9/11?and the clock is ticking fast.
Filled with rich prose and breathtaking turns of plot, Moscow Rules is at once superior entertainment and a searing cautionary tale about the new threats rising to the East?and Silva's finest novel yet.
Spies haven't changed much since the Cold War. It's the acronyms of their masters that have changed. Silva's thriller has all the elements to delight the espionage-loving listener. The new Russia spawns a brutal arms dealer cloaked in the trappings of the superrich, who supplies a bold terrorist plot. Silva's compassionate, daring hero, Gabriel Allon, who carries the torch of the Israeli secret service, is charged with interrupting it. It's a great caper hosted by narrator Phil Gigante, but don't look for subtlety here. Gigante's broad and varied accents work reasonably well for the international cast. Although the Israeli and Russian accents tend to be too similar, making it hard to keep some scenes completely clear, each character gets a big distinguishing voice, and the pace and rhythm are good. Sign on for a good listen--KGB, FSB, CIA, DGSE, or Shin Bet--there's never a dull moment. R.F.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Daniel Silva is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Moscow Rules and 10 other international bestselling spy novels. Best known for his Gabriel Allon series, his books are translated into more than 25 languages. Silva lives in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington DC with his wife, NBC Today National Correspondent Jamie Gangel and their twins Lily and Nicholas. Photo of the author: John Earle, photographer
