[.ca] The Confessor (ISBN 0786254483)

From Amazon.com:
Gabriel Allon, Daniel Silva's protagonist in an interesting series about a Mossad spy who doubles as an art restorer, returns in a fascinating tale of Vatican complicity in the Holocaust. Author Silva, a political journalist turned espionage writer, has done his homework on some recently unearthed documents and written a fast-paced novel that will reawaken the discussion regarding whether the Catholic Church turned a blind eye to Nazi atrocities against Jews in occupied countries during World War II, and if so, why. Allon remains an enigmatic figure whose desire for revenge against the Leopard, the assassin who killed his wife and child, compels him to put down his paints and brushes and take arms against Israel's past and present enemies. The Confessor is a solidly plotted, well-crafted story that will appeal to fans of Allen Furst, John le Carré, and other standouts in the international espionage genre. --Jane Adams

Thinking man's thriller:
Someone here said that the book is too realistic and boring. I say, it's not realistic enough. I am a die hard fan of John le Carre. It is nice to see Daniel Silva pursuing a similar line of style. Admittedly, Silva's work is not as gritty as le Carre's. The world is full of mass market entertainment. I abhor going to the movies these days. Silva's books are a welcome change.

Strong plotting, poor backgorund research:
By the way he writes, Mr Silva is following the footsteps of acclaimed international top notch thriller writers like (i.e) Federick Forsyth. The Confessor exhibits a polished prose, good plotting, satisfactory outline of characters, and employment of resources to grab the reader attention The core of this story is the willingness of the new elected Pope Paul the VII to release secluded key information and documents to prove the Church silence and Vatican-Nazi links during the Holocaust of the Jews at the time of the Second World War. The new Pope also wants to follow a policy intended to foster better relationship with the Jews and the first step of his project is to go and visit the Great Synagogue of Rome on the other side of the city, however his efforts will be confronted by the conspiracy of an influential inside Catholic sect called "Crux Vera" adamant to maintain the status quo so as not to undermine the world political power of the Church, the reader is then presented with two antagonist factions from beginning to end To carry out his idea, Silva resorts to alluring elements typical of this type of novels, the Israeli Spy Agency Mossad, the evil maneuvers of the Priests of the Vatican Curia, first class murderers and terrorists for hire, etc And here comes the weak point (the missing star), if you dare to include in a novel powerful spy features like the Vatican and the Mossad that means you are playing heavyweight, and the only way to exploit them efficiently is long serious background research, something I have never noticed Lack of research is manifest since most chapters are short when the first half of them should have been devoted to detail the exploits of the research and the last half to tell related actions and events or even they could be mixed up, that would have rendered a longer fruitful captivating story If Mr Silva makes the big effort to include more enlightening research in his work, he will become a top international thriller, good research is his missing link up to date

Not Silva's Best:
The first Daniel Silva book I ever read was Mark of the Assassin, and unfortunately my opinion of his books has gone steadily downhill ever since. Perhaps I'm just expecting too much from the man, but Mark of the Assassin had interesting characters, a well-paced plot, and a steady stream of action. The other books I've read by him all fall flat in comparison. The plots seem hackneyed or totally unrealistic, there are too many long, boring passages, and the endings completely fall apart in a way that I can't believe any reader could possibly be satisfied with. Others have written good reviews for this book so obviously my opinion isn't shared by all, but Silva is dangerously close to following in the footsteps of John Le Carre' by writing books that strive to be so realistic that they end up being boring. If I want 100-percent realism, I'll read a non-fiction book. When I read a spy thriller I expect a moderate amount of escapism, at least enough to keep me excited while turning the pages. For me to keep buying Silva's novels, he'll need to do a far better job than he's done over his past 3 or 4 books.

If only this were a true story and not fiction!:
Daniel Silva has taken a question which definitely needs to be resolved and has provided a most believable explanation. The actions, or lack thereof, of the Roman Catholic Church during the Holocaust of World War II have been questioned for years. Unfortunately, neither the Vatican nor the other parties involved have provided us with much in the way of credible answers to date. Silva provides us with an explanation that well could be very close to the real truth. He does this in a most exciting and believable manner which keeps the reader spellbound. Just as the reader thinks that the story could not become any more thrilling, Silva adds another wrinkle that notches up the excitement level even more. It is no exaggeration to say that the final 100 pages describe an outcome that I truly wish could become true.

Captured from the beginning:
This fiction is a non-stop, roller coaster, always something else around the corner spy thriller. From the get go you are thrown into a world of spies, asassins, good and evil. For me to take the time to read a novel of any kind, it takes a hard grab of my attention at the first page. This book succeeded in grabbing me page after page. Daniel Silva is a master of the spy genre.