BOOKS: The Collector: Daniel Silva

Aug. 5—Gabriel Allon is back.

And so is author Daniel Silva with his latest Allon adventure in "The Collector."

Late July, for Silva fans, means a new Gabriel Allon novel each year.

There are now more than 25 novels in the spy series, which melds the action of Ian Fleming's James Bond with the more subtle intrigues of a John Le Carre novel.

Allon has had a long career as an assassin/Israeli spy/head of the Israeli intelligence agency/restorer of masterpiece paintings.

Now retired, he works full time as an art restorer for his second wife's company. He enjoys painting, having long lunches with his wife and raising their two young children.

It's nice to see Allon in a relaxed mode but that would make for a short, or very dull, read.

Allon is pulled back into intrigue when he's pressed into a case involving two long-lost paintings, stolen years earlier — Van Gogh's famed self portrait with a bandaged ear and Johannes Vermeer's "The Concert." The Van Gogh has been recovered at the murder scene of the man in possession of the stolen paintings but the Vermeer is lost again.

Allon tracks down the woman who stole the stolen Vermeer from the stolen art collector but soon discovers that the painting is linked to a Russian plot for a false flag operation in the Ukraine.

Allon must reunite with his Israeli spy team to stop the Russians.

Silva taps into real-world events from last fall in the war in Ukraine. Silva has long been skilled at touching upon real events in presenting his fictional intrigue but even a deft touch can fall flat in a world where people turn a deaf ear to any political notion that doesn't jibe with their worldview. Silva's long-time approach has incensed some readers in recent years — it is their loss.

Silva writes entertaining and thought-provoking spy thrillers. Always has and hopefully will continue doing so for some time to come. We'll just have to wait until next late July for the next one.