"The Confessor" by Daniel Silva
Michael Joseph, an Imprint of Penguin Books, 2003
A friend kindly lent me this book, and for me it takes crime fiction to a higher level. It avoids the usual cliches of many mediocre representatives of the genre, and is taut, entertaining, clever, inventive and historically well-researched.
It is very cleverly crafted and I enjoyed it from start to finish. It certainly does not have the formulaic sense of a lot of other crime novels that I have read in recent times.
The book shines a light on the controversial issue of the role of the Pope and the Vatican in World War II and the plight of the Jews, and is very sympathetic towards the latter and educates the reader in the process.
None of the characterisations are wasted, and the relationships between the characters were so intricately drawn I was highly tempted to draw a 'family tree' to show the linkages. There are some very unexpected twists and turns in the plot, and the denouement is not at all what we are led to expect.
In short, I thought it was brilliant, and really enjoyed reading it. The notes indicate that there is at least one more book by this author featuring the same lead character, art restorer and ex-Secret Service operative Gabriel Allon, and a number of other 'spy thrillers'.
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