The Cellist-Daniel Silva

Book: The Cellist
Author: Daniel Silva
Publisher: HarperCollins India

Do Spy thrillers engage you to read them?

The Cellist by Daniel Silva features the art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon. Viktor Orlov signed his life away when he stared a crusade against the kleptocrats who have seized control of the Kremlin. While protected to the core, he meets his maker when he receives documents contaminated with a  deadly nerve agent. As the investigation unravels the threads, the connections start showing up and the evidence points to an assassin from the Moscow centre, but Gabriel thinks otherwise. As he takes the mantle and examining the events, he unravels not just the story behind the assassination, but also a plot to plunge America into chaos. Would Allon, with a young woman employed by the dirtiest bank be able to stop it?

The plot of the book is well-planned and meticulously so with exquisite details of operations as they are planned and executed mentioned. The storytelling is powerful, and the reader’s imagination is used to the core to help them visualize things. Another interesting thing is that the fiction part of the book uses real life events to make a point which is a mark of a well-researched book. Perhaps a sign of things to come, I loved the contemporary context that Daniel uses by incorporating the post-covid world with social distancing and lockdowns, and using them as a part of the book. The thing that did not work for me in the book was that the level of detail in some parts of the book was excessively done and that acted more like a filler to me. Secondly, the climax of the story seemed stretched out and for me, it felt as it was a hurried addition, and not an organic part of the story as originally planned.

The characters are well sketched, and they are relatable as well as believable as none of them is over-the-top in terms of sleuthing or heroics. Each character gets their moment of fame to shine, and I loved the character arcs that develop throughout the book. For me, Gabriel’s character stood out from the rest for his planning and shrewdness. Another character that impressed me was that of the banker (not mentioning the name to avoid spoilers).

Overall, a good spy thriller that scores a 4.19/5 for me.

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