Review of "The Order: A Gabriel Allon Thriller" by Daniel Silva

 

In this 20th book in the 'Gabriel Allon' series, the Israeli intelligence chief investigates the death of a pope. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

SPOILER ALERT /  SPOILER ALERT  /  SPOILER ALERT

Gabriel Allon is an art restorer, assassin, and espionage agent who's now head of Israel's intelligence agency, called 'The Office.'



Thinking her husband needs a break from his taxing job, Gabriel's beautiful wife Chiara.....



.....arranges for a vacation in Venice, where the couple and their young twins can absorb the culture, eat delicious food, and spend time together as a family.



The Allons have just begun their getaway when a tragedy upsets their plans. Gabriel's friend Pope Paul VII - who's been working to forge a reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people - dies suddenly.



The pontiff was an elderly man with heart problems, and his death is attributed to natural causes. However the Pope's private secretary. Archbishop Luigi Donati, thinks his master was murdered.



Donati asks Gabriel to investigate the Pope's death, which Allon does with the assistance of his team at The Office, who can hack anything.



It turns out Pope Paul VII was murdered by members of a right-wing group called 'The Order of Saint Helena' - a xenophobic, anti-Semitic, neofascist organization that wants to undo Church reforms and expel immigrants from Europe.



To do this, The Order - which has its tentacles in the Vatican as well as the police, judiciary, banking industry, business world, etc. - plans to install a puppet pope. The illegitimate pontiff will take the Church in a sharply conservative direction, in collaboration with fascistic leaders across Europe.

The Order was going to wait for frail Pope Paul VII to die of old age, but their agenda was escalated when the Pope acquired a previously unknown gospel called 'The Gospel According to Pontius Pilate.'



This gospel puts the blame for Christ's death on the Romans rather than the Jews, whom the Church has been condemning for thousands of years. Numerous scholars believe the Church's execration of the Jews caused widespread anti-Semitism, and was an underlying cause of the Holocaust. Thus The Order doesn't want the Pontius Pilate book - which contradicts their teachings - to become known to the general public.

The Order learned Pope Paul VII was going to give the Pontius Pilate gospel to Allon, so its leaders had him killed. There may have been a witess to this crime, a Swiss Guard stationed outside the pontiff's apartment who's now missing.



Gabriel has to work fast to expose the Pope's murderers and stop their scheme for a puppet Pope, because the College of Cardinals - many of whom have been paid off by The Order - is about to elect a new pontiff. Thus Allon has to hurry to Rome, infiltrate the secret archives of the Vatican, search for the missing Swiss Guard, visit Switzerland, make a hop to Germany, get assistance from honest members of the clergy, etc.





The novel, which is full of corrupt and venomous clergy, and refers to Church scandals over the ages, may offend some Catholic readers. In his author's note at the end of the book, Silva emphasizes that this is a work of fiction and there's no Gospel According to Pontius Pilate. Nevertheless, Silva expands on the view that the Church is responsible for most Christian anti-Semitism, which the Church promoted on purpose and with ignominious intentions (in his view).

Silva's books are always exciting, and this is no exception. There's plenty of action, shooting, scheming, surveilling, conniving.....and even a touch of magical realism.

Recommended to readers who enjoy thrillers, especially fans of Gabriel Allon.

Rating: 3.5 stars