Summary and Reviews of The Messenger by Daniel Silva

The Messenger by Daniel Silva

The Messenger

by Daniel Silva
  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • First Published:
  • Jul 25, 2006, 352 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jul 2007, 500 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Monsignor Luigi Donati, the private secretary to His Holiness Pope Paul VII, has come to seek Allon's help. A young Swiss guard has been found dead in St. Peter's Basilica, and although Donati has allowed the official inquiry to determine that it is suicide, his instinct tells him that it is murder - and that his master is in grave danger.

A spellbinding tale of power, greed, and revenge from the New York Times-bestselling "world-class paractitioner of spy fiction"
(The Washington Post)

Allon is recovering from a grueling showdown with a Palestinian master terrorist, when a figure from his past arrives in Jerusalem. Monsignor Luigi Donati is the private secretary to His Holiness Pope Paul VII, and a man as ruthless as he is intelligent. Now, however, he has come to seek Allon's help. A young Swiss guard has been found dead in St. Peter's Basilica, and although Donati has allowed the official inquiry to determine that it is suicide, his instinct tells him that it is murder-and that his master is in grave danger. He has trusted Allon in the past, and he is the only man he trusts now.

Allon reluctantly agrees to get involved, but once he begins to investigate he concludes that Donati has every right to be concerned, as, following the trail from the heart of the Vatican to the valleys of Switzerland and beyond, he slowly unravels a conspiracy of lies and deception. An extraordinary enemy walks among them, with but one goal: the most spectacular assassination ever attempted.

Filled with remarkable characters and breathtaking double and triple turns of plot, The Messenger solidifies Silva's reputation as his generation's finest writer of international thrillers.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Booklist - Connie Fletcher
Starred Review. What makes this series fascinating is the interplay between standard spy-thriller fare... with the passionate, tragic figure of Allon himself. An engrossing and beautifully written contemporary spy thriller.

Library Journal
Unlike other thriller writers... Silva builds suspense through realistic threats, harrowing situations, and gripping action.

Publishers Weekly
The way Silva resolves his plot will keep readers right where he wants them: on the edges of their seats.

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