The New Girl

By Daniel Silva

From the internationally bestselling author of The Other Woman and House of Spies comes another stunning thriller in his latest action-packed tale of high stakes international intrigue.

NOW YOU SEE HER.

NOW YOU DON'T.

THE NEW GIRL

A novel of intrigue, betrayal, and revenge.

At an exclusive private school in Switzerland, mystery surrounds the identity of the beautiful girl who arrives each morning and leaves each afternoon in a heavily protected motorcade fit for a head of state. She is said to be the daughter of a wealthy international businessman. She is not.

And when she is brutally kidnapped across the border in the Haute-Savoie region of France, Gabriel Allon, the legendary chief of Israeli intelligence, is thrust into a deadly secret war with an old enemy that will determine the future of the Middle East-and perhaps the world ...

Extraordinary acclaim for The New Girl and the Gabriel Allon Series

'One of the greatest novelists the genre has ever known ... The New Girl is as close to perfect as you could ever hope for a thriller to be.' The Real Book Spy

'An excellent introduction for new readers' Publishers Weekly

'The New Girl is a brilliant novel ... Eye-opening and a joy to read' Bob Woodward

'Another jewel in the bedazzling crown of a spy-fiction master' Booklist (starred review)

'Excellent ... Readers will be enthralled by both the history and the up-to-the-minute plot that Silva spins with such finesse.' Publishers Weekly (starred review)

'A world-class practitioner of spy fiction' Washington Post

'This might be the best spy thriller since John le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy ... The Other Woman is an instant classic' CrimeReads

'With Silva's novels you find yourself being educated as well as being entertained ... Silva is that rarity of rarities, a writer whose stories just keep getting better.' Huffington Post

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781460709757

Daniel Silva

Daniel Silva is the award-winning, No.1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three novels, including The Unlikely Spy, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, The Messenger, Moscow Rules, The Rembrandt Affair, The English Girl and The Black Widow. His books are published in more than thirty countries and are best sellers around the world. He lives in Florida with his wife, CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel, and their two children, Lily and Nicholas.

Reviews for The New Girl

[Brian Walker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fast moving and engrossing. There were many twists and turns.

[rowingrabbit · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As with all series, you'll enjoy some instalments more than others. But I don't think Silva is capable of writing a bad book & for me, his novels are an annual must-read. He's a master story teller & this was one of the best of recent years.The real time politics & thinly veiled versions of actual world figures make this a gripping & timely read. But at the bottom of it all is a poignant & personal story line that reminds us innocent people end up being collateral damage as presidents, kings & prime ministers play their games.All the old gang is back as the plot unfolds across multiple countries. The author's extensive knowledge of the Middle East & spycraft is general provides the backdrop for a perfectly paced & absorbing read that not only entertains but shines a light on the state of current events.

[tjsween-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As with all Allon stories, you are required to suspend belief and enjoy the story. This book, however, goes beyond that, making it less easy to enjoy. Always like the Allon stories, but this was my least favorite.

[josephking6602 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good descriptions of the social/governmental context of the story; ‘sense-of-place’. Story line was a bit overly complicated; (he could get by with 2-3 fewer nefarious characters!) An ok book... too dependent on the shoot-em-up denouement!

[booklover915 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Daniel Silva's "The Black Widow" was a hard-hitting work of fiction about how members of ISIS routinely slaughter men, women, and children in such countries as England, France, and Belgium. One of the terrorists' goals is to terrify and demoralize their adversaries. Silva's villain is Saladin, a shrewd strategist who believes that, by wreaking havoc in the west, he will unite his followers in a new Islamic caliphate. "House of Spies" is Silva's seventeenth novel in his popular series featuring Gabriel Allon, now head of the Mossad, Israel's Secret Intelligence Service. Horrific attacks on American soil have left Allon and his allies grieving, angry, and eager for revenge.

This installment, alas, does not pack the wallop of its predecessor. The plot--Gabriel and his allies in France, England, and the United States collaborate on a ruse to catch Saladin that could easily end in disaster--is similar to those Silva has used before. In addition, too many secondary characters pad the long narrative, and the story is wrapped up a bit too tidily. Now that he occupies such an important position, Gabriel has resolved to quit fieldwork. However, his desire for payback once again drives him to take risks that should be off the table for someone who is supposed to oversee operations, not take part in them. Assisting Allon and his colleagues is Christopher Keller, a former member of the SAS, whose impressive fighting skills and resourcefulness make him valued asset. This novel has a great deal of violence, intrigue, financial chicanery, touches of light humor, and even a hint of romance.

To his credit, Silva, a thorough researcher, provides alarming information about how Morocco's role in the drug trade helps bankroll ISIS, and the author also explains how terrorists can smuggle weapons (including materials for "dirty bombs") from one country to another without detection. Although it is a serviceable effort, "House of Spies" lacks the passion, thrills, realism, and sense of immediacy that made "The Black Widow" so riveting.

[miss.mesmerized · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Schon wieder ein Anschlag des IS auf britischem Boden, hunderte Tote und Verletzte, das Westend in Schutt und Asche. Drahtzieher ist offenkundig Saladin, der Islamist, den es nicht gelungen war zu eliminieren nach dem Angriff auf das Weinberg Center in Paris. Gabriel Allon, inzwischen Chef des israelischen Geheimdienstes, will ihn endlich unschädlich machen und stellt eine nie gesehene internationale Koalition zusammen: MI5 und MI6 aus England, der französische Geheimdienst und sogar die USA, selbst Opfer Saladins geworden, erklären sich zur Zusammenarbeit bereit, um dem größten Feind des Westens mit vereinten Kräften zu begegnen. Die Spuren führen nach Marseille, Einfallsort für die Drogenversorgung Europas. Als Lockvögel werden der beste Spion der Briten und alter Bekannter Allons, sowie Natalie, die Saladin bereits schon einmal sehr nah kam und ihm damals das Leben rettete, auf den Kontaktmann angesetzt. Dann ist Warten angesagt, bis sich die Chance ergeben wird. Band 17 der Gabriel Allon Reihe setzt nahtlos da an, wo der Vorgänger aufhörte. Immer noch ist der Islamist Saladin das Ziel des Israelis. Auslöser für alle Aktivität ist wieder einmal ein Attentat in Europa, dem die westlichen Sicherheitskräfte nichts entgegensetzen konnten. Insgesamt legt „Der Drahtzieher“ über weite Strecken ein recht gemächliches Tempo an den Tag. Der Fokus liegt dieses Mal ganz entschieden auf der Arbeit der Geheimdienste, was jedoch kein bisschen an Spannung einbüßt. Anwerbung, Ausbildung, Kontrolle im Hintergrund – detailliert schildert Silva, wie eine große Operation geplant und umgesetzt wird, was dazu erforderlich ist und was offenkundig so alles bewegt werden kann. Ebenso interessant sind natürlich die Befindlichkeiten der einzelnen Länder, wie jeder den großen Sieg einfahren möchte, wie alte Animositäten fast die ganze Aktion gefährden. Hier bewegt sich Silva tatsächlich im klassischen Spionage-Milieu und kann an einen John LeCarré heranreichen. So interessant dies alles ist, führt es jedoch unweigerlich auch dazu, dass die Handlung langsamer verläuft als man das von Silva gewöhnt ist. So manche Länge bleibt ebenfalls nicht aus. Auch Gabriel Allon bleibt dieses Mal im Hintergrund, die tragenden Figuren sind die Agenten und ihre Zielpersonen. Diese sind überzeugend gezeichnet und auch lebendig in ihrem Handeln. Allerdings habe ich mich doch gefragt, ob sich zwielichtige Personen tatsächlich so leicht anwerben lassen und uneigennützig kooperieren würden. Auch der finale Showdown in Marokko war zwar rasant und einem Thriller würdig, aber hatte doch mehr Hollywood Potential als Überzeugungskraft. Insgesamt eine solide Fortsetzung mit großem Unterhaltungswert, die die Erwartungen an die Reihe voll erfüllt.

[66usma · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Don't know why I was disappointed. Not a lot of surprises in the search for Saladin.

[gmmartz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

'House of Spies' may be the first of Daniel Silva's novels that I didn't devour from beginning to end in a sitting or two. Too long, too outlandish a plot, and too many holes in the story were my major complaints.Gabriel Allon, a favorite character for me in the spy novel genre, has ascended to the top of the Israeli intelligence service. A terrorist attack takes place in London with weapons that lead back to Allon's bete noire, the super-elusive Saladin. Intelligence groups from various western powers see the situation as an opportunity to finally bring Saladin to justice, if they can only find him. Enter Allon, who has a powerful incentive to locate the terror mastermind (see 'The Black Widow').The plot (I won't go into details) bogs down in the middle. Intelligence leads the good guys to a rich Frenchman who has wittingly been helping Saladin through drug transactions and washing the money via an art gallery owned by his beautiful female partner. The spies determine that'll be the path they'll take to smoke out Saladin. They eventually do so. At a high level, the plot sounds pretty interesting, but along the way there are far too many unrealistic details, implausible situations, and activities that just don't pass the smell test. Silva's writing is fine although the dialogue is sometimes a bit off. His descriptions have always been very detailed but have often seemed a little on the melodramatic side (I can see the phrase 'rich Corinthian leather' showing up in one of his novels at some point....). All in all, House of Spies is a decent spy thriller with one of the great characters of the genre, just not at the level of Silva's prior efforts.

[robeik_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another in the Gabriel Allon series of international espionage. Some regular, some new and some returning characters. Easy reading, with some background information on international politics thrown in for free. The ending is... well, let's say it doesn't end.

[lbswiener · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The New Girl is a spy novel involving the Israel, Saudi Arabia, England and the United States agents. There were many people involved, many scenes seeming to have been inspired by real world incidents but for the most part very difficult to follow. The question becomes why can't we just all get along? Because of the many characters involved and individual plots and murders The New Girl received three stars in this review.

[andy_dimartino · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I believe I may have read another of his books but am not sure. Really enjoyed this novel and liked how he used recent events as a backdrop for his plot with a few twists thrown in.

[buffalogr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Silva's Gabriel Allon series remains one of the best as is Silva's understanding of Middle Eastern. Allon forms a team of agents with whom he has previously worked and also has to work with intelligence agencies of other countries. Rapid-fire pacing, shifting locations, international intrigue, clearly defined characters, and crisp dialogue. Overall, a pretty good book.

[judiex · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Daniel Silva’s Gideon Allon series is addictive. As usual, THE NEW GIRL is loosely based on recent events and moves into what could happen later on.While Allon is now older than 65 and heads Mossad, he still finds himself in the center of action. In THE NEW GIRL, he gets pulled in by the future king of Saudi Arabia, Prince Khalid, when Khalid’s twelve-year-old daughter, his only child, is kidnaped in Switzerland. Allon had great expectations for Khalid to modernize Saudi Arabia For example, women gained more rights. But then Khalid began getting rid of his opponents, sometimes by imprisonment, sometimes by murder, and appropriating their money and property. When a Saudi ex-pat journalist and dissident was lured to the Istanbul Saudi consulate and brutally murdered, Allon gave up on the Khalid. But he found he could not refuse to help him try to locate his daughter and save her life.Allon forms a team of agents with whom he has previously worked and also has to work with intelligence agencies of other countries. It’s no surprise that they are able to locate her after a lot of work. After that, the story continues to expand. Changes in the Saudi government and society continue, some going forward, some backward. Russia becomes a prime player as it tries to gain influence in the Middle East and assume America’s position as world leader.Daniel Silva explains how Wahhabism became the dominate religion in a new country, Saudi Arabia, in the 1700s when Mohamed Abdul Wahhab believed that Moslems had lost their traditional beliefs and practices and adopted the ways of other nations. By the second decade in the twenty first century, the descendants of the founders of Saudi Arabia had become very wealthy. They continued to reap millions of dollars based on their relationship and splurged on their own over-the-top desires. Khalid realized that with the declining use of oil, the country would revert to its days as a desert occupied by warring nomads.The future king knew that this country’s wealth was largely a mirage; the family had squandered a mountain of money on palaces and trinkets; that in 20 years, when the transformation from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy was complete, the oil beneath Saudi Arabia would be as worthless as the sand that covered it. Extremists felt that the US was losing its influence and the future lie in Russia and Eurasia, especially since Russia was sowing discord where ever it could.Tidbit: While like the Jews, the Palestinians have been scattered, they have never been the target of an organized campaign of physical annihilation like the Shoah. That’s why the Jewish people must have a state of their own since they can not depend on anyone else to protect them.THE NEW GIRL keeps moving. When one problem is resolved, another pops up. There are a lot of killings, which are not detailed. There are also too many unnecessarily short chapters. References are made to previous books in the series but it is not necessary to have read them first. The book is well written and edited. As always, I’m looking forward to next year’s story.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The New Girl, Daniel Silva, author; George Guidall, narratorGabriel Allon and Sarah Bancroft find themselves working together again in an espionage investigation. Sarah still carries a torch for Allon, but he loves and is married to Chiara. Sarah, on the rebound, had an affair with Mikhail Abramov, but he too, married someone else. Now they are also thrown together again in this tense spy mystery. Sarah, once a CIA agent, now in charge of a New York City museum’s art collection, is incongruously asked by the spoiled Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Mohammed, to help him get in touch with Gabriel Allon. She doesn’t want to, but eventually, learning about his reasons, she assents. Gabriel also agrees to help the future Saudi King. The novel is loosely connected to the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Twelve year old Jihan, as she is called in her Swiss private school, is Khalid’s daughter and the love of his life. She has been kidnapped. The Crown Prince believes that the Israeli head of intelligence is his best hope for getting her back safely and Allon agrees to help. He abdicates the throne as a condition to free her. After the rescue effort goes awry, the Crown Prince, now an ordinary citizen, discovers that a trusted uncle, Abdullah, had deliberately and cold bloodedly engineered the tragic consequences in order to steal the throne from him. When Allon is once again engaged to help the Crown Prince extract revenge against the uncle who engineered the tragedy, he agrees. His Uncle Abdullah conspired with the Russians to ascend to the throne. They wanted a puppet on the throne to give them power in the Middle East, and in Abdullah, they had one. Abdullah is now in their debt. He must also satisfy the radical fringe in his country and is returning the country to the Wahabi traditions, turning back the reforms Khalid had instituted, especially for women. Khalid wants vengeance. Allon wants justice. All are hoping that the actions now being planned will lead to better Middle East relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and in the process, reduce Russian influence in the region. The novel bounces from country to country as the mystery unravels and the crimes are solved. Silva writes a book that keeps you completely engaged. It has moments of jocular sarcasm and subtle humorous bantering between friends and enemies; it is fast moving, action packed and interesting. The intrigue and animus between some of the countries is factual. Although names are changed, it is possible to assume the identity of some that resemble real life heads of state and spymasters. Silva intermingles the facts with the fiction.

[breic-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Pretty standard Silva. I read it partly for the opportunity to laugh at Silva, to see a pro-Trump writer humbled by his own political blindness. I was not disappointed; there's plenty of crow here. Even better, Silva apparently wrote most of the book, if not all of it, before Saudi Arabia murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in their Istanbul consulate. He didn't start over; instead he just went back and inserted dialog fragments condemning the murder and Crown Prince MBS. This is rather awkward, because MBS is one of the heros! Like action-hero spy Allon, MBS gets his hands dirty … er, dirtier … racing his car through the streets to catch the evil … er, more evil … kidnappers. The story itself is bland, but the context makes it all very amusing.

[kimkimkim-7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was reading the July edition of the Costco Connection and unsurprisingly The New Girl was a “Buyer’s Pick.” Among the interesting quotes from Silva: “I fill up the tank with as many facts and as much history and analysis of the subject as possible, and then I try to walk through a door and create something that’s pure entertainment and fun to read…” He is a great writer and is a consummate spy master. He can defuse an impossibly tense situation with subtle humor. He has created scenarios that are credible. When Gabriel Allon stands back and tilts his head to the side to consider the painting, Silver tilts his head and offers the reader the opportunity to envision the probabilities of the story he is about to tell. His stories are a whole lot more than historical fiction. Silva admits to looking for a “factual underpinning” and The New Girl is everything and more that recently transpired between the Saudis and a dismembered Saudi journalist. Suffice it to say that I rely on Daniel Silva to keep me current on not just what has happened in the real world but the possibilities for intrigue, murder, mayhem and clandestine operations with all the world players making appearances. Entertainment? Reality? I think the lines blur and everything he writes is within the realm of possibility.

[shazjhb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Always a great read. Me of my favorite characters.

[diana.hauser · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

THE NEW GIRL is Daniel Silva’s latest book featuring Gabriel Allon.Fast-paced; full of very unexpected plot twists; betrayal; vengeance; intrigue.All I can say is Wow. Double Wow. Triple Wow.My only comment is a question. Does art imitate life? Or does life imitate art?

[norinrad10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Few things are more reliable then a new Daniel Silva novel featuring the legendary Gabriel Allon. While some authors of long running series lose focus on their primary protagonist - bending as the political climate changes - Silva seems to get a tighter handle on his with every outing. The older and wiser Allon remains consistant with the younger version created almost 3 decades ago.Equally impressive is the growth in Allon's supporting cast. Their stories become richer and deeper with every outing. Some even beginning to rival their boss in intrigue.This years outing involves Saudi Arabia, Russia,a kidnapping, political intrigue and manipulations,and old nemesis. That's about all you need to know. This years adventure was quite satisfying I eagerly await next years visit with old friends created by the formiable Danial Silva.

[labdaddy4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent book to add to Silva’s long series of Gabriel Allon thrillers. This one seemed so current it read as if from the latest news. Fast paced and absorbing - highly recommended !