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Portrait of an Unknown Woman

Audiobook
3 of 3 copies available
3 of 3 copies available

In a spellbinding new masterpiece by #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva, Gabriel Allon undertakes a high-stakes search for the greatest art forger who ever lived

Legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon has at long last severed ties with Israeli intelligence and settled quietly in Venice, the only place where he has ever truly known peace. His beautiful wife, Chiara, has taken over the day-to-day management of the Tiepolo Restoration Company, and their two young children are discreetly enrolled in a neighborhood scuola elementare. For his part, Gabriel spends his days wandering the streets and canals of the watery city, bidding farewell to the demons of his tragic, violent past.

But when the eccentric London art dealer Julian Isherwood asks Gabriel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rediscovery and lucrative sale of a centuries-old painting, he is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems.

Gabriel soon discovers that the work in question, a portrait of an unidentified woman attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyck, is almost certainly a fiendishly clever fake. To find the mysterious figure who painted it—and uncover a multibillion-dollar fraud at the pinnacle of the art world—Gabriel conceives one of the most elaborate deceptions of his career. If it is to succeed, he must become the very mirror image of the man he seeks: the greatest art forger the world has ever known.

Stylish, sophisticated, and ingeniously plotted, Portrait of an Unknown Woman is a wildly entertaining journey through the dark side of the art world—a place where unscrupulous dealers routinely deceive their customers and deep-pocketed investors treat great paintings as though they were just another asset class to be bought and sold at a profit. From its elegant opening to the shocking twists of its climax, the novel is a tour de force of storytelling and one of the finest pieces of heist fiction ever written. And it is still more proof that, when it comes to international intrigue and suspense, Daniel Silva has no equal.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Edoardo Ballerini returns to perform the 22nd addition to the Gabriel Allon series. The retired legendary spymaster Allon is now living in Venice, enjoying family life. At the request of a friend, Allon investigates the mystery behind a supposed masterpiece and is drawn into the dark, lucrative side of the art world. Ballerini demonstrates his talent for accents as Allon's adventures take him through Europe and to the U.S. Ballerini smoothly pronounces foreign place names, shifts accents, and conveys the many nationalities. He skillfully voices Allon's talented and seductive female partners and adversaries. While fans may miss the high tension of the spy business, they will find that Silva's storytelling paired with Ballerini's performance makes for a wonderful listening experience. E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Silva's (The Cellist) popular character Gabriel Allon--art restorer, master spy, and retired chief of Israeli intelligence--has moved to Venice with his wife Chiara and their two young children. There, Gabriel is looking forward to living a quiet life as an art restorer for the Tiepolo Restoration Company, until a phone call from friend and art dealer Julian Isherwood dramatically changes his plans. Isherwood asks Gabriel to investigate after he receives a puzzling letter from Valerie Berranger, who recently purchased Van Dyck's Portrait of an Unknown Woman from Isherwood's London gallery and subsequently died in a suspicious auto accident. Gabriel discovers that the Van Dyck is an almost undetectable forgery. As he tries to find the master forger, he is plunged into the lucrative arena of art forgery, outrageous wealth, and art purchased solely for its investment value. Edoardo Ballerini does an excellent job capturing the mystery and excitement of Silva's 22nd "Gabriel Allon" thriller. Ballerini is especially adept at voicing the Hebrew and Spanish accents. VERDICT Gabriel Allon fans will once again enjoy Silva's intrigue and twists as Gabriel cleverly uncovers the forger and immerses listeners in a fascinating, and possibly deadly, world.--Ilka Gordon

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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  • English

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