Can a spy novel series still hold up when it’s on its 18th installment? That’s the question. I jumped into Daniel Silva’s series around the 7th book mark, and even though critics often label the series as formulaic, there’s something about it that keeps you turning the pages. Once you get past the first 100 pages of any book, you find yourself hooked. And as you get accustomed to the rhythm, a few books down the line, you don’t even need those 100 pages anymore. It’s as if the author becomes more adept at captivating you right from the start. (Even though the basic structure of the stories remains pretty much the same from installment to installment. Quite intriguing, isn’t it?)
Now, The Other Woman is the first book where this formula doesn’t quite click. Obviously, you can’t always pit your protagonist against Arab terrorists who want to blow up this or that capital city; a bit of variety is necessary from time to time. However, the pursuit of a Russian mole within British intelligence seems rather lackluster compared to the series’ earlier, far more significant events. Not to mention that the involvement of the Israeli intelligence agency, and our protagonist, Gabriel Allon, feels somewhat forced in this case, as if the Israelis are being nudged into an unpleasant, stinky mess, saying: “Here you go, guys, it’s our mess, but you clean it up!”
Is it all bad? No, not entirely. The Other Woman feels more like reading a crime novel than a spy thriller. It’s a crime novel that’s occasionally quite thrilling. Even the legendary Kim Philby (that jerk) makes an appearance, much to the delight of long-time spy fiction enthusiasts.
So, there’s no major issue with having a slightly subdued, slower-paced episode with less action mixed into the series.
The problem lies more in the fact that Daniel Silva’s main character, Gabriel Allon, the legendary Israeli master spy, realistically should be in his seventies by now. In the previous installment, he was appointed head of Mossad. Probably, if he were to hobble to the end of the garden to use the loo, he’d be accompanied by two centuries of commandos while an F-35 squadron flies overhead.
Meanwhile, Allon, the most recognizable figure in the Middle East and a prime target for numerous hostile states, still personally handles every minor issue, happily strolling the streets of major cities in Europe and America, always dismissing his bodyguards to make life easier for his numerous enemies.
Moreover, the aging, somewhat creaky former assassin, whom the author elegantly refers to as being at the “very, very end of middle age,” even dismisses his well-trained team during the final showdown in The Other Woman. He goes alone, against many. Isn’t that absurd?
This was also the case in the previous book (House of Spies). Silva seems unable to let go of his aging hero. Yet, if he doesn’t come up with something quickly (there were some attempts a few books ago to bring the charming assassin Mikhail to the forefront, but those quickly fizzled out), the protagonist of his cherished series will soon be shuffling out of a retirement home with a walker to take down some villain plotting against his homeland. With the walker, of course.
7.8/10
The Other Woman (Gabriel Allon #18) by Daniel Silva
496 pages, Paperback
Published in 2018 by Harper