#1 New York Times Bestseller • #1 Wall Street Journal BestsellerFrom Daniel Silva, the internationally acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author, comes a riveting new thriller featuring art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon.It was nearly one a.m. by the time he crawled into bed. Chiara was reading a novel, oblivious to the television, which was muted. On the screen was a live shot of … into bed. Chiara was reading a novel, oblivious to the television, which was muted. On the screen was a live shot of St. Peter’s Basilica. Gabriel raised the volume and learned that an old friend had died …
Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into Venice for a much-needed holiday with his wife and two young children. But when Pope Paul VII dies suddenly, Gabriel is summoned to Rome by the Holy Father’s loyal private secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati. A billion Catholic faithful have been told that the pope died of a heart attack. Donati, however, has two good reasons to suspect his master was murdered. The Swiss Guard who was standing watch outside the papal apartments the night of the pope’s death is missing. So, too, is the letter the Holy Father was writing during the final hours of his life. A letter that was addressed to Gabriel.
While researching in the Vatican Secret Archives, I came upon a most remarkable book …
The book is a long-suppressed gospel that calls into question the accuracy of the New Testament’s depiction of one of the most portentous events in human history. For that reason alone, the Order of St. Helena will stop at nothing to keep it out of Gabriel’s hands. A shadowy Catholic society with ties to the European far right, the Order is plotting to seize control of the papacy. And it is only the beginning.
As the cardinals gather in Rome for the start of the conclave, Gabriel sets out on a desperate search for proof of the Order’s conspiracy, and for a long-lost gospel with the power to put an end to two thousand years of murderous hatred. His quest will take him from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, to a monastery in Assisi, to the hidden depths of the Secret Archives, and finally to the Sistine Chapel, where he will witness an event no outsider has ever before seen—the sacred passing of the Keys of St. Peter to a newly elected pope.
Swiftly paced and elegantly rendered, The Order will hold readers spellbound, from its opening passages to its breathtaking final twist of plot. It is a novel of friendship and faith in a perilous and uncertain world. And it is still more proof that Daniel Silva is his generation’s finest writer of suspense and international intrigue.
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I’ve been a Silva fan forever and a day. I look forward to his books in the way of all rabid fans. He never, ever disappoints, and that is an incredible track record for an author. This new Gabriel Allon adventure is the perfect escape. I’ve been reading slowly because I don’t want to wait another year for more! Highly recommended.
Silva has managed to take a Jewish art restorer and spy and made him an invaluable asset to his friends in the Vatican. The unspoken messages about human political and religious interactions speaks volumes.
As with every Daniel Silva book I’ve read, I learned something. His insights into areas we ‘ordinary people’ never see not only make his books authentic, but add mystery. I enjoy the fact that the Gabriel Allon character evolves over time. As usual, I’m already keen to read the next one.
Yikes. I came late to Silva and really loved his last five books (that’s where I started). I looked forward to this one and bought the hardcover the day it came out. Those five earlier books were spy thrillers where the conflict was set very quickly with an inciting event that had international repercussions/implications. Great stuff. The conflict in The Order isn’t set for a hundred pages and even then, it’s a soft one. This book reads more like a locked-room murder mystery which had I been expecting one I might’ve enjoyed it more. The Pope dies in his room that has a guard outside the door. The first hundred pages is deciding if he’d been murdered. That’s a locked-room mystery if you ask me and not the spy thriller I’d been expecting. Even in a locked-room murder, the body hits the floor pretty early to set the stage. I have found books work best for me are the ones where the conflict is set right up front, a contract with the reader that says, “this is what I’m going to show you, come take this ride with me.” I will definitely buy his next book and hopefully Mr. Silva will go back to form.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
Love all his books.
Silva never disappoints! Nor does Gabriel Allon!
I like Daniel Silva’s books, they always entertain me. This one was especially convoluted, but entirely believable.
I’ll read anything by Silva!
The complex plotting succeeds in large part because of some of the boldest historical assertions in all of Daniel Silva’s books. Reading this triggered countless searches so I could learn more about Vatican City, Florence, Berchtesgaden, and especially the apocryphal gospels. This is one of Silva’s very best.
always well written
A murder at the Vatican sets Gabriel off on a trail to find the killer. This web of intrigue has him racing from Venice to Rome and Switzerland and Austria.
Silva comes through with another Masterpiece!
I always enjoy Daniel Silva’s books and have read them all. Didn’t think this was his best effort but still good.
One of Daniel Silva’s best. Complex story; very descriptive settings. Highly recommend.
Have read all of this series and loved each book more than the last. but this one, for me, was too heavy on all of the background history.
Daniel Silva’s series is amazing. The characters are great. The plots of each book are so well written. I can’t wait for the next one to come out.
Daniel Silva does it again! The Order is undoubtedly as good as it gets. Gabriel Elon, head of Mossad, returns as a field agent on a mission that is as much a personal vendetta to bring justice as it is to foil a plan that would harm the world and destroy the Catholic Church. His friend, the pope, has died, but the pope’s secretary and confident Luigi Donati, suspects His Holiness was murdered. But how to prove it? A secret cabal within the church, the Order of St. Helena, has all of their ducks in line and will do anything to put their man, a cardinal, in the top position of the pope. Elon and Donati are in a desperate race to stop them. Time is running out before a new pope will be chosen, and if they fail, the world as we know it may never be the same.
In this book, what really grabs you is Silva’s brilliant ability to weave the story with the reality of rising anti-Semitism around the world and put it into historical context. He explores the historical roots of anti-Semitism and informs the reader without overwhelming the reader. Silva is meticulous in his research and his knowledge of the church’s history and inner workings, which, coupled with the thrilling hunt against time, makes this a real page-turner. Unfortunately, Silva’s politics are unmasked in an unflattering manner.
This being the 20th book in the Allon series, it was a bit predictable but Silva is still, with his prodigious research to continue providing compelling reading that holds up to changing current events.
Boring
A fast paced thriller with a glimpse into the Vatican workings.