Part Fiction Part Inspired by True Events is A Brilliant Spy Thriller That Will Leave You Slack Jawed by Its Twists and Turns | ARC Review: The New Girl (Gabriel Allon #19)by Daniel Silva

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

Disclaimer: I received a physical ARC of the book from Harper Collins India in exchange for an honest review! However, the thoughts, opinions expressed in the review are entirely my own.

Daniel Silva is the undisputed master storyteller, especially when it comes to spy thrillers; though I have to be very honest, its been ages since I have read Daniel Silva. Yes, I know, its shameful, but somehow review copies took precedence, so reading purely for pleasure ended up on the back seat. Yet as I read this newest book by Mr. Silva, I was transported back to a time when I loved getting lost in his books.

THE NEW GIRL is my first Gabriel Allen book (there are 18 books before this one, so yay for future binge reads!), this could still be read as a standalone, even with recurring characters with a deep history with each other.

Partly inspired by the alleged brutal execution/murder of a dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, by the Saudi Prince; but Mr. Silva does a brilliant job of seamlessly weaving this incident into a fictional plotline; for at the end of book, it was difficult to differentiate between fictional and reality – which is why this book gets a thousand thumbs up from me!

I read this book in two settings spread across two days – two of the busiest days of the week for me; if you want to clue as to how occupied I was with this book.

The plot of the book contained one twist after the other, the book never beyond my attention, no matter how pressing the reality might have been. Another thing I absolutely adored about the book and one that pretty much cemented my respect for Mr. Silva is the fact that he has taken some of the toughest and controversial contested topics and brought them to the forefront of his reader’s attention. I still haven’t been able to let go of the incidents described in the books & its been more than a few days since I have completed the book!

THE NEW GIRL is a raw, visceral, action packed and fast pace thriller that makes sure that the attention of the reader remains exactly where the author wants it to be – on the book itself.