English Girl by Daniel Silva (2013)

Silva was suggested to me by a younger colleague as a good thriller writer. In Latvian I have started calling these "burlaku romāni", novels about "burlaki" or bad guys that are suspenseful enough to keep me awake on long drives.

Madeline gets kidnapped while vacationing on Corsica. Soon a retired Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon, gets pulled in to look for her, as it turns out she has friends in high places at 10 Downing Street. We get taken on a wild ride through Israel, France, England, Russia and a few other European countries on the way.

I liked the fact that this was reflecting current day politics of Europe. I liked that Gabriel was on top of current events, but also a painter and art restorer, not a totally ruthless killer, middle aged, and that he appreciates and really loves his wife.

When it looked like the girl would be found fairly easily, I knew that wasn't going to happen, as the book was only a quarter of the way in. The various twists and  turs were quite interessting, maybe even confusing in the end.Once again I listened instead of reading the book, so it is not easy to flip back and reread some part.

I will keep Silva in mind when I need a book to keep me awake, but I think I have read enough of these recently. So hopefully I will read other genres for a while.