The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva (2010)

Another wonderful book by Silva with the great character Gabriel Allon, who is an Israeli spy and assassin, but also a highly skilled art restorer. We always get a piece of Jewish history and world politics in these books, and this time, the (fictious) Rembrandt portrait of his mistress takes us through the way the wealthy Jews were robbed of their belongings by Nazi Germany and of their fates through this well told story. We also get a glimpse into the economics of art sales and thieves.

Another art restorer is found dead and Gabriel is pulled out of a well earned retirement to look into this. Turns out the painting that was being restored was a lost Rembrandt, which was owned by a Jewish family before WWII. It was taken from the family, but the bill of sale was kept by a girl that survived the Holocaust. Allon follows leads around the world including South America, where the son of one of the Nazi officials contributes information.