BOOK REVIEW RANSOM: A Novel
By Daniel Silva/ Harper
Reviewed by: Joe Zacks
The Reviewer — Joe Zacks is the former Deputy Assistant Director of the CIA for Counterterrorism, the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Aardwolf Global Solutions and a Cipher Brief Subject Matter Expert.
REVIEW: For well over a decade, my father and I have enjoyed a July tradition revolving around the publication of Daniel Silva’s annual novel. I order the book in advance, receive it on its release date, devour it within a couple of days, and pass it on to my father. After he finishes the book, we meet for lunch and compare notes on the latest exploits of the protagonist Gabriel Allon—the former Israeli Mossad operative and spymaster-cum-art restorer. Last year we enjoyed An Inside Job but regretted that Silva did not have much of a geopolitical dynamic in the book. This year’s Ransom has Silva back at peak form. He’s penned a tight, fast-paced novel replete with Gabriel Allon’s regular cast of characters from Britain’s MI-6, Denmark’s PET, Netherlands’ AIVD and London’s staid art world. The CIA’s former operative Sarah Bancroft is back in action along with Danish pickpocket and computer hacker Ingrid Johansen. There are also a host of well-developed new characters to inspire the reader.
Ransom is replete with unexpected plot twists. It begins with the kidnapping in Ibiza of Alice Winter, the British socialite wife of billionaire land developer Edward Knight and ends with Gabriel Allon’s uncovering and defeating a Russian GRU plot against the United Kingdom and western Europe’s leadership. Silva’s talent is how we get from what initially appears to be a financially motivated crime and murder to a Russian plot employing fabulously wealthy oligarchs, GRU illegals, and an array of drones to destabilize western Europe for its support to Ukraine and ultimately control former Soviet satellites in eastern Europe. Silva also aptly captures the current dissonance between European and U.S. political leaders in holding Putin fully accountable for Russia’s war against Ukraine and for years of aggressive meddling in the West’s democratic processes and institutions.
As always, Silva creates complex multidimensional characters and brings to life the playgrounds of the rich and famous. A Russian oligarch sanctioned by the UK and closely tied to Putin and Russian intelligence plays a prominent role in the storyline and shows the mafia-like hold that oligarchs have over any business partners desperate for their cash. Silva also does an excellent job of portraying the complexity of intelligence operations in a world of near-real time video surveillance powered by AI algorithms. He operationalizes a mosquito drone in a creative and almost undetectable assassination and vividly illustrates the destructive power of first-person view (FPV) drones.
The one disappointment in the book is Silva’s apparent abandonment of his former Mossad operatives. The last time any of them appeared in earnest was in Silva’s 2023 The Collector. A few of them were present for the last time in his 2024 A Death in Cornwall. Given how fundamental Allon’s Mossad roots were to the resounding success of twenty-four of Silva’s novels, one can only hope that its current absence from Ransom is not some form of political statement. I highly doubt Silva’s dedicated readership would abandon him should he in the future reintroduce the colorful band of Mossad operatives who were so integral to his previous works. They are missed.
Ransom is a page-turner of a book and a must-read for anyone looking for a thought-provoking geopolitical thriller. I am certain that my father and all other Daniel Silva fans will share in my enthusiasm for the work.
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