Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I didn’t think Daniel Silva could sink lower than The Order, but The Cellist plumbs new depths. First the basics: The far-fetched plot is ludicrous and ill-conceived. The classic Silva formula and cast of characters is all there, but can’t save this awful book. A Russian hit of an old ally, a painting to restore, a beautiful cellist/investor with evidence of massive Russian money laundering is recruited by Gabriel to steal looted Russian lucre. There’s almost no action or suspense until the cellist’s cover is blown (ostensibly by President Trump!). At that point, she is led to a rendezvous with death in the Swiss Alps, but miraculously gets the better of the Spesznatz officer assigned to eliminate her. Had the book ended there, it would have been another in a series of worn out Allon exploits, and on to the next. But Silva decides to become Rachel Maddow and pollutes the book with rabid Trump Derangement Syndrome ramblings. None of it makes sense, especially after years of a no-expenses-spared investigation coming up empty, two completely fake hyper partisan impeachments, Trump’s economic destruction of both Iran and Russia via massive energy production, and the incredible pro-Israel policies that made Trump hugely popular in Israel. It’s inconceivable that the head of Mossad would be anti-Trump. To top things off, the constant references to COVID made it read like a vaccine infomercial. I was a huge fan, Daniel, but no longer. I suggest you retire those #2 pencils and get a job with MSNBC.