The English Girl

Written by Daniel Silva & Reviewed by Noreen in the Cell

This book was a massive step up from the Messenger, despite the far too predictable and painfully familiar wretched motive. Time will tell if another gets read. The Carnival has quite the pile to work on and the dwindling motive that keeps making a cameo in these franchises is getting tiresome.  It would’ve been a bit more rewarding to examine more closely the psychology motivating Gabriel to so vehemently fight against his own best interests for the safety and closure of Madeline.  Without it, the character feels more like a Mitch Rapp, an android type Navy Seal spy in a political thriller landscape.  One of Gabriel’s most interesting traits is the marriage of his personal and professional motivations.  His missions usually dovetail into some sort of personal catharsis as well.  Despite a pregnant wife loitering in the pages, Gabriel’s characterization was uncharacteristically below average.  The story however was not, despite the utterly dry debriefing below.

Part One - The Hostage

Madeline is some kind of British darling spending the summer with three girl and two boy friends in Corsica. Her friends see her dining with a mystery man the night before she disappears. She’s gone over a month, making the British and French papers. Simon Hewitt, PM aide, receives a manila envelope with a dvd and photo. He takes them to Jeremy Fallon, chief of staff to Prime Minister Lancaster and to Graham Seymour of MI5. Graham then books a flight to Tel Aviv.   In Jerusalem, Ari Shamron goes to Gabe’s place (no wife there?) and tells him Graham is here and wants a meeting.

Graham and Gabe are old friends. Graham is actually pretty anti-Israel. Anyway, the contents of the envelope: a pic of Madeline holding a three day old newspaper and a message saying she dies in seven days. And then a dvd of her admitting to an affair with PM Lancaster.  Graham and Gabe spar until Gabe agrees to try to find Madeline in six days. He’s very skeptical but owes British government for the safe haven they’ve provided over the years. A motive of blackmail to motivate Gabe to catch the blackmailers? Anyway, Graham shows Gabe the photo of the mystery man dining with Madeline in Corsica and says start here. Gabe says he needs to check with his wife.

Gabe pays a quick visit to his son’s grave because it’s his birthday, then heads to Corsica as Herr Klemp.  There, Gabe visits Don Orsati, the mob boss of the island who once tried to kill Gabe (Swiss bankers in a previous book hired him). Gabe offers money for intel on the mystery man. Don says he met him once a week before Madeline disappeared.  Gabe and the Don eat on his terrace. He says the man (Paul, spoke French) asked him about a boat he could use at night discreetly. Don obliged him then gives the name Marcel Lacroix of Marseilles as the boat owner.

Gabe located Christopher Keller, some presumed dead British SAS. He was once given the contract for Gabe. They spar verbally then go visit some signadora lady for clues on Madeline. She tells Gabe he will find Madeline when she is dead, but she is alive now.  This lady pops up throughout the novel and is a bigger disappointment with each appearance, as the foreshadowing nature of her character never seems to provide much more than confirming that the ending of the novel was always meant to happen.  Gabe and Keller travel to Marseilles and stake out Lacroix’s boat while they do their odd couple thing. Gabe water boards Marcel via keelhaul until he gives up the name Rene Brossard as custodian of Madeline.

Marcel debriefs the op that brought Madeline to Rene. And he is conveniently meeting Paul today to get more money for the job since it was more dangerous than the initial arrangement on account of all the headlines and scrutiny. Keller shoots Marcel suddenly, angering Gabe. Likely that Keller is hiding something from Gabe that Marcel would’ve revealed.  

Gabe tells Seymour his progress and they arrange for his reentry. He also secures a safe house near Normandy thru Mossad. Then he returns to Luberon and rents a villa in nearby Apt? Him and Keller reconvene with about a day until the deadline.  Gabe and Keller kill everyone in the safe house including Rene but Madeline is not there. Paul conveniently told the dying woman (who escorted Rene earlier) that Madeline had been moved to a different safe house 72 hours earlier because of “operational security” then the woman dies a timely death. How convenient. Just then Paul makes another demand (despite the deadline being imminent) for 10M euros and something to do with Keller and the PM.

Gabe leaves for 10 Downing Street in the morning.  Paul calls (assumed - robot voice on phone) and gives instructions to Gabe while Fallon and PM listen. Gabe snaps pic of the phone he was issued and heads toward the meet in a car with 10M.  Gabe follows instructions and takes a ferry to the meet where he’s told to wait in some hotel room. They exchange demands via burner phone then Gabe clocks some woman he saw on the ferry approaching his hotel…

He’s driven to a farm likely by the same woman then hooded and left in a room. Madeline Hart pulls his hood off.

Gabe and Madeline chat to serve as his proof of life. Says she was forced to make the video etc. Gabe is returned and told to wait for the next call.  Call comes in and Gabe gets back in his car and drives along the coast. They tell him to stop randomly on the side of the road. Leave the money and Madeline is in some car three km away. Hurry!  Gabe runs and has Leah ptsd. Paul confirms he received the money. Writing makes it sound like Gabe got to Madeline’s car just as it exploded.

Part Two - The Spy

Gabe returns to Don Orsati to request the assistance of Keller. Granted. Then he sees the psychic lady from earlier who is vague as usual. Gabe and Keller head to London.  Gabe hunts down Samantha Cooke, a reporter that did a bio on PM Lancaster. They vet each other then he tells her to ask Jeremy Fallon about Madeline Hart. Also, Madeline’s family has disappeared since her funeral. The game is afoot.

He decides he needs the help of Viktor Orlov of previous book fame.

Orlov is an oligarch defector that owned Siberian oil companies. Now a wealthy Londoner, Gabe tracks him down thru previous book stuff and asks him about Volgatek Oil & Gas (out of nowhere - an awfully contrived chapter. Am guessing lazy Susan expo dump incoming.)  Orlov tells Gabe Volgatek is the modern kgb and the company is used to expand influence internationally. Lazarev, rival to Orlov, was denied drilling rights in Britain initially, then Fallon apparently assisted. Gabe thinks the kgb and Lazarev blackmailed PM Jonathon Lancaster to give them drilling rights by kidnapping Madeline.  Gabe finds and tells Graham the situation and Graham is obviously flummoxed and pissed, citing lack of evidence etc. Gabe intends to secure evidence and get the oil back because he has a score to settle with the Russians (flimsy motive) he gets Graham to approve his autonomy on British soil and gets Israel to grant him resources, despite their chief’s resistance (PM overruled him at Ari’s behest) Keller will tag along and Gabe wants to bring on a Russian.

Keller and Gabe set up shop at a Surrey warehouse and it’s basically the Jewish Expendables because they’re all old leftover characters from previous books that start showing. Like Dina the Iranian terrorist analyst, Eli Lavon the holocaust archaelogist and Ari’s niece Rimona. Plus Mikhail Abramov, Russian defector. The plan is to get Mikhail hired by kgb oil so he can find proof of Madeline’s murder.  Mikhail is put through a crash course to ensure he’s an ideal job applicant. His name will be Nicolai Avdonin. And then somehow in like three days, he learns everything necessary. And Viktor Orlov hires him and then is magically granted airtime on CNBC to quell any rumors that he just hired his replacement. And of course this magically gets the attention of the kgb oil HR dept. What a silly chapter. Oh and Chiara arrived to alter his appearance. Might as well just give him a stormtrooper uniform and enter coordinates for the Death Star.

Lazarev offers Nicolai to come work for him and manage their North Sea projects they recently were licensed by UK. Nicolai politely declines but Lazarev pleads and insists he will be rich. Nicolai is given a week to decide and Eli Levon of previous book fame confirms that the mysterious Pavel = the mysterious Paul.  

Gabe and his team fly to Russia same as Nicolai. Mikhail staying at the ritz and goes to Volgatek the next day to meet everyone. Lazarev makes a huge offer. Gabe and Eli have one last chat before they decide to go forward with the snatch. Yossi of previous book fame and still on Gabe’s team gets a gun to Mikhail. Dina, also a previous book teammate, snaps photos in the lobby for recon. Lazarev arrives to taxi Nicolai to the cafe Pushkin. Uzi and Ari monitor remotely via audio from King Saul boulevard.

The dinner goes great and Lazarev has Pavel give Nicolai a ride home. Along the way Pavel threatens Mikhail because he knows he’s a spy. Gabe’s team shows and carjacks the car while Mikhail holds Pavel at gunpoint. 147 miles to the safe house. Fast forward to the dacha that Ari owns where the team is now together with Pavel tied up. Pavel admits he knows who Allon is and that he is kgb and doesn’t deny killing Madeline. But he won’t confess on tape so Gabe throws him in the freezing lake.  Pavel decides to talk and gives his bio. A rich gifted child recruited by kgb with plans to station in DC until USSR fell. Then Yeltsin assigned him to Volgatek. Then he confesses to everything but resists admitting how he knew about the PM Madeline affair.

Gabe goes to some St. Petersburg museum to meet some woman Pavel assured him would be there? Eli surveils. Volgatek and Russian state brass are alerted to the missing Pavel and Nicholai from the previous night.  The woman is Madeline. (Hey I called that!) She was raised kgb to be a sleeper, she didn’t want to carry out the PM mission but was forced. Now she lives in exile. Gabe offers to extract her.

Honestly kind of a thin motive. Why does Gabe care about this woman’s fate? She’s a Russian spy that honeypotted the PM???

Part Three - The Scandal

The PM is more popular than ever and Fallon gets the exchequer position next door to 10 Downing St. Chiara and Gabe hang with Madeline in Israel but she is adamant that she return to England where she feels she belongs.  Gabe plays the confession video for Graham and confirms Pavel’s death. PM is alerted to it as well as Madeline and goes to tell his wife. Gabe and Madeline meet with Samantha Cooke because Gabe promised her the exclusive.  Scandal hits and Fallon denies guilt until cc footage of him at a Swiss bank emerges. He hangs himself at Westminster bridge. Lancaster appears to be surviving the scandal.

Gabe and Chiara go to Corsica and get the Don to provide a getaway for a while so they can recharge before he is chief of Mossad. Gabe also visits Keller to offer him a job in Mossad or a new life in MI6 under Graham. He appears to decline. The Don is miffed at Gabe for offering Keller a job without running it by him first. Then Chiara visits the Gypsy lady Gabe saw in the beginning and she tells Chiara she’s pregnant with twins.

 Fin.