Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel

Daniel Silva

Jul 2022 · Gabriel Allon Book 22 · HarperAudio · Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

About this audiobook

In a spellbinding new masterpiece by #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva, Gabriel Allon undertakes a high-stakes search for the greatest art forger who ever lived

Legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon has at long last severed ties with Israeli intelligence and settled quietly in Venice, the only place where he has ever truly known peace. His beautiful wife, Chiara, has taken over the day-to-day management of the Tiepolo Restoration Company, and their two young children are discreetly enrolled in a neighborhood scuola elementare. For his part, Gabriel spends his days wandering the streets and canals of the watery city, bidding farewell to the demons of his tragic, violent past.

But when the eccentric London art dealer Julian Isherwood asks Gabriel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rediscovery and lucrative sale of a centuries-old painting, he is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems.

Gabriel soon discovers that the work in question, a portrait of an unidentified woman attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyck, is almost certainly a fiendishly clever fake. To find the mysterious figure who painted it—and uncover a multibillion-dollar fraud at the pinnacle of the art world—Gabriel conceives one of the most elaborate deceptions of his career. If it is to succeed, he must become the very mirror image of the man he seeks: the greatest art forger the world has ever known.

Stylish, sophisticated, and ingeniously plotted, Portrait of an Unknown Woman is a wildly entertaining journey through the dark side of the art world—a place where unscrupulous dealers routinely deceive their customers and deep-pocketed investors treat great paintings as though they were just another asset class to be bought and sold at a profit. From its elegant opening to the shocking twists of its climax, the novel is a tour de force of storytelling and one of the finest pieces of heist fiction ever written. And it is still more proof that, when it comes to international intrigue and suspense, Daniel Silva has no equal.

Ratings and reviews

I highly recommend this next Daniel Silva novel. I have not read it yet, but like all the other Silva novels, Gabriel Allon and the gang will solve a problem. The special group of Mossad agents will gather in an unused room in the basement of of building on King David Blvd. They will either be putting together a profile (a portrait) of an unknown woman or Gabriel will be standing before a portrait of an unknown woman with his chin cupped in his hand and his head slightly tilted. Either way a great yarn will unfold from the pen of Daniel Silva. Can’t wait preorder today. Gene

About the author

Daniel Silva is the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Unlikely Spy, The Mark of the Assassin, The Marching Season, The Kill Artist, The English Assassin, The Confessor, A Death in Vienna, Prince of Fire, The Messenger, The Secret Servant, Moscow Rules, The Defector, The Rembrandt Affair, Portrait of a Spy, The Fallen Angel, The English Girl, The Heist, The English Spy, The Black Widow, House of Spies, The Other Woman, The New Girl, The Order, The Collector, and A Death in Cornwall. He is best known for his long-running thriller series starring spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon. Silva’s books are critically acclaimed bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

Edoardo ballerini was nominated for a 2012 Audie Award for his recording of The Land of Laughs. He has also received four Earphones Awards from AudioFile Magazine. On screen, Edoardo is best known for his work in the television series The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and 24, as well as the films Dinner Rush and Romeo Must Die.