A Death in Cornwall: A Novel

“A Death in Cornwall will delight Silva’s legions of fans and those who love whirlwind, propulsive action, an invincible hero, and global political intrigue.”

Daniel Silva is in the top pantheon of thriller writers, with 26 titles published, 24 in the Gabriel Allon series. (Note: A Death in Cornwall may be read as a stand-alone work). As always, Silva is renowned for his high-flying plots, and in this outing, Gabriel jets to numerous ports of call: Venice, London, Paris, Munich, Monaco, Mykonos, Geneva, Corsica, Cannes, and as the departure point, Cornwall, England. Chair-bound readers will enjoy the ride.

Gabriel Allon, a former undercover operative for Israel’s Secret Intelligence Service, has retired and is now making a living as an art restorer. He becomes embroiled in the murder of Professor Charlotte Blake in Cornwall. Charlotte is an expert on Picasso and in researching artistic provenance. When she begins investigating rumors about the existence of a new Picasso painting, she is killed.

At first, it’s believed she is a victim of “The Chopper,” a serial murderer, but as Allon quickly learns through his extensive contacts in the art world, she died because of her scrutiny into the mysterious Picasso painting (valued at $100 million), whose owner wishes to remain unknown. Thus, the novel begins in Cornwall, however very little of the activity occurs there, so readers seeking a predominantly Cornish setting may be disappointed. The stitches connecting The Chopper to the main plot are also dropped for most of the book.

Instead, the story veers into the treacherous intersection of money and art, with Gabriel and his team navigating the subterranean activities of both worlds. As a well-known art restorer, he moves in this milieu with ease, creating six fake oil paintings as enticement to lure the Picasso’s owner and the painting to the surface. Gabriel paints these forgeries (a Modigliani, Van Gogh, Renoir, Cézanne, Monet, and Toulouse-Lautrec) in several weeks and then experienced art dealers vet them as authentic. One glitch here is that oils take a very long time to dry—sometimes a year or more—so that any professional would notice that the work was recent. Plus, it seems improbable that Gabriel could churn out six fakes so quickly. Small snags in an otherwise believable plot—or a plot that is believable for a thriller, in which the reader is willing to suspend reality.

The novel is chock-full of brilliant, beautiful women, all of whom assist Gabriel in his quest for the Picasso painting—its location and how it was looted by the Nazis from its Jewish owner, Bernard Lévy. Gabriel’s wife, Chiara, is introduced early, appears sporadically, and is mostly superfluous, but the others each have their specialty: Sarah, a former clandestine operative who worked for the CIA; Samantha, a senior political correspondent for The Telegraph; Anna, an internationally famous violinist, who becomes the  interested “buyer”; and of most interest, Ingrid, who poses as Anna’s personal assistant but is, in actuality, a master thief and computer hacker. While there are significant male characters who also participate, much of Gabriel’s team are female.

Thrillers tend to be light on characterization, concentrating instead on moving characters from place to place, dangerous situation to dangerous situation. Most of the cast is therefore superficially rendered, especially Gabriel, whose personality is primarily established through self-deprecating patter:

            “How do you know Don Orsati?”

            “Someone hired him to kill me a long time ago.” [Gabriel says]

            “Why aren’t you dead?”

            “Luck of the Irish.”

            “But you’re not Irish.”

            “Figure of speech.”

While these humorous conversations are sprinkled throughout, perhaps a bit more psychological depth would enhance the reader’s connection with the characters, which, in turn, would heighten the suspense.

As in most thrillers, the book is stuffed with information that adds meat on the bones of the plot. In the enlightening Author’s Note, Silva explains his theme: “Hidden by shell companies and layered trusts, these members of an increasingly powerful global plutocracy dwell in a parallel universe, accessible to only a select few. Fine art confers upon the superrich a patina of instant sophistication and respectability, even if they have neither. Which might explain why so many of their ilk have chosen to stash their multimillion-dollar paintings in the Geneva Freeport so as to deny the tax collector his due.” Untangling this web of collectors, who disguise their holdings and their identities through secretive shell companies, is Gabriel’s task as well as uncovering the owner who was responsible for the death of Charlotte Blake and restoring the Picasso painting to the rightful heir. 

A Death in Cornwall will delight Silva’s legions of fans and those who love whirlwind, propulsive action, an invincible hero, and global political intrigue.