Fred Frahm

Daniel Silva was one of my favorite authors until I got The Cellist. What attracted me to the book is the fact it's another in the Gabriel Allon series, which I've always found to be "page turners". But not this time! I've only read 287 of the 445 pages, and find Silva is more interested in name-dropping, not famous people's, but to showcase his knowledge of classical music, their creators, musicians, exceptionally fine instruments - and he doesn't stop there. He also finds it necessary to mention the names of the finest champagnes that the majority of we who read his books are unlikely to have any knowledge, add nothing to the story, and are totally unnecessary page-fillers. In fact, all those unnecessary details just slow the pace of the story - not my idea of a page-turner. In addition, the characters are uninspiring, even Gabriel Allon himself. And if that weren't enough, to deal with, Silva thought it necessary to lecture us on politics in America and, without actually mentioning his name, thought it important that he display his great dislike for Donald Trump, which I consider to be entirely inappropriate. The Cellist was published in July 2021, and if this is what we can expect in the future, I'm no longer a fan. One star for the effort. Fred in New Zealand

Haven't read it! Only recently heard of it from a friend. I'll let you what I think after I've read it.