Walter J. (reading-is-bliss) - , reviewed on 2/22/2020 + 73 more book reviews

Having previously read and collected every one of Daniel Silva's first 19 books (including the 1st 17 in the Gabriel Allon Series), I was delighted to finally get my hands on The Other Woman. As I read through this novel, my impression started out as "oh, wow, this is great" to "hmm, maybe not so great" and finally to "yeah, that was really quite good, though not as good as most of Silva's earlier Gabriel Allon adventures". Three unique things about this book, all of which played into why I gave it a 4-star rating.
First, to make the story seem more real, (though he goes out of his way in his Author's Notes to point out that it is pure fiction), Silva draws on the historical events involving the well-known Cambridge 5 and its most infamous member, Kim Philby.
Second, as one reads through the fictional events, it quickly becomes apparent in terms of the story's relevance to current events the underlying message is that (at least from the author's POV) the Kremlin under Putin and the SVR (old KGB renamed) has the current American President securely within its meat hooks.
And third, the book is clearly intended to serve as a venue to put forth Silva's view that Russia under Putin's firm control is now leading the fight from the right no longer as communism but as fascists, a truly frightening observation.

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