“Ransom” is worth it

I’m always excited when a new thriller from Daniel Silva is on my radar. It’s that time of year for a new installment featuring Gabriel Allon and his cast of characters. Silva never disappoints. “Ransom” is the 26th in the series of novels featuring art restorer and spy Gabriel Allon. Gabriel is one of the finest restorers of Old Master paintings in the world, if not the finest. But he was, in his previous life, a legendary spy and intelligence operative. He now lives and works in Venice, a city Silva loves to visit and write about. But trouble is never far from Gabriel. And now we are off and running as we try to keep up with this next caper. Gabriel not only has a palatial apartment on the Grand Canal in Venice, but he also owns a newly renovated summer cottage in the remote corner of the Cornish countryside. Silva says “Ransom” is the sixth novel set in part in the English county of Cornwall. This novel begins with four old friends from Cambridge, all women, who go on holiday togeth