Dr. Jonathan Reiner, the director of cardiac catheterization at George Washington University and a CNN medical analyst, took time out of his busy schedule to treat Sarah Bancroft for exposure to a deadly Russian nerve agent, and Gabriel Allon for a cavernous through-and-through gunshot wound near his heart. CNN political director David Chalian graciously checked my election-related copy for accuracy, and David Bull reviewed those portions of the story involving the discovery, sale, and restoration of my fictitious painting by Artemisia Gentileschi. One of the world’s finest art conservators, David would have been a much better choice for the project than Gabriel, who, after all, was simultaneously running an operation and an intelligence service.
I consulted hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, far too many to cite here, along with dozens of books. I would be remiss if I did not mention the following: Steven Lee Myers, The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin; Masha Gessen, The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin; Anders Åslund, Russia’s Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy; Karen Dawisha, Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?; Luke Harding, Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem, and Russia’s Remaking of the West; Bill Browder, Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice; David Enrich, Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction; and Craig Unger, House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia.
My dear friend Louis Toscano, author of Triple Cross and Mary Bloom, made countless improvements to the novel, and my eagle-eyed personal copy editor, Kathy Crosby, made certain it was free of typographical and grammatical errors. Any mistakes that slipped through their formidable defenses are mine, not theirs.
I owe a debt to Michael Gendler, my Los Angeles superlawyer, that I cannot possibly repay. Also, to the many friends who provide much-needed laughter at critical times during the writing year, especially Jeff Zucker, Phil Griffin, Andrew Lack, Noah Oppenheim, Andy Lassner, Sally Quinn, Elsa Walsh, Peggy Noonan, Susan St. James and Dick Ebersol, Jane and Burt Bacharach, Stacey and Henry Winkler, Donna and Michael Bass, Virginia Moseley and Tom Nides, Nancy Dubuc and Michael Kizilbash, Susanna Aaron and Gary Ginsburg, Cindi and Mitchell Berger, Marie Brenner and Ernie Pomerantz, and Liz Cheney and Phil Perry.
A heartfelt thanks to the remarkable team at HarperCollins, especially Brian Murray, Jonathan Burnham, Jennifer Barth, David Koral, Leah Wasielewski, Leslie Cohen, Doug Jones, Josh Marwell, Mark Ferguson, Robin Bilardello, Milan Bozic, Frank Albanese, Leah Carlson-Stanisic, Carolyn Bodkin, Chantal Restivo-Alessi, Julianna Wojcik, Mark Meneses, Sarah Ried, Beth Silfin, Lisa Erickson, and Amy Baker.
Finally, I am grateful for the love and support of my children, Lily and Nicholas. Their resolve and determination in the face of a world turned upside down was a source of inspiration, as was the bravery of the police officers who fought to defend our Capitol on January 6, 2021. Writing a novel seemed a rather trivial pursuit by comparison.
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, and The Order. 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. He resides in Florida with his wife, television journalist Jamie Gangel, and their twins, Lily and Nicholas. For more information, visit www.danielsilvabooks.com.
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Also by Daniel Silva
The Order
The New Girl
The Other Woman
House of Spies
The Black Widow
The English Spy
The Heist
The English Girl
The Fallen Angel
Portrait of a Spy
The Defector
Moscow Rules
The Secret Servant
The Messenger
Prince of Fire
A Death in Vienna
The Confessor
The English Assassin
The Kill Artist
The Marching Season
The Mark of the Assassin
The Unlikely Spy
Copyright
The Cellist is a work of entertainment and should be read as nothing more. The names, characters, places, and incidents portrayed in the story are the product of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
the cellist. Copyright © 2021 by Daniel Silva. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
first edition
Cover design by Will Staehle
Cover photographs © Shutterstock
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-283486-7
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