Daniel Silva finds grist for his fictional spy mill in real life

The English Girl
The cover of Daniel Silva's "The English Girl."
Image courtesy of the publisher

An espionage story broke three years ago that might have seemed more at home 30 years ago: a Russian spy ring had been uncovered in the United States. Its members had been living under cover for years, even decades, raising families and holding down jobs.

The story was an instant inspiration for television producers and fiction writers. One of those writers was Daniel Silva, whose series of spy-thriller novels is among the most popular of the genre.

Silva began thinking about how to adapt the story of the modern-day spy ring for a novel, and the result is "The English Girl," his latest novel featuring Israeli spy Gabriel Allon.

Silva joins The Daily Circuit to discuss "The English Girl," Gabriel Allon and all things espionage.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT SPY FACT AND FICTION:

PRESS Pass: Daniel Silva
Silva's new book The English Girl is the 13th in his best-selling Gabriel Allon series, but it wasn't always supposed to be that way. ... "He was never intended to be a continuing character," Silva said. "In fact, when I started making the notes on that book, he wasn't even the main character and then he just sort of took over that book." (NBC News)

Novelist Daniel Silva: I'll never kill off Gabriel Allon
"At some point, before I get too old, I'd like to try and write something else," Silva says. "I intend to write a character other than Gabriel. I don't know when that's going to be. I will say that I will never kill him off." (Miami Herald)

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