The other woman by Daniel Silva

"The other woman" by Daniel Silva -  Kim Philby?

This book is published by HarperCollins in 2018 and has 400 pages. This is Book 18 of Gabriel Allon series. 

Israel has a low level mole in SVR (former KGB). While trying to exfiltrate him from Vienna in collaboration with British, he is assassinated and the needle of suspicion is wrongly on Gabriel Allon. There has to be a mole in British or Israeli intelligence for this operation to blow. Someone very high. Gabriel and his British counterpart dig deep into half a century old files and find out that the legendary British defector Kim Philby had a love interest in Beirut and the association might have led to birth of an illegitimate child. A child who has treachery in the blood.

Was the child born? Is it a boy or a girl? Where was this child raised? Is this child the mole? Who is this child?

Author has taken a leap of imagination. With the revival of Russia as the arch enemy, Kim Philby and his offspring make a mouth watering idea. What if it was possible? Is this Philby's revenge from his grave?

So Gabriel unearths the ultimate mole in British system. A mole very high, with access to almost all the secrets. Onus is on him to catch the mole to clear his name. The story thus becomes interesting. But with such a seed,  author has refrained from making it a high octane thriller. Rather, he has adopted Forsyth type writing style for this book. 

Most of the book is good. In attempt to catch the mole, Allon takes a leap of faith. This is too coincidental. End of book is very interesting. Although the mole is caught,  it's not over. The snake will rear it's head in one of the subsequent books,  probably even the next one. 

Why did I read this book? Author.  

What did I like?  Idea.  

What I didn't like?  Allon's leap of faith. 

Recommend if you have read books in the series. Don't bother,  if not.