The Confessor

the guidance, support, and friendship of David Bull. Unlike the fictitious Gabriel Allon, David is truly one of the world's finest art restorers. His encyclopedic knowledge of art history, along with his experiences working in the restoration community of Venice, proved invaluable and inspirational and for that I am eternally in his debt. He answered all my questions, no matter how tedious, read my manuscript for accuracy, and never failed to make me laugh.
    Fred Francis, the award--winning NBC News correspondent, shared his experiences behind the walls of the Vatican and his memories of the turbulent years when Italy was caught in the grips of Red Brigades terror. Brian Ross, the brilliant ABC News investigative reporter, regaled me with stories about covering the less seemly
    side of the Vatican, including his infamous encounter with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, which resulted in Brian's actually being slapped by the Inquisitor. Columnist E. J. Dionne, who covered the Vatican for The New York Times, allowed me to pick his agile and analytical mind, as did Daniel Jonah Goldhagen. My cousins Axel Lorka and Stacey Blatt generously and humorously recounted their days at Adalbertstrasse 68, which allowed me to bring "an apartment in Munich" to life. Italian law enforcement authorities, who cannot be named, helped me to get the details of the country's security and police agencies as accurate as possible. A special thanks to the Israeli officials in Rome who lent me assistance as well.
    One of my dearest friends, journalist and author Louis Toscano, read my manuscript and, as always, made marked improvements. Columnist and MSNBC commentator Bill Press shared his memories of the School of Theology at the University of Fribourg and proofread my manuscript for accuracy on all things Catholic. Rabbi Mindy Portnoy of Temple Sinai in Washington, D.C., was an advisor and friend and managed to change my life for the better along the way.
    The evidence of Europe's new anti-Semitism is all too visible in Rome, where members of the Jewish community pray each evening in a synagogue surrounded by heavily armed carabinieri units. Like the Jews of Venice, they treated me kindly and provided me with experiences I will never forget. My tour guide in Venice, Valentina Ronzan of the Museo Ebraico di Venezia, showed me corners of the ancient ghetto no history book could reveal.
    While writing The Confessor, I consulted dozens of books, articles, and websites dealing with the papacy of Pope Pius XII, the Shoah, and the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Among those writers whose work proved especially helpful were John Cornwell,
    Susan Zuccotti, Garry Wills, David I. Kertzer, James Carroll, Michael Phayer, Gitta Sereny, Guenter Lewy, Michael Novak, Ronald Rychlak, Robert S. Wistrich, Kevin Madigan, Carl Bernstein, Thomas Reese, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Mark Aarons and John Loftus, Peter Hebblethwaite, and Tad Szulc. Without their meticulous scholarship, it would not have been possible for me to construct this work of fiction.
    I am fortunate to be represented by the finest agent in the business, Esther Newberg of International Creative Management, and as always her friendship, encouragement, and editorial suggestions were invaluable. Her talented assistant, Andrea Barzvi, was always there when I needed her. Also, a heartfelt thanks to the unbelievable team of professionals at Penguin Putnam: Carole Baron, Dan Harvey, Marilyn Ducksworth, and especially my editor, Neil Nyren, whose brilliant suggestions and steady hand made The Confessor a better book. His contribution was enormous, matched only by my gratitude.
    Finally, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my wife, Jamie, who listened patiently while I fleshed out my ideas, skillfully edited my early drafts, and helped me find the essence of the story when it eluded me. She made this one possible, and everything else for that-matter.
    Gabriel Allon returns in A Death in Vienna.
    The sins of the past reverberate into the present, in an extraordinary novel by the new master of international suspense.
    / will not tell all the things I saw. I cannot. I owe this much to the dead. The testimony of Irene Allon, March 19, 1957
    Art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is sent to Vienna to discover the truth behind the bombing of an old friend, but while there he encounters something that turns his world upside down. It is a face - a face that feels hauntingly familiar, a face that chills