Like Pelecanos, Brad Thor (visit www.BradThor.com. it's about the coolest website for an author I've ever seen) is part of my power rotation and I would be hard pressed to find his latest lacking. Every one has been a winner (no joke, e v e r y one). Thor introduced his key character, Scot Harvath in Lions of Lucern where he rescues a kidnapped president. His subsequent thrillers have been no less exciting and I eagerly await each new arrival. His summer release is The Apostle - operatives who, in the name of country, have gone beyond being a true believer in their love and commitment to country and should be called an Apostle.America has a new president whose goal is to make the US a member of the world community and not the bully policeman of the post cold war (sound familiar? guessing Thor is a card carrying Republican). As part of the revamping, the president's personal anti-terrorist army headed by Harvath is dismantled. The president is in office largely due to the financial and moral support of Stephanie Gallo, a filthy rich newspaper mogul. Stephanie's daughter is a physician doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan and gets kidnapped by the Taliban because they realize the connection to Washington. The ransom is a high ranking Al Qaeda operative being held by the Afghan government. Momma Gallo wants the president to go against US policy and negotiate her daughter's release. If not, she will use her position in the media to reveal the president's role in a cover up of a car accident during the campaign that killed 4 locals up on Long Island. Problem is that a secret service agent overhears the threat. Forced into a corner, the president asks Harvath to do that voodoo that he do so well.
Of course, the US government will have nothing to do with the mission and Ms. Gallo pays for the whole thing. Using old colleagues in the anti-terrorist underground working 'security' in Kabal, Harvath hatches a plan not to exchange Dr. Gallo for the Al Qaeda boss, but to grab the terrorist from government prison and keep him on ice then follow the trail to Dr. Gallo and rescue her while handing the bad guy off to the CIA for a little debriefing.
As with all good thrillers, plans never go as anticipated. Harvath and crowd repeatedly have to improvise with the help of the Canadian version of the Airborne Rangers and the massive firepower that comes with the territory . . . and they are really good.
There actually are two parallel stories going on. Harvath's rescue of Dr. Gallo and the secret service agent tracking digging into the car wreck that happened during the campaign. In some ways, I actually liked the agent's investigation over Harvath's mission. When the facts come to light and the president is confronted, the outcome could go any number of ways.
I am a fan of Thor's work. The stories are believable and realistic, rich in detail, atmosphere, and body count. He reserves high praise for the honor, integrity, and courage of the ordinary Afghan, most of whom hate both the Taliban and Al Qaeda. His description of Afghan life and society brings insights into the tribal loyalties that NBC Nightly News never gets close to. The book starts off in the fast lane and explodes into high gear in Afghanistan. The reader is tempted to speed read and turn the pages faster just to see what is next. No kidding, it's that good. In the world of political thrillers, Thor may not be in a class by himself, but it sure doesn't take long to call the roll.
East Coast Don
p.s. for all the latest in the Thriller writing biz, visit www.ThrillerWriters.org
Another take on this book that EC Don already posted in 7/09 -- and I agree with him that this one is a winner.
ReplyDeleteScot Horvath is the primary character again, and he is involved in the attempted rescue of a beautiful American doctor, Julia Gallo, who has been traveling in Afghanistan where she has been doing various humanitarian relief efforts and stirring up anti-Taliban sentiments among native women when she was captured by the Taliban. Her mother, Stephanie Gallo, happens to be a primary figure in the new U.S. President’s campaign and is a policy advisor, potentially a cabinet member. She is pulling strings, effectively blackmailing the President, Alden, to pull out all stops to rescue her daughter. That is how Horvath is brought into the mess. Stephanie Gallo had been against all forms of covert action during the campaign, but now she needs help of the very kind of character that she had ranted about before. The political intrigue gets pretty good when it turns out that another younger beautiful woman, Nikki Hale, was killed during the election when she was leaving a fund raiser held by the first woman, both of these women being deeply resented by the new first lady. Hale’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, and when she crossed the certain line on the road, she killed all four members of a family. In Afghanistan, Horvath mounts an operation that involves, supposedly, trading a high Taliban operative, for the doctor. But, the guy is a terrorist that the no one wants to give up, especially Horvath. So, the action moves effective back and forth between the events in D.C., and the events in Afghanistan. It is a pretty fast moving story, definitely worth the read.
WC Don