Black Ice by Brad Thor

Most of the big time thriller heros are getting up there in age. Jack Ryan. Mitch Rapp. Scot Harvath, Bob Lee Swagger, Jack Reacher, et al. They’ve all been at it for 20+ years. And all the havoc they’ve created is showing as most seem to be more introspective and leaning towards cutting back on saving humanity from itself.

Scot Harvath has lost how many friends, girlfriends, wife (or is it wives?). In his last mission (Near Dark), he met up a Norwegian operative, Solvi Kolstad, now a Deputy Director of the Norwegian Intelligence Service. They are moving ahead with their relationship with Scot spending more and more time in Norway while he considers the Nordic way of life together. And that means making a decision: return to active duty (so to speak) or resign.

Sitting at a sidewalk café, he recognizes a man get out of a taxi that can’t be. It’s a man he knows he killed years ago. Alive and in Norway? He’s got to know. And he knows Solvi could provide vital information while he tries to track down this dead man, but in doing so, could well end Solvi’s NIS career.Surveilling citizens is as much a no-no in Norway as it is in the US.

Scot has two tasks ahead of him. Find out the identity of this guy and find out what he is doing in Oslo. But those answers are just the beginning when we learn that the Russians and the Chinese are working on something that will put a serious dent in the US’s ability to monitor polar traffic, both physical and digital.

As usual, politics come into play. Like an American operative, thought to be ‘on leave’ being activated within the borders of a friendly NATO country. And in doing so, any actions taken against what appears to be a legitimate Russian/Chinese ‘business’ could well be considered to be an act of war, especially if SEALs are involved. Any failure of the hush-hush aspects done by Harvath and his team will have enormous geopolitical repercussions. Not to mention, Norway wouldn’t be all that happy by being left out of the loop and could expel Harvath and that would kill any future he and Solvi might have.

The key element is that any action must look accidental. Man vs. Nature way north in the Arctic Circle where Nature wins.

This makes the 20^th Brad Thor thriller I’ve read. Spotted #1, The Lions of Lucerne during a random stroll through the stacks at the local library and haven’t looked back. All are first rate thrillers (OK, maybe The Athena Project was a rare misstep). One of the great things about the Harvath storyline is that Thor makes sure to take Harvath’s aging into account (something Lee Child doesn’t do as well with Jack Reacher). And in this one, Harvath spends considerable time weighing his happiness vs. his love of country. For followers of Harvath, that alone is a major plot line that will hold our interest. But the action is pretty cool, too.

Thanks to the good folks at Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advance reader copy. Just did go on sale August 1, 2021. And don't forget to check out West Coast Don's review. Not often we review the same title.

East Coast Don