On the snow-covered slopes of Utah, the President of the United States has been kidnapped and his Secret Service detail massacred. Only one agent has survived -- ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath. He doesn't buy the official line that Middle Eastern terrorists are behind the attack and begins his own campaign to find the truth and exact revenge. But now, framed for murder by a sinister cabal, Harvath takes his fight to the towering mountains of Switzerland -- and joins forces with beautiful Claudia Mueller of the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office. Together they must brave the subzero temperatures and sheer heights of treacherous Mount Pilatus -- where their only chance for survival lies inside the den of the most lethal team of professional killers the world has ever known....
In this incredibly fast-paced thriller, a conspiracy hatched close to the Oval Office results in the kidnapping of the president and the slaughter of a company of Secret Service agents commanded by ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath. The story careers from the ski slopes of Utah to the top of Switzerland's Mount Pilatus and sets Scot on an impossible mission: recover the president, evade renegade Swiss spy Gerhard Miner and his cadre of trained agents, and elude the American conspirators who are hot on his trail. Framed for murder, his reputation in tatters, his former colleagues turned against him, Harvath finds an unlikely ally in a beautiful Swiss prosecutor who's been checkmated by Miner once too often. Together they play a high-stakes game of mixed "doubles" to save the president and uncover the conspiracy. Brad Thor's debut novel is a tightly wound spy tale that makes up in excitement what it lacks in subtlety and character development. Ludlum fans will love it. --Jane Adams
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Clever:
Do not pass this book up. I do agree with another reviewer that the protagonist is somewhat too good to be true. It is easy to get past that. The plot is clever, and the villains were well developed. The action is great. I can't wait to read another Thor.
Relentless Thriller:
This was my first Brad Thor novel and I absolutely loved it from cover to cover. This book had amazing action and adventure sometimes maybe a little over the top but hey it is a work of fiction. Scott Harvath is a great character, very resoureful but yet not a comic book superhero like some fictional characters are. As any novel that deals with politics it is going to have its down time(ie: The Bourne Identity which is one of my favorite books) but it was short and right back to the fast past action. If you... more info
Bold & Believable:
I am always prepared to make allowances for an author's first efforts, but didn't have to in this case. With a bold and plausible plot right out of today's headlines, I found this book to be an exciting and realistic read. Scot Harvath is a rare hero, driven to accomplish the mission, with the willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done, yet he is likable and thoughtful. I bought the first two books, was halfway through the second and ordered the rest from Amazon. I am now on book for, and it... more info
A time-filler, nothing more:
In Brad Thor's first thriller, the U.S. President gets kidnapped, the hero is implicated, and a round-the-world chase shortly follows. *Yawn* Forgive me for being bored, but this book felt a bit too formulaic for me. There are undoubtably flashes of brilliance here and there, but overall it is a very average thriller. One of the biggest annoyances I had with this book was the lack of credibility. Though the plot is obviously far-fetched, you want to be able to believe that the events described are... more info
