“In the days after Harvath returned to the United States, the word proportional was discussed … at the White House, at the State Department, at the CIA, and at the Pentagon. The other word, spoken only within the President’s closet circle, was vengeance. It certainly lacked sophistication. It also lacked diplomatic polish. But it was accurate. The United States wanted revenge. And it would have it.”
Scot Harvath, former U.S. Navy Seal and the President’s personal attack dog, is back in Brad Thor’s latest book, Foreign Agent, and he’s pissed off. Information that he provided has lead to the death of 13 Americans when ISIS overruns their CIA safe house in Iraq.
Getting answers to how and why this happened takes him from Vienna, Brussels, Berlin, Malta, Jordon, and finally to Syria. And along the way Scot must use all his training and intelligence if he hopes to thwart Russia’s plan, which through subterfuge and deception, hopes to draw the USA into committing troops to Syria to fight against ISIS.
Brad Thor once said “When you grow up with a name like Brad Thor, people expect you to be 6-foot-4 and a pile of muscles.” Interesting enough neither Brad nor Harvath are even close to 6-foot- 4 though Harvath does seem to have Thor-like qualities.
Thor does give us a brief glimpse into the human side of Harvath by bringing to life his relationship to Lara when she tells him: “If you’ve come this far in life without finding the right person, the problem isn’t them, it’s you.” Other than that Harvath is up to his typical shoot-first-who-cares-about-questions antics.
As in many of his books there’s also a subplot of a spineless, feckless politician, Senator Daniel Wells, who “just doesn’t get it.” As usual you can’t wait for him to get his comeuppance and a smile will cross your face when he finally does. It has all the hallmarks of what we’ve come to expect from Thor; action, intrigue, suspense, current events, and then some more action.
My only criticism of the book is also the reason why I like it so much. You never have the worry that Harvath might die. No matter how outgunned or outmanned, Harvath always survives the battle. There’s no concern that he might step on a land mine, there’s only the thrill of watching him unleash deadly mayhem and destruction and I can never get enough of mayhem and destruction.
A wonderful summer read. Just make sure you clear your calendar before you start, as it’s impossible to put down.
Foreign Agent, by Brad Thor; Emily Bestler Books 335 pages, $14.97 Hardcover/$13.99 Kindle
