This is a breakthrough novel for Brad Thor. His work on this book places him into the very good category of writers of thrillers and positions him to move into the ranks of the great.The plot: Scot Harvath, a trouble-shooter for the President of the United States, is suckered by Khalid Alomari, a henchman of Osama bin Laden, into an Al Jazeera videotaping which apparently shows him beating up an innocent Muslim merchant on the streets of Baghdad. This careless mistake, the resultant world outrage, and the opportunistic maneuvering of a clever woman U.S. senator, who wants to be president, force Scot to resign and prepare to go into hiding to avoid the senator's wrath and revenge.But before Scot can get away, events begin to pile up on the President; and he is forced to call upon Scot for help. An U.S. Army combat team, looking for missing American relief workers, finds itself in a village in northern Iraq where most of the Christian inhabitants have died in a ghastly fashion from some sort of highly contagious outbreak. Only Muslim residents survive. U.S. agents determine that the villagers have been intentionally infected. Some of the soldiers soon succumb to the same illness. Then, one by one, Muslim scientists who worked on an international research project begin to die in apparent accidents. Because of this intricate interweaving of setbacks, because he is not one to toss away loyalty and effectiveness, and because he knows that the U.S. is facing its greatest danger ever, the President decides that Scot is the person with the necessary attributes and background to save the United States. Scot and a handful of resourceful specialists race from point to point around the world and from disaster to disaster to carry out this mission.Author Brad Thor does a masterful job of designing a plot that keeps readers interested and in suspense as he has his protagonist et al try to solve the deadly problems they encounter. The relationship between Scot and Jillian Alcott, the female lead character, is particularly well done. Thor keeps the interaction close and professional, but not romantic. Jillian and several of the other characters deserve revisiting in future novels.Best of all, however, is the author's thorough, precise research. Thor presents a realistic assessment of the Saudi Arabian dilemma, delineates the Sunni vs. Shia division of Muslims, and gives an enlightening history of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden (author's spelling). He provides insights into a multitude of topics, including the history of Hannibal of Carthage, exotic reptiles, and ancient warfare technologies.His clear-headed discussions of the Muslim world are perhaps even more valuable than his considerable contribution in this book as a writer of good fiction.
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