FOREIGN AGENT

"If there was an Academy Award for evil, ISIS would have taken home an Oscar."

Yep, you can tell from that quote it's another tale of espionage, terrorism and spies from the king of the genre, much of it set in countries where the only green is the caps of U.S. soldiers. Yep, readers will have to withstand the author's strong political viewpoints as always. But since I've gone on record as not being fond of his settings or his viewpoints (I don't like being "preached" at in books, even when I'm in agreement), why do I bother reading his books?

Because, doggone it, they're good. This one's no exception; I had trouble putting it down and polished it off in near record time. The "hero," Scot Harvath, used to be a Navy SEAL and works for an exclusive private intelligence company that's often called in by the CIA and the U.S. President; if clandestine operations go south, no one will ever learn of any "connection" to the U.S. government.

And this time, the President is on the warpath. An American team grabbing a little much-needed R&R in what should have been a safe area near Syria is ambushed, and all investigative fingers point to one particular informant. Then comes another big-time ambush, followed by still another attack much closer to home. Harvath, who's just starting to think about settling in to a relatively normal life, gets the call to head out and get to the bottom of things. Protecting his country trumps all else, so he heads out (if a bit reluctantly). The journey takes him across several borders, putting his life in danger and his considerable skills to the test.

Along the way he meets up with a few interesting characters, both male and female, who just may make appearances in future books. His teammates, such as interrogator extraordinaire Valla (trust me, you don't want to be on the receiving end of his expertise). Once the world is safe for democracy, at least for the moment, the ending hints at a scenario that could change the course of Harvath's life as readers know it.

Now, all the loose ends have been tied up and I've closed my Kindle on this book. Well, all except for one burning question: Who the hell drinks a double Maker's Mark on the rocks through a straw?

Foreign Agent by Brad Thor (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, June 2016); 335 pp.