I have said this before, but it bears repeating. There is no author with his finger on the pulse of the global political landscape with the experience and background that Brad Thor brings to the game. He has held countless roles within the halls of government and deep espionage, and he freely releases much of what he knows in his terrific series featuring Scot Harvath.

Thor also brings with him a distinctly conservative approach to telling these stories, which is frankly refreshing. Additionally, he touches the heartstrings from the get-go with a dedication to his brother, Scot Thor, after whom Harvath is named.

"Brad Thor and his dynamic political thriller writing takes us by the throat and does not release its hold until he is completely done with us. This is another timely and insightful read from a master of the genre."

The action in CHOKE POINT is immediate and relentless. The opening scene features Kevin Kobler, a rogue former SEAL whose bomb-setting skills are at the center of a series of terrorist plots meant to create the highest level of political subterfuge and lead to a deadly global conflict. That is, until Harvath and his associates get involved.

Harvath recently has gotten married and has rejoined his longtime employer, The Carlton Group, who have him on a deep jungle reconnaissance mission in the Philippines when he is pulled out to address the bombing in Bangkok. Kobler, meanwhile, is a mercenary working for an unknown benefactor and has driven himself deep inside Bangkok’s dark underground to plan his next attack.

Harvath teams up with a former adversary, Rick Morrell, who he must be able to work with in order to prevent another terrorist attack that potentially could drive the U.S., China, Russia and other major political players into a dangerous game of global chess. Whoever is paying Kobler is doing so as part of a huge shell game to make intelligence of the U.S. and their allies believe that someone else is behind it in order to get an expected and possibly catastrophic reaction.

There is a second plot line featuring agents based in the U.S. who find themselves targeted by the same people behind Kobler and the bombings. They spend most of the novel on the run from dangerous assassins seeking to silence them. Meanwhile, Harvath and Morrell have made some rare missteps that not only has allowed the bomber to get away but also has cost the lives of some valuable and non-military team members who they vow to avenge.

Once Harvath and company figure out that they are being duped by the political shell game, with China being used as bait, they are able to respond accordingly with their own subterfuge. The goal is to keep their enemies believing that they are taking the bait while tirelessly working to smoke out Kobler before one of his bombs cost thousands of more lives. 

CHOKE POINT is aptly titled. Brad Thor and his dynamic political thriller writing takes us by the throat and does not release its hold until he is completely done with us. This is another timely and insightful read from a master of the genre.