“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

These wise words from the great Oscar Wilde are not only pure in their marked brevity, they also can be applied to any good political thriller. Brad Thor chose this quote to open the latest installment in his superior Scot Harvath series, SHADOW OF DOUBT.

The book's cover depicts a flag at half-staff in front of the Capitol. Once again, there is a global chess game at play with potential consequences that could be more lethal than anyone could possibly imagine. It is no wonder that former Special Ops officer and current CIA agent Scot Harvath would be called upon. But this time, he will have to make some difficult personal and moral decisions that will impact his own actions and the fate of millions.

"SHADOW OF DOUBT...is so well written and plotted that only a writer of Thor’s caliber is capable of pulling off the heart-pounding suspense that drives this entire novel."

Five Russian aircrafts have entered Belarusian airspace and have a special delivery with them. They are carrying shipments of missiles and bombs three times more powerful than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The implications of this act go far beyond the current war with Ukraine and puts the U.S. and their allies on high alert.

Not by coincidence, Sølvi Kolstad, Harvath’s girlfriend and a member of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, is part of an operation involving a Russian defector who will play a big role in the political games that have just begun. Harvath must make a quick decision to support Sølvi while still having the best interests of his own country in mind. He has always lived by the SEAL maxim that the only easy day was yesterday, and when tasked with an assignment, the only option is success. Representing the CIA, Harvath knows that the Russian defector is Leonid Grechko. What he needs to ascertain is how he can be of service to the U.S. based on the recent developments with Russia.

When Sølvi and her team are attacked at a safehouse, she recognizes that someone on the inside of her own agency may have leaked their whereabouts. She now turns to Harvath and his colleagues from the Carlton Group to assist with a mission that will get Grechko in touch with a Russian woman named Inessa Surkova. Grechko knows all about Harvath’s revenge campaign against the Russians responsible for the murder of his wife. He also is aware that Harvath did not get to make everyone pay and can point him in the right direction if he can communicate with Inessa.

Meanwhile, in the middle of Paris, a powerful French national is found brutally murdered in his apartment. Agent Karine Brunelle does not believe that Jean-Jacques Jadot was the victim of a random burglary and launches a full investigation. The conspiracy that she and her team uncover will shake the entire global political landscape and play directly into the narrative with Harvath. I must say that the chapters depicting the City of Light are so detailed and full of nuance that they could have been written by Cara Black, which is the highest praise I can give.

The conflagration that is about to be lit in the final act of this dynamic and chilling book comes from the three-way collision of storylines: Harvath and Sølvi’s Russian mission with Grechko, Brunelle’s Paris investigation, and the White House's response to everything that's going on.

I have long been a fan of Brad Thor and lauded his work as the finest political thrillers in the business. SHADOW OF DOUBT validates this assertion and is so well written and plotted that only a writer of Thor’s caliber is capable of pulling off the heart-pounding suspense that drives this entire novel.