Edge of Honor by Brad Thor – a Scot Harvath novel – another slick page-turner
Table of Contents
My rating – 4 out of 5
Plot Summary – Edge of Honor
Back to my routine entertainment grind of action-heavy reads! This time it’s Scot Harvath and his recently married wife, Sølvi (who is an accomplished Agent of the Norwegian Special Forces), who return in ‘Edge of Honor’. The newly married couple is returning to Washington D.C. after a prolonged six-month honeymoon, in which they traveled all over the world. Scot is semi-retired from the private gig that he held after retiring from government service – Navy Seals and then the CIA. But just like the Tiger cannot survive by eating grass, Scot Harvath cannot survive behind a desk!
Like in real-life now, the US is at a moral and political crossroads when Scot and Sølvi return from their honeymoon. There is a new President in the White House, therefore a new administration ruling the country now. But not everyone is happy with President Mitchell, as he has softened his stance since his campaigning days – on America’s priorities. His detractors think that he should prioritize America first, the World after that. A powerful bunch of his erstwhile supporters are grumbling in private, maneuvering to either change his stance or change him!
It is in this backdrop that Sølvi gets roped in by her native Norwegians to provide security for the Norwegian Prime Minister, while she is in Washington to attend a NATO summit, while Scot is expected to wander around. Then things get hairy… A peaceful demonstration outside the US Vice President’s house gets shot up, killing people. An ex-Secretary of State, a good friend of Scot, is hunted near his residence. The perpetrators are unidentified, but they look domestic. Is a Civil War brewing? Will Scot be able to avoid getting pulled into this melee?
Of Course not! Scot is dragged into providing close protection to the ex-Secretary of State (he owes his life to him). The Secret Service, which is supposed to be providing security, has surprisingly pulled out of doing this. Scot ropes in a couple of friends from his private industry job to provide that close protection. Till the time the NATO summit doesn’t get over or the Secret Service has a change of heart. Thus, by sheer coincidence, both Scot and Sølvi are working around the summit and hoping that nothing goes wrong.
But if things went according to plan, what would we thriller novel readers do?? So the thriller Gods decide to mess up Scot and Sølvi’s best laid plans, and all hell breaks loose! Unable to differentiate between friend and foe, Scot has to rely on his instinct to keep the Secretary safe. There are moles in multiple government agencies working around the summit, maybe even in the Secret Service. The FBI is already investigating the shoot-out outside the VP’s residence, but the shadowy figures pulling the strings of this puppet show remain elusive.
Conclusion – Edge of Honor
Well, the plot is anything but unique, though the writing style is pacy. Once you begin reading this, it never lets go. The action rages on the streets of Washington and the suburbs around it. All the alphabet soup agencies do the political dance around the proverbial fire, trust is no longer unbreakable! Like the other books in this series (this is the 24th, by the way), it is fast, non-stop, breathtaking action. Reads almost like a Hollywood script, and I think that’s the direction that the author wants to go. Guess what, the audience is already waiting, so just keep ’em coming!
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Read the Goodreads review of Edge of Honor here
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