Guest Review: Black List

Summary: A stunning masterwork of action, intrigue, and ingenious plot twists.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor returns with his most explosive thriller ever. Somewhere deep inside the United States government is a closely guarded list. Members of Congress never get to see it—only the President and a secret team of advisers. Once your name is on the list, it doesn’t come off . . . until you’re dead.

Someone has just added counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath’s name.
Somehow Harvath must evade the teams dispatched to kill him long enough to untangle who has targeted him and why they want him out of the way.

Somewhere, someone, somehow can put all the pieces together. The only question is, will Harvath get to that person before the United States suffers the most withering terrorist attack ever conceived?

An intense, page-turning novel that is action-packed and frighteningly real, Black List blurs the line between fiction and reality and once again reaffirms why Brad Thor “is arguably the best thriller writer of our time” (Suspense Magazine) and “America’s favorite author” (KTTX). -- Atria

When I received a copy of BLACK LIST by Brad Thor, I immediately gave it to my father to read. While I've enjoyed some of Mr. Thor's books in the past, I figured my dad would not only appreciate it more than I would, but he'd also get to it faster. So, here are his thoughts:

BLACK LIST starts off with a very scary premise. The data we generate on a daily basis through credit card and banking transactions, text messages, phone calls, the internet, GPS and social networking can be collected, analyzed and stored by our government and used against us. The novel’s premise gains a bit of credibility when author Brad Thor states in his Author’s Notes: “All the technology contained in this novel is based on systems currently deployed, or in the final stages of development, by the United States government and its partners.”

Scot Harvath, Navy Seal turned special ops agent, is marked for death by the government when his name is added to a black list. The only way a name is removed from the black list is upon death. Harvath must avoid being killed while at the same time find out who is behind the plot to eliminate him and destroy the Carlton Group, a private counter-terrorism agency. As the story moves from Paris to Texas to Washington D.C., the question is whether Harvath finds them before they find him.

Harvath teams up with a computer expert, some old friends from his military days as well as a group of female special agents to find the truth. What he discovers is a sinister terrorist plot that could take down the government.

BLACK LIST is one of a series of novels that features Scot Harvath as the main character, but it’s not necessary to read the other books to enjoy this one. It is a fast paced page turner with a very believable plot that combines real facts with some creative fiction. Like most action thrillers there is plenty of killings, some quite gory. This book will definitely make you think about shutting down your Internet, throwing away your cell phone and quit using your GPS.

If you like political thrillers, continuous action, government plots and high-tech spy methods you’ll enjoy BLACK LIST.

Thanks to Booking Pap Pap for his insightful review and to the publisher for providing a review copy.