Choke Point

The Book in 1 Sentence

A series of bombings takes the team from one country to another, searching for the maker and the reasons why this American is involved.

Brief Review

This book was fun and an easy read. The action is well told, which is what I want from these books, but there seems to be a sprint through in the book. There are some good actions points and intelligence actions, but the side plots do not link up to the main story like the other books typically do. This book does do something different that we don't typically see in Brad Thor's books and that is the setup of a direct next book.

Why I Read this book

I have enjoyed most of the rest of the series. Why not continue?

In-Depth Review (Favorite Quotes)

So the main story line is really good. I think the idea of false flag attacks are something that are becoming more and more a part of our reality rather than something that was an idea once upon a time. To give some perspective, the CIA thought about killing US Civilians, blaming it on the Cubans, all for a justification to invade Cuba. President JFK said "Naw Fam" and then the CIA did some other stuff. We've seen something similar to this in For All Mankind at the end of Season 3. This book does something similar and something that I do think is quite a bit more realistic as it is against a country without as much of a presence in the intelligence world, but would have worldwide ramifications.

Brad Thor has always had a secondary plot line that ties into the main one. This one follows a Marine with PTSD and there is this huge setup that it was the reason he couldn't be trusted, but at the end, this justification is thrown away without really being discussed. I can't say much more without spoiling it, but the bigger issue is that it doesn't really tie into the main storyline. It is very self-contained and has no continued plot development outside those characters. Maybe that is what the book ending is all about.

That is where the biggest change is from the standard Brad Thor novel. Usually these end like an old-western. Scot rides off into the sunset waiting for his next mission. This time, there isn't a breath before "both cell phones went off." I think it has happened at least 1 other time, but either way it is nice change of pace.

Rating

I really enjoyed this story. It was simple in the complexity and storytelling, but it was fun. The action felt intentional and fair for the most part. There wasn't any point where I felt Scot was Superman like in Shadow of Doubt. I enjoyed the story and am very curious what is next in the series. I think the easy read makes this an 8, but just barely.

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