The First Commandment by Brad Thor, 2007
Paperback. 500 pages. $9.99
Written by Rich Rogers
Brad Thor’s 2007 thriller is eerily prescient of the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner exchange from earlier this year. As you remember, President Obama authorized the release of five terrorist prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for one US soldier who had been held by the Taliban since 2009. (And the situation is still festering with investigations why Congress was left out of the loop, among other things.)
Here, the US president is blackmailed into releasing five terrorists from Gitmo, breaking the first commandment of anti-terrorism: Never negotiate with terrorists. Within days of the release, friends and family of anti-terrorism agent Scott Harvath are being targeted. That makes it personal. To make matters worse, Harvath is ordered directly by the President–a man whose life he had saved, along with that of his daughter–to stand down and not interfere with the investigation.
Harvath can’t just step aside while friends and family members are being attacked. As Hamlet said, “Something is rotten in Denmark.” And it’s off to the races but first he’s got to figure out who’s targeting him, and then why, and figure out the next move.
Thor delivers a high-stakes, high-octane cat and mouse game that spans the US from one end of the continent to the other, and the globe in fact, moving from Brazil to the Middle East. In the process, an order from the highest level is issued to bring him in, dead or alive.
He’s good at keeping things tense and not giving away too much information and yet not leaving the reader feeling cheated. He introduces a couple new characters here that I’m hoping have continued to be used throughout the series. (Yes I know at times I’m reviewing older titles. Part of that is what I brought with me to Italy–and the cost of books here–a lot more than in the States just like most everything else–and sometimes we all like going back and reading some older stuff.)
I have to say one thing that left me confused was using FedEx to ship guns constantly through the book. I guess I don’t know about gun laws, but I trust his research, and knowledge.The issues he raises are definitely interesting. Why would a president allow himself to be pushed into something like this? (And then it makes one ask questions about the current president’s motivations.) You also ask just how far you’d go in protecting your loved ones as well as the nation you love.
All in all, it is an excellent mystery/thriller, and definitely worth your time. Trust me it’s time well-spent and the book reads very fast.
