by Brad Thor
Part of Scot Harvath, book 1
First published 2007
Secret Service agent Scot Harvath watches his team die in the Utah snow. The President has vanished, kidnapped during what should have been a routine ski trip. Official reports blame Middle Eastern terrorists, but Harvath knows better. As the sole survivor, he becomes the perfect scapegoat when a murder frame pins him as the inside man. Harvath goes rogue, following leads that take him across the Atlantic to Switzerland's frozen peaks. There he partners with Claudia Mueller from the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office. Together they climb the deadly heights of Mount Pilatus, where the real conspirators wait. The mountain harbors professional killers unlike any the world has seen. Harvath must use every skill from his Navy SEAL training to survive the subzero assault and expose the truth. His fight becomes personal as the conspiracy reaches deeper into the government than he imagined. The mission to rescue the President transforms into a battle for Harvath's own survival.
Genres: adventure, mystery, thriller, action, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, rogue-agent
Setting: Mount Pilatus, Switzerland, Utah
Period: Contemporary
Audio CD · Simon & Schuster Audio
Content warnings: violence