Ed Hahn (USA: MT) (2009/07/16): I love thrillers, especially spy thrillers but this offering was a great disappointment.The plot has more "coincidences" than you would hear about at a Deja Vu Society meeting. Scott Harvath, Secret Service superman, just happens to have a disguise in his safety deposit box given to him, unasked, by a grateful friend. He just happens to have a good friend in Interlaken, Switzerland who just happens to be renovating her hotel so he can stay there unnoticed. A friendly White House aide just happens to be friends with a gay man who has all kinds of information needed to crack the case and just happens to call Scott to help. Scott just happens to be in his boss's office when they are all called to the White House situation room where Scott can be the only person who knows what's going to happen. And so it goes.... to quote Kurt Vonnegut. The characters are pure cardboard. The villains could not be more evil. The Secret Service agents could not be more dedicated. The F.B.I. agents could not be more incompetent. The Swiss prosecuting attorney could not be more beautiful and also be an accomplished climber when they need to ascend a Swiss mountain. And Scott...well he's damn near perfect and manages to survive an avalanche while saving the President's daughter's life, three or four assassination attempts, a number of thorough beatings, and a fall off a mountain all the while avoiding being captured by thousands of law enforcement personnel dedicated to catching him. What a guy! On the positive side the action is unremitting and the story moves at breakneck speed, which explains how I was able to finish the book. Dirk Pitt of Clive Cussler's series has nothing on Scott Harvath. They both strain credulity to the limit and beyond. I have one of Thor's later books and will try it to see if his writing improved.
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