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Foreign Influence: A Thriller

Foreign Influence: A Thriller
Author: Brad Thor
Publisher: Atria
Category: eBooks


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Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 71 reviews
Sales Rank: 87

Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Edition: 1
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1

Dewey Decimal Number: 813
ASIN: B003BHM87C

Publication Date: June 10, 2010

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

Navy SEAL turned covert operative Scot Harvath is called to action once again in Brad Thor’s hottest political thriller yet.

Buried within the black ops budgets of the Department of Defense, a new spy agency has been created. Unfettered by the oversight of self-serving politicians, it reports only to a secret panel of military insiders. Its job is to target America’s enemies - both foreign and domestic - under a charter of three simple words: Find, Fix, and Finish.

Recruited as a field operative, Scot Harvath has just returned from his first assignment abroad when a bombing in Rome kills a group of American college students. The evidence points to a dangerous colleague from Harvath’s past and a plan for further attacks on an unimaginable scale.

Harvath is tasked with leveraging his relationship to lure the man out of hiding and kill him on the spot. But what if it is the wrong man?

Simultaneously, a young woman is struck by a taxi in a hit-and-run in Chicago. With only two intoxicated witnesses and over five thousand cabs in the city, the Chicago Police have given up on their investigation. But when the family’s attorney digs deeper, he will uncover a shocking connection to the bombing in Rome and the perpetrators’ plans for America.

As the story rockets to its conclusion, the plots intersect in a race to prevent one of the most audacious and unthinkable acts of war in the history of mankind.

Book Description
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

Navy SEAL turned covert operative Scot Harvath is called to action once again in Brad Thor’s hottest political thriller yet.

Buried within the black ops budgets of the Department of Defense, a new spy agency has been created. Unfettered by the oversight of self-serving politicians, it reports only to a secret panel of military insiders. Its job is to target America’s enemies - both foreign and domestic - under a charter of three simple words: Find, Fix, and Finish.

Recruited as a field operative, Scot Harvath has just returned from his first assignment abroad when a bombing in Rome kills a group of American college students. The evidence points to a dangerous colleague from Harvath’s past and a plan for further attacks on an unimaginable scale.

Harvath is tasked with leveraging his relationship to lure the man out of hiding and kill him on the spot. But what if it is the wrong man?

Simultaneously, a young woman is struck by a taxi in a hit-and-run in Chicago. With only two intoxicated witnesses and over five thousand cabs in the city, the Chicago Police have given up on their investigation. But when the family’s attorney digs deeper, he will uncover a shocking connection to the bombing in Rome and the perpetrators’ plans for America.

As the story rockets to its conclusion, the plots intersect in a race to prevent one of the most audacious and unthinkable acts of war in the history of mankind.

Here is the rest of the description:

Praise for Brad Thor:

“Quite possibly the next coming of Robert Ludlum.”
—Chicago Tribune, on The Last Patriot
"The Master of thrillers"
—Bookreporter.com
“One of the best thriller writers in the business."
—The Ottawa Citizen

Brad Thor, a graduate of the University of Southern California, has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security's Analytic Red Cell Program and is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Lucerne, Path of the Assassin, State of the Union, Blowback, Takedown, The First Commandment, The Last Patriot, The Apostle, and Foreign Influence. Visit his website at www.BradThor.com.



Customer Reviews:
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2 out of 5 stars formula novel   September 6, 2010
Blueshirt (NJ)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

not Mr. Thor's best work. The story had two major sub plots which tied together a little too conveniently


4 out of 5 stars A New Look at the War on Terror   September 6, 2010
Joshua Olds (Indiana)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Scot Harvath is back again for yet another adventure. This time, as part of a secret spy organization buried in the DoD's Black Ops budget, Harvath is playing outside the rules and taking down the bad guys the way he sees fit. Find. Fix. Finish.

Harvath has not even returned from one assignment when the bombing of a tourist bus in Rome throws him into the next. All roads lead to...not Rome in this case...but a colleague from Harvath's past called the Troll. But Harvath soon uncovers that the Rome bombing is only the beginning, and the Troll might not be the man they want.

In a second storyline, a cop who freelances as an attorney is investigating a routine hit-and-run in Chicago finds himself neck deep in trouble as he discovers how the taxi that hit his client's daughter is tied into the Rome bombing. The twin storylines play out in Europe and the States as the stakes get higher and the field more dangerous. The greatest terrorist plot in history is unfolding and only Harvath can stop.

Brad Thor is one of those perennial #1 NYT Bestselling authors. Despite that, I shall admit, this is my first foray into his high-octane political thrillers. Thor puts us in a world where the official forces, in the name of tolerance, are doing little to combat terrorists. Thus the job falls to Harvath, a member of a private organization funded with Black Ops cash, to be the hero and keep America safe.

Readers, no doubt, resonate with Harvath's kick-butt, no-rules vigilante attitude. While official forces might discuss ethics of waterboarding and torture, Harvath has no qualms with torturing his enemies for information - something made clear to us in several scenes. Thor also paints Islam in a generally negative light, and while I believe he portrayed the jihadists well, I think it would have been wise to also note the not all Muslims are jihadists. This mentality is perhaps best seen in the Chicago storyline when it's insinuated that the Islamic population of Chicago would do anything to protect the terrorists.

Overall, the action is intense as Thor keeps the pages moving. Interlaced humor keeps things from getting too grim. As a note, Thor uses violence and coarse language prolifically, though not to the point where it detracts from the story. On the surface level, Foreign Influence is an enjoyable read, but the underlying themes raise tough questions about how we should identify and take care of our enemies. Harvath makes torture look glamorous, but is it something we should engage in? Is Harvath's vigilante nature acceptable? As a social commentary, Thor might be implying that it is, or at the very least, is causing us to raise these questions.



2 out of 5 stars Who needs Glenn Beck with Brad Thor and Vince Flynn giving so much political commentary!   September 4, 2010
S. Seymour (Alexandria, VA United States)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

I've just finished Foreign Influence - a decent enough potboiler, but there are far better. I will admit my politics are certainly left of Thor (is that a mad up name or what) and a similar writer Vince Flynn. I can get behind some enemy bashing and tough guy action - it does appeal to our baser instincts. But how cliched for them to do the Jack Bauer/Dick Cheney piece every chapter or two. Both Thor and Flynn seem to be tough guy wannabes - read their bios. Thor touts being on the Homeland Security Analytic Red Cell Unit as some kind of credential - the unit is a group of novelists and other creative types who help the real antiterrorist actors by making up scenarios. Cool, hey. Vince Flynn talks about leaving being a salesman for a career in Marine aviation, but then does own up to being medically disqualified before even going to Officer Candidate School. So, let me get this right - that means he has less experience as a military aviator than I do from working for the US Air Force for 35 years and dating a lot of fighter pilots! Oh well, let the boys have their fun. But I'll take Nelson DeMille or Jack Higgins over these two anyday. Catch Thor and Flynn on Glenn Beck where they are reportedly regulars. I don't watch that show either.


4 out of 5 stars You don't have to read the previous books...   September 1, 2010
John O. Raab (Los Angeles, CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is the ninth book in the Scot Horvath series. The world is rocked by multiple terrorist attacks in Europe and there are more on the way including a possible attack on American soil. This is a very insightful look into covert ops and the restrictions that have been placed on our agencies that are hunting terrorist cells.

The action is non-stop as Horvath must not only figure out how to stop the imminent attacks, but deal with his own demons. The use of torture to extract information is vividly described and is the main tool in Horvath's arsenal. He will stop at nothing to prevent the attacks and his journey takes him all over the globe. You will not be disappointed in the frantic action and twists that permeate through this story.

Even though this is the ninth book in the series, you do not need to have read the previous books to know what is going on, but you will need to read "Foreign Influence" before the next novel in this series. We are cruelly left with a cliffhanger that only makes us thirsty to find out what happens next!

Reviewed by: Suspense Magazine
[...]



2 out of 5 stars mediocre but entertaining enough   August 30, 2010
Language Nut (usa)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

if you enjoy stereotypes of muslims as fanatical nutcases, and americans as idiots because of political correctness, you will probably enjoy this fast paced thriller. on the other hand, if mediocre writing bothers you don't bother. do we really need a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter? i was reminded of weekly soap operas! that said the story was interesting, and i just skimmed the very ridiculous and simplistic rants about muslims. written on kindle, where i have not mastered capitalization!


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