The Apostle by Brad Thor - Book Review

          Scott Harvath is back in another action packed adventure courtesy of Brad Thor.  Yes, Harvath is no longer working for the President of the United States because a new regime has taken over but that doesn’t stop him from taking another job. 

           in this case, Dr. Julia Gallo is working in Afghanistan and is kidnapped by the Taliban group.  The kidnapping is brutal and the tension only builds from there, leaving the reader wondering if Gallo would come out alive from her ordeal. 

           Enter Scott Harvath.  Stephanie Gallo, Julia’s mother, wants action and since she is a media mogul and a big donor to the President, she has the clout to get something done.  The President does not want to have a rescue but suggests that Harvath can pull this off without drawing too much attention. 

            In the meantime, there is a subplot going where an agent is launching an investigation to see if the President was responsible for the death of someone that worked for him.  It keeps the story moving along, making the reader wonder what will happen at the end. 

            In the meantime, Harvath is in Afghanistan, building his team.  Once he is ready, he’s taking on the Taliban and there are a lot of surprises along the way which bring the story to a great ending.  

            Harvath is a great character and his sense of humor along with how he handles his mission make for a great story.  At one point, during his battle, I thought back to Audie Murphy and how he was fighting off the Germans during WWII and saw some good parallels in this story. 

            As far as the other characters go, it is a great cast along with the agent who wants to get to the truth of how the President was responsible for the death of someone who worked for him.  Not sure if Thor meant to make a comparison with  Chappaquiddick.  

            Of course, we go into the mind of Harvath and see that he’s not happy with the President’s policies on terrorism, which seems to go after Barack Obama.  That’s to be expected since Harvath is fighting off terrorists even though this President wasn’t Barack Obama although I guess this President is supposed to be in sync with the Democrats on this.  

            Brad Thor’s books are usually five stars and this one is no exception.  If you’re into mystery, action with a good blend of comedy, then this book is for you. 


Ron Hummer