The Lions of Lucerne

In a daring and chilling debut, Brad Thor draws us into a sinister labyrinth of political intrigue and international terrorism, serving up an explosive cocktail of unrelenting action -- and a shattering climax -- as one man is pushed to the edge.

On the snow-covered slopes of Utah, the unthinkable has just become a nightmarish reality: thirty Secret Service agents have been viciously executed and the vacationing president of the United States is kidnapped by one of the most lethal terrorist organizations in the Middle East -- the dreaded Fatah.

But one man, surviving agent and ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath, doesn't believe the Fatah is responsible for the attack. Driven by his professional code of duty and honor -- and a solemn vow to avenge his fallen comrades -- Scot creates his own rules to get some answers. But his search for the truth raises the blood pressure of his superiors...and casts his own life in mortal jeopardy. The deadly machinations have been set in motion by a shadowy coalition, comprising some of the highest-ranking officials in government and business -- men who operate above the law, men who realize the threat Scot poses to their hidden agenda...men who will do anything to stop him.

Now framed for murder and on the run, Scot goes for broke and takes his own brand of justice to the unlikeliest place of all -- the towering mountains of Switzerland. It is there that he finds an improbable ally in the beautiful Claudia Mueller of the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office. Together they must brave the subzero temperatures and sheer heights of treacherous Mount Pilatus -- and enter the den of the most notorious team of professional killers the world has ever known.

Amazon.com Review
In this incredibly fast-paced thriller, a conspiracy hatched close to the Oval Office results in the kidnapping of the president and the slaughter of a company of Secret Service agents commanded by ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath. The story careers from the ski slopes of Utah to the top of Switzerland's Mount Pilatus and sets Scot on an impossible mission: recover the president, evade renegade Swiss spy Gerhard Miner and his cadre of trained agents, and elude the American conspirators who are hot on his trail. Framed for murder, his reputation in tatters, his former colleagues turned against him, Harvath finds an unlikely ally in a beautiful Swiss prosecutor who's been checkmated by Miner once too often. Together they play a high-stakes game of mixed "doubles" to save the president and uncover the conspiracy. Brad Thor's debut novel is a tightly wound spy tale that makes up in excitement what it lacks in subtlety and character development. Ludlum fans will love it. --Jane Adams

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Clever, 2008-10-06
Do not pass this book up.

I do agree with another reviewer that the protagonist is somewhat too good to be true. It is easy to get past that. The plot is clever, and the villains were well developed. The action is great. I can't wait to read another Thor.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Relentless Thriller, 2008-09-29
This was my first Brad Thor novel and I absolutely loved it from cover to cover. This book had amazing action and adventure sometimes maybe a little over the top but hey it is a work of fiction. Scott Harvath is a great character, very resoureful but yet not a comic book superhero like some fictional characters are. As any novel that deals with politics it is going to have its down time(ie: The Bourne Identity which is one of my favorite books) but it was short and right back to the fast past action. If you are looking for a great political thriller that you can actually follow you will not be disappointed with this novel.


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Bold & Believable, 2008-09-03
I am always prepared to make allowances for an author's first efforts, but didn't have to in this case. With a bold and plausible plot right out of today's headlines, I found this book to be an exciting and realistic read. Scot Harvath is a rare hero, driven to accomplish the mission, with the willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done, yet he is likable and thoughtful. I bought the first two books, was halfway through the second and ordered the rest from Amazon. I am now on book for, and it only is getting better.


0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

A time-filler, nothing more, 2008-06-24
In Brad Thor's first thriller, the U.S. President gets kidnapped, the hero is implicated, and a round-the-world chase shortly follows. *Yawn* Forgive me for being bored, but this book felt a bit too formulaic for me. There are undoubtably flashes of brilliance here and there, but overall it is a very average thriller.

One of the biggest annoyances I had with this book was the lack of credibility. Though the plot is obviously far-fetched, you want to be able to believe that the events described are within the realm of possibility. I wanted to believe Mr. Thor's yarn, but his descriptions of utah mormons (towards the beginning) obviously played to certain stereotypes. As a member of the LDS church, I was disappointed to see a blatant misrepresentation of what we believe. Though it was a fairly little thing, the author obviously didn't do his research and it caused me to question his later descriptions of the CIA, FBI, and Swiss government. Bigger than that though, the book read like it was National Treasure. I just couldn't take anything seriously.

I don't expect huge things from a thriller, but this book fell below my expectations. There were a few parts that were enjoyable. Aside from a few cliches, the dialogue wasn't awful. The constant action also made for some fun parts. In closing, there was enough here to cause me to look at another Brad Thor book, but this certainly wasn't one of the best.


0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Not What I Was Hoping For, 2008-06-12
Any comparisons to Vince Flynn or Robert Ludlum are WAY off base. The dialog was brutal, at times cringe-inducing, the storytelling weak. The main character (Harvath) is not compelling at all, the rest of the characters are one dimensional. Perhaps Thor gets better in later books, but I'll take Mitch Rapp any day of the week over Harvath. Was a chore to complete....

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