The publisher's summary:
A devastating series of bombings tears through Bangkok. Scores of American citizens are dead. The attacks send shock waves around the world.
As global assistance pours into Thailand—including the FBI’s famed Evidence Response Team—the president of the United States quietly prepares a plan B: Scot Harvath, America’s top spy, trained to operate outside the law and probe the dark corners others can’t…or won’t.
But the bomber Harvath is pursuing isn’t a terrorist. He’s something far more dangerous—one of ours.
Meanwhile, in Washington, a former United States Marine is being hunted—and he has no idea why. Desperate for answers, he turns to the one person he still trusts—his ex-fiancée, a rising star in the White House. The problem is, she isn’t sure she can trust him.
As Harvath closes in on the bomber, a devastating truth begins to emerge. China has quietly deployed its most elite intelligence unit to Thailand. Their objective: to ignite chaos, trigger a military coup, and seize control of a narrow but critical piece of land, one that could give Beijing a decisive advantage.
If the plan succeeds, Beijing will secure a key gateway between two oceans, eroding American naval dominance and tipping the balance in any war between the world’s great powers.
China will control the ultimate geopolitical choke point.
The story opened with Kevin Koebler setting off a car bomb and then walking away. Each of the subsequent chapters alternate between Koebler's activities and Harvath's activities. Harvath's involvement began after a significant bomb was set off in Bangkok that resulted in the deaths of over three hundred people.
Harvath and his team of four were called in to the U. S. Embassy in Manila for a briefing on the disaster. The team was tasked with determining the identity of the bomber and then to capture him. The politics of the region were highlighted in the briefing. Thailand and neighboring Cambodia have been in a cold war for twenty years because of border disputes. If evidence of the involvement of the Cambodians was discovered there was a fear that the Thais would begin a war against them. While the blueprint of the bombs pointed toward a Cambodian bomb maker, Chinese men are always seen at the bombed out sites.
I was pleased to see that Scot Harvath's post spy career made much more sense in this installment of the series than in earlier novels. We read that he was recalled from retirement to help out in a mission in Thailand. Nothing more. I was glad there were no scenes with Harvath's new wife.
It seemed that the whydunnit of the story was based off the current Iran War. It even included a mention of the closing of Hormusz. However, I have been seeing ads for the book for at least five or six months. The timeline of the publication doesn't meet this test though. The mention of Iran and Hormusz was fleeting but the exact same scenario taking place in the Gulf of Thailand is ironic.
I always enjoy a Thai setting. In this story, it's the politics of the country that are described. There wasn't any depiction of the foods, architecture, or other cultural aspects of Thai society. I learned alot, though, about the politics of the areas surrounding Thailand.
Choke Point is a fast paced story with fascinating twists. It was an enjoyable read but the first half of the book lacked the suspense seen in the latter half. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.
