1. The Ice Axe Among the opening scenes in SHADOW OF DOUBT is a chilling murder by a mysterious assailant wielding an ice axe. This iconic weapon, typically a mountaineering tool used to navigate snow, ice, and frozen terrain, was the same one used by the assassin sent by Joseph Stalin to kill Leon Trotsky on August 20, 1940. The...
1. Number Six Penal Colony Scot Harvath is fighting a division of The Wagner Group called the Ravens in DEAD FALL. Many of the members of this brutal group of mercenaries were pulled from Russia’s notorious penal colony Number Six. Built along the border with Kazakhstan, the prison dates back to the 1700’s. Every criminal at Number Six is considered...
1. Ladakh Scouts The dramatic opening scene in RISING TIGER unfolds as Chinese soldiers launch a surprise attack on Indian troops in the Galwan Valley, where Ladakh Scouts rush into the fight. Known as “Snow Warriors,” or “Snow Tigers,” these soldiers are among the Indian Army’s most fearsome and decorated regiments.They specialize in mountain warfare and their primary charge is...
Polar Security Cutter Program Scot Harvath discovers China’s plans for their first nuclear icebreaker (Russia’s fleet is already atomic-powered), as he delves in to understand what these two countries might be up to together in BLACK ICE. Lagging far behind both China and Russia in terms of Arctic presence, and hence, influence, with a woefully weak fleet of two aging...
Jeger Troop A turning point in the life of Sølvi Kolstad, Scot Harvath’s ally in NEAR DARK, came when she was invited to join Norway’s all-female Special Forces pilot program that would come to be known known as Jeger Troop. Named after the Norwegian word for huntress, Jeger Troop was set up in 2014, when the war in Afghanistan created...