The Icarus Agenda by Robert Ludlum

Colorado Congressman Evan Kendrick is trying to live out his term quietly when a political mole reveals his deepest secret: Kendrick was the anonymous hero who freed the hostages held by Arab terrorists in the American embassy in Masqat, and then silently disappeared.

Now, brought into the light, Kendrick is a target, pursued by the terrorists he once outwitted. Together with the beautiful woman who saved his life, Kendrick enters a deadly arena where the only currency is blood, where frightened whispers speak of violence yet to come, and where the fate of the free world may ultimately rest in the powerful hands of a mysterious figure known only as the Mahdi.

Thoughts:

The other day, we were going through the books in the house, and the phantom whispers of this story would not leave me. I kept telling everyone don’t they remember the story of the congressman who did not want to be one and ended up on an adventure in the Middle East, and was saved by a beautiful woman. We searched for it for two hours, even tried a web search, then I found it on a shelf with my favorite books, and I just had to reread it. Ludlum books are always a hit, and if you’ve read or watched the Bourne books, then you know they are the ultimate experience of action and mystery.

I loved rediscovering Evan Kendrick and his lone wolf sense of justice. This character is so lovable that you root for him before you realize that you are, and since it has been a long time since I read this one, it was like rediscovering a great, unlikely hero.

The state of the family copy of this book is a testament to how we have all thumbed through it. It’s also time to break out the arts-n-crafts session to make a new cover for this copy.