Review of "Trophy Target: A Lethal Solutions Thriller," by Allen Mitchum

Review of

Trophy Target: A Lethal Solutions Thriller, by Allen Mitchum ISBN 9780615959283

Five out of five stars

 This book is a great thriller and it features a military that rarely appears in such books, that of Denmark. Michael Rohde is the Crown Prince of Denmark and following tradition, serves in the Danish military. However, against his wishes, he is kept out of all possible combat action. Headstrong, he enlists in the French Foreign Legion and is sent to French Guiana, where his unit is assigned to stopping illegal gold mining.

 Since he takes his job seriously and is effective in stopping the mining, Michael is kidnapped while on a routine patrol. While being held by the mining group, he is snatched by an Islamic group based in Afghanistan, where there is a Danish contingent among the NATO forces. This makes him the trophy target. Michael’s younger brother Erik has no confidence in the Danish government, so he recruits top mercenary Fadi Khaldun to track down and free Michael. 

 After the initial action in French Guiana, it moves back and forth between Denmark and Afghanistan. In Denmark, high officials of the government engage in disloyal machinations that they hope will lead to their goal of the Danish forces being withdrawn from Afghanistan. Khaldun tries to operate alone in Afghanistan, but the inherent instability with local warlords and insular tribes that fight each other prevent him from doing so.

 After some intense action and many deaths, some at the hands of Khaldun, but much due to Afghan on Afghan conflicts, the final battle commences. Elements of the Danish military are involved in the final battle that pits warlord against warlord.

 While there is a satisfactory ending in Brazil where a traitor gets what they deserve, there is a serious flaw in that scene. A fugitive is in a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but the author has him learning and speaking Spanish from watching local TV so that he can function there. The problem with this is that Portuguese is the language of Brazil, not Spanish. Not getting the language of a country right is a mistake that I have encountered before and it always puzzles me when it happens.