Book #99 Matterhorn by Christopher Reich

 

Matterhorn

Christopher Reich

 Released: April 1st, 2024

My 42nd book for 2025 was Christopher Reich’s "Matterhorn".  

My best friend Tim recommended me another great read.  This time around, it was the first book in a newer spy thriller series featuring a character named Mac Dekker.

The book was well written, and there's a lot of tension and drama that follows.

The story follows the death of an American agent on the Matterhorn.  Will Dekker was carrying information that revealed a secret plot by Russians agents to poison the water supply in various countries, with a chemical that causes death in 10 seconds to millions of people.  Their test target is scheduled to be Ukraine.  As American agents led by Mac Dekker race against the clock to solve this mystery, the action jumps all over Switzerland.

The killer Ilya Ivashka is intense.  His murderous scenes are very descriptive and exceptionally written.  You actually wonder if he is going to defeat Dekker in the end.  He is ruthless, has no emotion for loss of life, and numbs his pain with copious amounts of alcohol.  He was the strongest character in the book that I read.

Mac Dekker is a strong literary character who feels natural in this series.  He is older, but resourceful, intelligent, and able to withstand heavy damage, and painful circumstances.

One of the best scenes is when they recover Will's phone, and power it up.  The signal bounces off a cellular tower which is quickly picked up by the Americans who send people out against their own people.

There is a good deal of characters, and it's easy to get lost in the book.  I only covered two of them for now but may come back and edit at a later date to account for the others.  If you enjoy espionage, this book is for you.

Here is what I learned:

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• Will Dekker is a 29-year-old officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations.

• Marina Alexandrovna Zhukova is a Russian captain in the SVR.

• Marina is teaching her daughter Katya English.

• The Hörnli Ridge is located on the Matterhorn in Switzerland.

• Saint Bernard is the patron saint of alpinists.

• Robbie Steinhardt is a farmer in Zinal, Switzerland.

• Brown Swiss cows produce 10 gallons of milk a day.

• Martin is Robbie’s dairyman, and the only other hand on the farm.

• Martin is Eritrean, a refugee granted asylum as a boy.

• Thailand is a 12-hour flight from Switzerland.

• Martin drinks Espresso.

• Robbie drinks Tea.

• Martin has 2 children, a girl and a boy.

• Zinal is a resort town.

• Chalet Ponderosa was built in the 1930’s.

• Robbie has a decades old Siemens TV with an antenna.

• Robbie reads the NZZ - Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

• Robbie drinks Budweiser.

• Ilya Alexandrovich Ivashka was born in the state of Maryland to Russian parents.

• He was in the U.S. Marine Corps.

• He received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

• Ilya and Will Dekker were once lovers.

• A navy shower is 60 seconds hot, 30 seconds cold.

• Will Dekker is reported as dead from a failed attempt at climbing the Matterhorn.

• “Reminiscing is forbidden.”

• Different countries have their own red light districts.

• Hamburg has Reeperbahn.

• Paris has Pigalle.

• London has Soho.

• Zürich has Langstrasse.

• Go Go ‘79 is a nightclub in Zürich.

• The Gorky ferris wheel is located in Moscow, Russia.

• The Swiss call hiking Wandern.

• Zermatt is automobile-free.

• The Snow Café is a hip new establishment in Zermatt.

• Tradepoint Data is a front for American Intelligence Officers.

• The Tor Browser links people to the dark web.

• Cerberus is the official personal directory of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

• The Grand Hotel Bürgenstock was and ultramodern hotel in Lucerne.

• The Hammetschwand Lift is the highest lift in Europe.

• Ilya Ivashka is an American despite his name.

• He grew up upper-middle class in Potomac, MD.

• The Borodin Research Institute manufactures the world’s deadliest chemical weapons.

• Zeryz is a chemical weapon considered “a little sarin, a little VX, and a little something even nastier”.

• Robbie has taken 2 bullets in the past.

• Robbie reads Deighton, Forsyth, and Clancy.

• Ilya’s birthday is July 14th.

• Simba is Swahili for Lion.

• Tel Aviv doesn’t have homeless people.

• Colonel Alexandra Zaitseva was trained to seduce the enemy.

• She was impregnated by a married military man.  Her subsequent abortion left her unable to have children.

• In 1986, Reactor 4 had melted down at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

• The must be a distinction between ego and objective for an agent to be successful.

• Jimmy Chen’s time as a Navy SEAL ended when his kneecap was shattered by a bullet.

• Prato Bornum is Latin for Zermatt.

• There was hiking, and there was climbing. He could hump a thirty-pound rucksack from dawn till dusk, cover twenty miles and bag two peaks. This was climb-ing. It wasn't just strenuous physically, but mentally.  Once, he might have charged up the Hörnli Ridge, all piss and vinegar, oblivious of risk, daring the grim reaper to take him. Just try it! That was no longer the case. He'd seen death up close. He'd lost friends. He'd escaped with his life when he should not have. He had no illusions about what awaited. He preferred living.

• WWDC (DC101) is referenced on page 309.

• Alexandra Zaitseva’s favorite vodka is Moskovskaya.

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Overall, this was a solid recommendation.  The action and suspense are there, the writing is epic, and it creates a great thriller atmosphere.  This is especially true if you enjoy modern day espionage.

Recommended.

On to Book #100: Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry.