They said it could never happen hereabut it did. A Formidable Enemy is a spine-chilling encounter with fear in the desperate struggle to stem the tide of a bizarre conspiracy to assassinate the president of the U.S. The designated assassin is the scourge of the terrorist world, Abd Al Alim, known only by reputation, never by sight. New York is targeted for a series of bombings aimed at the eradication of life but, more importantly, the destruction of an ideal. It is the frustrating game of cat and mouse, where New Yorkers can never be anything other than the collective mouse. It is a well-coordinated, well-developed plan for subjugation of body and soul into a futile cacophony of sound and fury signifying the end of civilization as we know it. Too often, terror wears the mantle of religion because nothing makes pseudo martyrs like loud, false religious fervor.