A Hostile State

March 24, 2014
Magson (Execution and four other Harry Tate thrillers) introduces freelance shadow operative Marc Portman in this action-filled adventure pitting Portman against seemingly insuperable odds in various foreign hot spots. Portman’s daring, improvised rescue of an American engineer in Colombia and his escape from a deadly trap in Tijuana bring him to the attention of Thomas Vale, an officer in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. Vale is concerned about Operations Director Colin Moresby’s reckless plan to send inexperienced SIS officer Angela Pryce, with just one other agent, to the Somalia-Kenya border to negotiate a hostage release with clan chief Yusuf Musa. Trying to avert disaster, he secretly hires Portman to shadow the pair. Vale’s fears prove well-founded, and Portman must overcome overwhelming odds to save the agents. He makes for a convincingly formidable one-man army, and Magson handles the action scenes with panache, in this enjoyably straightforward yarn that is likely to lead to sequels. Agent: David Headley, DHH Literary Agency.