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Missions
"Just how I like my thrillers." -- San Francisco Book Review.
An explosion in the heart of Paris launches an international investigation that propels Doyle O’Gara, a computer scientist at a technology supplier to the CIA, from the periphery of the new war into its moral nerve center and toward a disastrous miscalculation that transforms his life. As the suspense-filled investigation leaps from one surprising clue to the next, O’Gara hurtles toward a dilemma of conscience that defines him and the country he serves. "Missions" is the debut novel of international business lawyer Marc McGuire.
An explosion in the heart of Paris launches an international investigation that propels Doyle O’Gara, a computer scientist at a technology supplier to the CIA, from the periphery of the new war into its moral nerve center and toward a disastrous miscalculation that transforms his life. As the suspense-filled investigation leaps from one surprising clue to the next, O’Gara hurtles toward a dilemma of conscience that defines him and the country he serves. "Missions" is the debut novel of international business lawyer Marc McGuire.
202 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2020
114 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Marc McGuire
4 books4 followersMarc McGuire is an American born international business lawyer who spent much of his career in Europe, first in Zurich, Switzerland, and later in Paris, France. Missions is his debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 30, 2020
Very realistic, with unintended consequences. A terrific read showing great attention to detail with excellent development of characters without ever slowing the story. A true 5-Star Read!
April 22, 2020
This was a fast moving page-turner, very realistic yet complex plot about what motivates modern day extremism and some of the measures challenging Western intelligence agencies. After starting with the horrifying scene following a pair of Paris bombings not long after 9/11, it alternates among essentially three different groups: a clique of terrorists who planned the events, the inner workings of French intelligence, and the U.S. involvement from a distance, adding in some international sovereign intrigues as well. Mixed with just the right amount of surprise, sex and individual character assessments, to say much more might could away too much. For those fond of modern thrillers, this will not let you down. It's clearly based on solid research showing some of the difficulties faced by the modern intelligence agencies. Highly recommended.
May 5, 2020
This is a terrific book! Truly five stars. Hard to put down after you start reading it. It will lead you to think about it long after you finish it. This is a richly imagined and tautly written espionage thriller, featuring psychologically revealing inner dialog, detailed "trade craft" and an intricately entwined cast of characters that put you inside the game, in a way that reminded me of the master spy novelist John Le Carre'. Highly recommended.
June 16, 2020
3.5*
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was fast-paced, so much was squeezed into the 191 pages. The story kept me intrigued, and especially after I reached the halfway point, it kept me wanting to turn those pages.
The book often assumes the reader has prior knowledge that I do not possess, so I was often a little bit lost! It was difficult to keep track of all of the different characters in all the different timelines initially, but it was satisfying when it all came together. I haven’t read many books like this (terrorism, war on terror, CIA, etc), although I am always fascinated by them when I do. I can’t speak about how accurate it all is, and, being set a year after the events of 9/11, I think McGuire definitely makes comments on terrorism and race. I don’t think I’m the right person to delve down that rabbit hole! But the story as I read it was fast-paced and interesting, although I had to work perhaps a little bit harder than usual to understand everything going on.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was fast-paced, so much was squeezed into the 191 pages. The story kept me intrigued, and especially after I reached the halfway point, it kept me wanting to turn those pages.
The book often assumes the reader has prior knowledge that I do not possess, so I was often a little bit lost! It was difficult to keep track of all of the different characters in all the different timelines initially, but it was satisfying when it all came together. I haven’t read many books like this (terrorism, war on terror, CIA, etc), although I am always fascinated by them when I do. I can’t speak about how accurate it all is, and, being set a year after the events of 9/11, I think McGuire definitely makes comments on terrorism and race. I don’t think I’m the right person to delve down that rabbit hole! But the story as I read it was fast-paced and interesting, although I had to work perhaps a little bit harder than usual to understand everything going on.
May 25, 2020
very interesting characters, good description of each one, very good plot and a surprise ending. i read lots of mystery books and i rank this one way at the top of my list of good reads.
May 13, 2020
I found it to be thoroughly researched and well written with lots of interesting twists and turns. It was a good read that moved quickly. The characters were well developed and it caught my attention from the very beginning. The depth of the detail gave the story a realistic vibe. At times I forgot that I was reading a work of fiction. I highly recommend it.
January 7, 2020
I read A LOT of thrillers, so I love when a book changes things up. The way the book's narrative flips viewpoints keeps the action moving -- there's no dull points or long exposition that many books fall victim to. And I also love getting different sides to a story, especially one that focuses on ideas about people and why we do what we do.
January 7, 2020
Fast-paced and action-packed, Missions is truly a page-turner! The book is a timely look at terrorism today and examines deep themes about human nature and what leads us to commit atrocious acts. An absolutely thrilling debut!
January 7, 2020
Reading this book felt like I was getting a behind the scenes look at some of the recent current events throughout the world. I especially loved the character Christine -- it's so refreshing to see woman in an important role in a high-level investigation. This was a quick read that made me think a lot about the underlying motivating factors behind the people we consider evil and what makes a good person "good."
April 24, 2020
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
I had to sit with this one for a few days after finishing, before I wrote the review. The story revels in a wash of ambiguity, leaving the reader to decipher its position on ethics and action in the post 9-11 age and ultimately decide for themselves what to take away from it. Right until then end, that is, when it kinda doesn’t. But I’ll try to limit the spoilers.
Per the synopsis, the book revolves around Doyle O’Gara, who works for a technology firm contracted by the CIA to support global communications surveillance. Having only recently accepted a new position at his firm, he finds himself in the middle of an investigation into a suspected terrorist bombing in Paris. It’s a straightforward plot. Thankfully, "Missions" goes above your typical cat-and-mouse thriller.
The author, Marc McGuire, is a lawyer who spent much of his career practicing in Europe. While his bio doesn’t go into detail beyond that, it appears that his international experience opened a window for him into this setting. His character, O’Gara, may be an analyst in the U.S., but his quarry is in France, where most of the story takes place. In fact, the book starts out in the immediate aftermath of a bombing in Paris, introducing the reader to French DST investigator Christine Dupont and her team, as they take over the crime scene. They’ll eventually connect with the CIA and O’Gara as the case progresses.
The reader is also introduced to the members of the terrorist cell early on. Much of their part in bombing is told in flashback. It’s here where the storytelling becomes distracted.
The author has several groups of characters to juggle and I felt that he was equally interested in all of them. However, the arc of the story depends on Doyle O’Gara, and there’s simply not enough of him. Of all the groups, the terrorists get the most attention. They are well written, if somewhat stereotypical (you read enough thrillers about the war on terror and some of it starts to run together), and I enjoyed reading those sections the most. While the focus on the cell is important to the author’s vision, it’s not counterbalanced by the person who has the revelations, O’Gara.
Doyle O’Gara is never a fully realized character. The author tries to build him up as the story moves along, but it’s in odd information drops that don’t affect the moment and often feel out of place. A lot of time is also spent with Dupont and her team. But since none of them have the journey O’Gara is supposed to have, I thought that time could have been given over to heightening the drama around O’Gara, which would in turn lend more credence to his choices and impact the power of his realizations. He doesn’t gain the momentum he needs for that ending to really resonate.
Ultimately, I liked Missions. It’s not a traditional action-thriller. It’s a mystery that explores the nature of the system governing the international war on terror. The author takes a risk with his more thoughtful look at such events and how nations react to them. It was a nice change of pace from so many other by-the-numbers thrillers about terrorism. But I think the story is undercut by too many players. A deeper character study of O’Gara would have brought it home.
I had to sit with this one for a few days after finishing, before I wrote the review. The story revels in a wash of ambiguity, leaving the reader to decipher its position on ethics and action in the post 9-11 age and ultimately decide for themselves what to take away from it. Right until then end, that is, when it kinda doesn’t. But I’ll try to limit the spoilers.
Per the synopsis, the book revolves around Doyle O’Gara, who works for a technology firm contracted by the CIA to support global communications surveillance. Having only recently accepted a new position at his firm, he finds himself in the middle of an investigation into a suspected terrorist bombing in Paris. It’s a straightforward plot. Thankfully, "Missions" goes above your typical cat-and-mouse thriller.
The author, Marc McGuire, is a lawyer who spent much of his career practicing in Europe. While his bio doesn’t go into detail beyond that, it appears that his international experience opened a window for him into this setting. His character, O’Gara, may be an analyst in the U.S., but his quarry is in France, where most of the story takes place. In fact, the book starts out in the immediate aftermath of a bombing in Paris, introducing the reader to French DST investigator Christine Dupont and her team, as they take over the crime scene. They’ll eventually connect with the CIA and O’Gara as the case progresses.
The reader is also introduced to the members of the terrorist cell early on. Much of their part in bombing is told in flashback. It’s here where the storytelling becomes distracted.
The author has several groups of characters to juggle and I felt that he was equally interested in all of them. However, the arc of the story depends on Doyle O’Gara, and there’s simply not enough of him. Of all the groups, the terrorists get the most attention. They are well written, if somewhat stereotypical (you read enough thrillers about the war on terror and some of it starts to run together), and I enjoyed reading those sections the most. While the focus on the cell is important to the author’s vision, it’s not counterbalanced by the person who has the revelations, O’Gara.
Doyle O’Gara is never a fully realized character. The author tries to build him up as the story moves along, but it’s in odd information drops that don’t affect the moment and often feel out of place. A lot of time is also spent with Dupont and her team. But since none of them have the journey O’Gara is supposed to have, I thought that time could have been given over to heightening the drama around O’Gara, which would in turn lend more credence to his choices and impact the power of his realizations. He doesn’t gain the momentum he needs for that ending to really resonate.
Ultimately, I liked Missions. It’s not a traditional action-thriller. It’s a mystery that explores the nature of the system governing the international war on terror. The author takes a risk with his more thoughtful look at such events and how nations react to them. It was a nice change of pace from so many other by-the-numbers thrillers about terrorism. But I think the story is undercut by too many players. A deeper character study of O’Gara would have brought it home.
April 27, 2020
In his debut novel, International Lawer Marc McGuire presents a fascinating insight in to the planning of a terrorist attack 💣 and the international effort to capture the culprits and prevent further destruction.
The book is told from three perspectives - Firstly we have the terrorists. The author has clearly done extensive research into the extreme views of these religious fanatics and how they go about planning an attack - think of a more frightening version of Oceans 11. 🙈 The highlight for me was seeing how they identify candidates to become martyrs for the cause by preying on their insecurities - these are some real scary guys!
The book also follows the French authorites investigating the catastrophic bombing in the heart of Paris 🇫🇷 and the Americans 🇺🇲providing technological support. Characters on both sides are interesting and well developed - particularly the main American character Doyle who has a mystery email correspondent 📧 who is this person and what do they want from him?
The author incorporates a range of issues that really make you think 💡 There's fact that each country's surveillance laws, 🕵️♂️ while absolutely necessary, prevent them from working well together and may hinder attempts to foil terror plots. Language is also a key theme here as we discover how the accuracy of translations can mean the difference between life and death.
Missions is an impressive debut 👏 The writing is strong with well developed characters and a thought provoking plot. If you've ever wanted insight into how terrorists go about planning their attacks and what drives them to do it, this will definitely appeal to you.
Thanks to @booksforwardpr for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The book is told from three perspectives - Firstly we have the terrorists. The author has clearly done extensive research into the extreme views of these religious fanatics and how they go about planning an attack - think of a more frightening version of Oceans 11. 🙈 The highlight for me was seeing how they identify candidates to become martyrs for the cause by preying on their insecurities - these are some real scary guys!
The book also follows the French authorites investigating the catastrophic bombing in the heart of Paris 🇫🇷 and the Americans 🇺🇲providing technological support. Characters on both sides are interesting and well developed - particularly the main American character Doyle who has a mystery email correspondent 📧 who is this person and what do they want from him?
The author incorporates a range of issues that really make you think 💡 There's fact that each country's surveillance laws, 🕵️♂️ while absolutely necessary, prevent them from working well together and may hinder attempts to foil terror plots. Language is also a key theme here as we discover how the accuracy of translations can mean the difference between life and death.
Missions is an impressive debut 👏 The writing is strong with well developed characters and a thought provoking plot. If you've ever wanted insight into how terrorists go about planning their attacks and what drives them to do it, this will definitely appeal to you.
Thanks to @booksforwardpr for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 26, 2020
I gave it a four because it belongs to the category of thrillers where giants such as Gaston Leroux, Maurice Leblanc, Georges Simenon, Andrea Camilleri, and Dan Brown set standards. The book is exciting and interesting to read. Exciting because it follows haltingly the evolving process of a terrorist attack in Paris and the theft of nuclear materials in Russia with the potential of releasing a dirty bomb in Marseilles. Interesting because it reveals the inner workings of jihadism and suicide bombing, the administrative and political process of investigation by the French security agency, the complexities of international collaborations between intelligence agencies, and the role of private data analysts in generating information for the national institutions. Understanding context is thus as important as following process. Particularly revealing is the motivations behind the cold blooded assassination of innocent victims and the manipulations of young idealistic suicide bombers. Also the risks of translation of coded messages by data analysts where mistakes can lead to catastrophic initiatives. The set up for a good read, with related actions happening on multiple fronts. Main weakness may be the lack of a central character with whom the reader can develop empathy, understanding motivations in spite of eventually perverse penchants and trait imperfections. Character analysis, the staple of thrillers, may be here a bit dispersed. Nevertheless, a fascinating book, fun and informative to read. A great début.
July 17, 2022
Highly original, not one of your run-of-the mill thrillers. Much more morally complex than most and yet exciting and fast-paced, with a “nothing is what it seems” set-up. It continues to surprise with unexpected twists and turns to the very end. McGuire is interested in moral ambiguities of the war on terror, and he offers a refreshing perspective on the Islamic-fundamentalist mind as well. The book holds well together despite multiple story lines and time jumps. I read it in one swoop and am looking forward to the next work of his.
June 14, 2020
This book gripped me from the beginning, the middle kind of fell flat, and then the end totally surprised me. I liked how the book was told from both sides, but I also felt that there were too many characters. Some kind of got lost in the shuffle. I would have preferred less characters with more background on them. Interesting read that had a lot of promise and I really wanted to love it but fell kind of flat for me.
July 22, 2020
Missings
There is too little “mission” and too much “missing.” It’s a dry text about interpretations by American and a French translators of recorded conversations among terrorists. Like reading committee meeting reports. Bureaucratic and boring in content, writing, purpose. Where’s the heat?
There is too little “mission” and too much “missing.” It’s a dry text about interpretations by American and a French translators of recorded conversations among terrorists. Like reading committee meeting reports. Bureaucratic and boring in content, writing, purpose. Where’s the heat?
January 3, 2022
France in the cross hairs again
Another book that brings current terrorism to it and shows the mind set of people on every side, complete with natural flaws. Flaws that can have tong term changes to any life they have planned ahead. And will do nothing to stop a war that’s been going on generation after generation.
Another book that brings current terrorism to it and shows the mind set of people on every side, complete with natural flaws. Flaws that can have tong term changes to any life they have planned ahead. And will do nothing to stop a war that’s been going on generation after generation.
June 18, 2020
It’s okay. Like an episode of 24 or Homeland. However the problem lies in the fact we don’t have a strong character to attach or connect to. In this story we don’t have Carrie and Saul, or Jack and Chloe. It’s well written and thought out, just not super engaging.
June 30, 2020
Good writing, didn't find main character believable
Actually the choices made were not believable. This guy is a computer expert and played along with something I know is bad news.
Actually the choices made were not believable. This guy is a computer expert and played along with something I know is bad news.
June 12, 2024
An exciting story of a terrorist plot that leaps from the pages with computer with Doyle O'Gara, a computer scientist who gets caught up in the middle.
July 26, 2024
good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2020
Set a year after the 9/11 attacks, Missions details the lead up to and the aftermath of a terrorist attack in Paris. Following both the perpetrators and the investigators; as we begin to piece together what happened.
Following three different sets of characters, we frequently move between the past and present. This is something I have seen work well in other books but on this occasion there are just too many ‘side characters’. Everything becomes a bit muddled, with characters blurring, as a result we become a bit lost of the roles of some the minor characters.
There was definitely promise, and would give future books by McGuire a chance, but it needs work.
This was provided to me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Following three different sets of characters, we frequently move between the past and present. This is something I have seen work well in other books but on this occasion there are just too many ‘side characters’. Everything becomes a bit muddled, with characters blurring, as a result we become a bit lost of the roles of some the minor characters.
There was definitely promise, and would give future books by McGuire a chance, but it needs work.
This was provided to me through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews