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Marc Portman #5
A Hostile State
A routine assignment for deep cover specialist Marc Portman becomes something darker and deeper in this action-packed spy thriller.
Deep cover specialist Marc Portman is in Lebanon on a last-minute assignment. A straightforward collect-and-go job. At least it should have been.
Ambushed by a surprise attack, it's clear that someone must have had advance warning of Portman's arrival. But who is his unseen enemy - clearly one with considerable resources - and why do they want him dead? More importantly, how could his attacker have known of his movements with less than 24 hours' notice?
Concluding there must be an active leak at the heart of the CIA, Portman finds himself virtually alone and on the run, hung out to dry by the powers-that-be. If he is to survive, he must use his unique skill set to turn the tables on his pursuers . . . and beat them at their own game.
Deep cover specialist Marc Portman is in Lebanon on a last-minute assignment. A straightforward collect-and-go job. At least it should have been.
Ambushed by a surprise attack, it's clear that someone must have had advance warning of Portman's arrival. But who is his unseen enemy - clearly one with considerable resources - and why do they want him dead? More importantly, how could his attacker have known of his movements with less than 24 hours' notice?
Concluding there must be an active leak at the heart of the CIA, Portman finds himself virtually alone and on the run, hung out to dry by the powers-that-be. If he is to survive, he must use his unique skill set to turn the tables on his pursuers . . . and beat them at their own game.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2021
13 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Magson
47 books95 followersAdrian Magson is a British crime-writer, his books often involve conspiracies, and have two repeating main characters - Riley Gavin, a young female investigative reporter, and Frank Palmer, a former RMP (British Royal Military Policeman) now a private investigator.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 5, 2021
Marc Portman is sent on a pick up, an easy job, just in and out in under 24 hours. But somehow someone has leaked his whereabouts. Everytime he sends a new location to his CIA employer someone is there to kill him. A Hostile State by Adrian Magson is the fifth book in this series and it's almost non stop action and betrayal. I stumbled upon this author a couple of years ago and have never regretted reading any of his books. They are all great even though the series are very different from each other. You will never go wrong reading one of his books.
June 26, 2022
Marc (a contractor for the CIA) is in Lebanon for an easy pick-up or so he thought. Turns out he is being hunted without knowing it. A traitor for money at Langley has sold him out to the GRU and it was easy to ascertain who before Marc's handler Brian even found out. Brian is ordered to stop helping Marc escape so that ties with Russia could be maintained. Instead he investigates, finds the traitor and covertly aids Marc.
My first Portman adventure and not sure if I would have liked it better if I started at number one.
My first Portman adventure and not sure if I would have liked it better if I started at number one.
April 19, 2021
Wonderful!
This is my first Marc Portman thriller and definitely not my last. I guess I should’ve went in order but this just caught my eye. I loved everything about it and will definitely read more.
This is my first Marc Portman thriller and definitely not my last. I guess I should’ve went in order but this just caught my eye. I loved everything about it and will definitely read more.
June 17, 2022
Deep cover specialist Marc Portman is sent on a routine mission to collect some important data in Lebanon. However, he is soon targeted for termination and his CIA control might not be able to help him. With the aid of a British spy he is able to leave Lebanon, but he is still in danger.
January 30, 2024
Adrian Magson (https://www.adrianmagson.com) is the author of more than 25 novels. A Hostile State was published in 2021 and is the fifth novel in his Marc Portman thriller series. It is the 89th book I completed reading in 2023.
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.
Marc Portman is a deep cover specialist. His latest mission has taken him to Lebanon. When Portman is ambushed shortly after his arrival in Lebanon, he knows that he is in dire circumstances. The only way the opposition could have found out about his last-minute trip was from a leak within the CIA.
Someone with considerable resources is after him. He discovers before long that the Russians have put a contract out on him. Not knowing who he can trust, Portman finds himself alone, struggling to survive. Not only must he deal with armed adversaries on the street, but with politics within the CIA and State Department as well.
I enjoyed the 7 hours I spent reading this 309-page thriller. I had the opportunity to read three other novels by Magson. Those are Close Quarters, Dark Asset, and The Bid. They all have been consistently good reads. I give this novel a rating of 4.3 (rounded to 4) out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.
Marc Portman is a deep cover specialist. His latest mission has taken him to Lebanon. When Portman is ambushed shortly after his arrival in Lebanon, he knows that he is in dire circumstances. The only way the opposition could have found out about his last-minute trip was from a leak within the CIA.
Someone with considerable resources is after him. He discovers before long that the Russians have put a contract out on him. Not knowing who he can trust, Portman finds himself alone, struggling to survive. Not only must he deal with armed adversaries on the street, but with politics within the CIA and State Department as well.
I enjoyed the 7 hours I spent reading this 309-page thriller. I had the opportunity to read three other novels by Magson. Those are Close Quarters, Dark Asset, and The Bid. They all have been consistently good reads. I give this novel a rating of 4.3 (rounded to 4) out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
February 11, 2021
Adrian Magson is one of my favourite current writers of action spy novels.
His series about former MI5 agent Harry Tate is superb, as are the two hard-to-get novels in his Gonzales & Vaslik series, The Bid and The Locker. Running alongside these series are his books about Marc Portman, a freelance professional shadow, or watcher, who provides protection to British and American agents in potentially hostile situations. He works in the background, stays off the record and often the people he is guarding have no idea he is there. As with Magson’s other books, these are good, old-styled spy novels with up-to-date plots, exciting shoot-outs and betrayals.
A Hostile State is the fifth book in the series and finds Portman in Lebanon on a last-minute assignment. A straightforward collect-and-go job, with Portman providing protection to a CIA source who needs to be extracted. Things quickly go bad, when the source does not show up and Portman is ambushed in a surprise attack. It soon becomes very clear that someone had advance warning of Portman’s arrival and wants him dead. With his controller back in Langley hamstrung by internal politics, Portman goes on the run. Fearing that there is a leak at the heart of the CIA, Portman realises that he has to play by his own rules to survive.
This is a very enjoyable spy thriller that starts violently and keeps up a brisk pace for most of its length. Portman’s race through Lebanon, aided by a middle-aged, female British agent, is nicely concocted, credible and very exciting, and is probably the highlight of the book for me. The action on the ground is nicely contrasted with the internal intrigue back in Washington, and Magson is as adept at the backroom scenes as he is with describing a gunfight.
n all, it is a very entertaining spy yarn. It probably does not have the myriad of surprising twists that is expected of modern thrillers, but it still works quite well. For me it is not quite as good as the Harry Tate novels, but it is still in the top echelon of espionage novels.
Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for an electronic copy of the book to review. See my full review at: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/t...
His series about former MI5 agent Harry Tate is superb, as are the two hard-to-get novels in his Gonzales & Vaslik series, The Bid and The Locker. Running alongside these series are his books about Marc Portman, a freelance professional shadow, or watcher, who provides protection to British and American agents in potentially hostile situations. He works in the background, stays off the record and often the people he is guarding have no idea he is there. As with Magson’s other books, these are good, old-styled spy novels with up-to-date plots, exciting shoot-outs and betrayals.
A Hostile State is the fifth book in the series and finds Portman in Lebanon on a last-minute assignment. A straightforward collect-and-go job, with Portman providing protection to a CIA source who needs to be extracted. Things quickly go bad, when the source does not show up and Portman is ambushed in a surprise attack. It soon becomes very clear that someone had advance warning of Portman’s arrival and wants him dead. With his controller back in Langley hamstrung by internal politics, Portman goes on the run. Fearing that there is a leak at the heart of the CIA, Portman realises that he has to play by his own rules to survive.
This is a very enjoyable spy thriller that starts violently and keeps up a brisk pace for most of its length. Portman’s race through Lebanon, aided by a middle-aged, female British agent, is nicely concocted, credible and very exciting, and is probably the highlight of the book for me. The action on the ground is nicely contrasted with the internal intrigue back in Washington, and Magson is as adept at the backroom scenes as he is with describing a gunfight.
n all, it is a very entertaining spy yarn. It probably does not have the myriad of surprising twists that is expected of modern thrillers, but it still works quite well. For me it is not quite as good as the Harry Tate novels, but it is still in the top echelon of espionage novels.
Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for an electronic copy of the book to review. See my full review at: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/t...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews