The Watchman (A Marc Portman Thriller)
*Starred Review* In this adrenalin-fueled action thriller, American gun-for-hire Marc Portman heads to Somalia to keep a discreet eye on two British SIS agents sent into hostile territory to negotiate with terrorist Yusef Musa for the release of two UN workers. Portman’s brief comes from MI6 operatives chief Tom Vane, who smells a rat in Musa’s offer to negotiate. Vane has gone behind his bosses’ backs to hire Portman, but his concern is genuine. One of the agents is his protégé, Angela Pryce, and he’s not sure she’s ready for the kind of high-profile, intensely dangerous situation she’s sure to encounter. As it turns out, Vane’s suspicions about Musa are right. Instead of negotiating with Pryce and her partner, Doug Tober, Musa has a deadly plan that will gain global visibility for his militant terrorist group. The term thriller hardly does justice to this taut page-turner that’s packed with action, adventure, danger, ingenuity, bravery, horror, and shocking violence. A gripping read that will appeal to all adventure lovers and especially to fans of Alex Berenson’s John Wells, another international deep-cover agent routinely asked to do the impossible. --Emily Melton