Close Quarters, by Adrian Magson

First of all I want to thank Severn Publishers and Net Galley for making a review copy of this book available to me. The book can be pre-ordered on Amazon for an August 1, 2015 release.

The CIA has had to get creative in their way of protecting and extracting operatives in countries where it is not necessarily Politically Correct to be active. As such they turn to free lance talents (former military special forces or previous CIA operatives) to handle some of this work on a contract basis.

One such operative is contacted by CIA deputy director Callahan to enter the country of Ukraine and rescue and oversee the extraction of a State Department Official who went there to try and smooth things over between the Russians, the Ukrainians and the Separatist who are causing much havoc and destruction in the country.

Unfortunately this State Department Official has been placed under house arrest and observation by the Separatist, or is it the Ukrainians? No one is really sure. But Callahan wants to get him back before it is discovered that he is really a CIA analysts who is trying to gather human intel on the situation.

So, enter ‘Watchman,’ more commonly known as Mr. Portman. He is asked to enter the country and oversee the safety of Mr. Travis as CIA cut outs try and get him out of the country.

The only problem is this, there is a mole at the CIA who is feeding information to the Russians which is allowing them to stay a step ahead of the CIA. Thus ‘Watchman’ will have to take a more active role in securing Mr. Travis and getting him out of the country.

The bulk of the novel deals with ‘Watchman’ and his CIA handler and their work to try and get Mr. Travis to safety. The plot is good, the story is reasonable and Magson develops the characters and the situation to perfection.

This book doesn’t have the shoot um up drama and fast pace of some spy type novels, but it is intriguing and plausible enough to help you understand how the hands of our CIA have been tied behind their backs by politicians and Senate Sub-Committees that have their own agendas.

This is an excellent novel for those who love political intrigue, CIA operations, Clandestine work behind the scenes and an honest to god hero who puts his life on the line to help others for no other reason than loyalty and love of country.

Enjoy!