Book 1

The Watchman

by Adrian Magson

Published 31 January 2014

He's a professional shadow. A watcher who provides protection in potentially hostile situations. He works in the background, stays off the record. Often the people he's guarding have no idea he's there. Some people know him as Portman.

When two British intelligence agents are despatched to negotiate the release of a group of western hostages in Somalia, veteran MI6 operator Tom Vane realises that something about this operation doesn't stack up. Unwilling to see two promising officers sacrificed in what he believes to be a suicide mission, he covertly hires deep cover specialist Marc Portman to protect them.

Heading for the wild and lawless land on the Kenyan/Somali border, Portman soon realises that the British Intelligence Services have been double-crossed. Can he survive long enough to keep his charges alive and prevent a catastrophe?


Book 2

Close Quarters

by Adrian Magson

Published 30 April 2015
The return of The Watchman - deep cover specialist Marc Portman Close protection specialist Marc Portman is used to finding himself in hostile situations. But none can be more unpredictable than troubled Ukraine, teetering on the brink of civil war. When a US State Department official on a fact-finding mission to Ukraine is placed under house arrest, the CIA hire Portman (codename: Watchman) to get him safely out of the country. In that dangerous and volatile region, Portman will find himself up against local gangsters, Ukrainian Special Forces, professional snipers, pro-Russian separatists and power-crazed cops. What he cannot know however is that his most lethal enemy comes from his own side ...

Book 3

Hard Cover

by Adrian Magson

Published 31 March 2016
The third tense and compelling thriller to feature The Watchman - deep cover specialist Marc Portman Marc Portman, codename Watchman, is in Russia providing covert back-up to wealthy Russian businessman Leonid Tzorekov. A former KGB officer sympathetic to the West, Tzorekov has close links with Vladimir Putin and is planning to use his influence with the President to improve relations between Russia, the USA and the European Union. However, there are those with vested interests in maintaining hostilities: powerful men who will go to any lengths to ensure the proposed meeting does not take place. The Watchman's role is to run security, evaluate risks and, where necessary, provide hard cover by taking more direct action and fighting back. When the assignment takes an unexpected turn, Portman has no choice but to take the hard cover option ...

Book 4

Dark Asset

by Adrian Magson

Published 31 January 2017

"Two thumbs way up for this heart-stopping, exhilarating action thriller" Booklist Starred Review

Deep cover specialist Marc Portman uncovers a secret deal that could make billions in oil revenue . or topple two governments.

Portman's latest assignment is providing back-up for a French intelligence agent sent to recover a hard drive from one of the most dangerous cities on the planet: Mogadishu in Somalia. What he hasn't been told is that the device records secret negotiations between two leading western nations and a hardline terrorist organisation responsible for killing thousands of innocent people.

When the decision is taken to abandon the talks, anybody in the know immediately becomes a target to be silenced.

And Portman finds himself at the top of the list.


A Hostile State

by Adrian Magson

Published 26 February 2021

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.