Ulterior Motives [Paperback]

Mark Andrew Olsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2009

When an al-Qaida email is intercepted, promising a New Year's Day attack on America, it leads to the capture of the group's leader. But even under fierce interrogation, the terrorist clings to his jihadist beliefs and resists divulging anything of the threat. Desperate, the Army resorts to a contingency paper that proposes to break a subject's resistance by inducing a religious conversion. One hitch: the top-secret attempt must be masked as an offer of clemency, and must rely on a completely innocent mentor, a so-called witness who is unaware of the project's true aims. They find that witness in Greg Cahill, a disgraced FBI agent who has since turned to Christ and serves in a prison ministry. Lured by an offer of restoration, as well as the lifting of a restraining order that's keeping him from seeing his son, Greg begins an unlikely friendship with a man the entire country despises. Despite himself, he begins to share his faith--yet with a combustible result unforeseen by either himself or his government handlers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Best known for his novel Hadassah (which was made into the film One Night with the King), Olsen packs everything Christian thriller fans enjoy in his newest. Greg Cahill is an ousted FBI agent called back for a dangerous mission for the U.S. government: thwarting a terrorist plot. Christian readers will find the interplay of faith and counter-terrorism interesting as Cahill shares his faith with a radical Muslim terrorist. But dialogue is clunky ("...since you people are so stinking familiar with all of my past pronouncements, then draw up an interrogation plan that's as aggressive as possible..."), and the author stumbles over finding believable ways to depict real characters while still writing for Christian readers. A month-long countdown to a terrorist attack builds suspense, but action is often summarized in a few sentences rather than used to build scenes. The climax includes a shocking decision of faith and sacrifice, but it comes five pages before an abrupt ending that doesn't exercise the heart muscle as much as thriller fans expect.
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From the Back Cover

When an al-Qaeda email is intercepted, threatening an attack on America, it leads to the capture of the group's leader. Yet even under fierce interrogation, the terrorist clings to his jihadist beliefs and refuses to divulge any information. Desperate, the Army resorts to extreme measures--a controversial protocol designed to break a subject's resistance. But the attempt must be masked as an offer of clemency and rely on an outside party, someone who is unaware of the protocol's aims. They find that someone in Greg Cahill, a disgraced soldier who now serves in a prison ministry. Lured by the chance to restore his reputation, Greg befriends a man the entire country despises. And the result proves combustible, the two men having to flee for their lives. With both in need of redemption, they set out to prevent a major catastrophe...

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Product Details

• Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House; Original edition (March 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764202758
• ISBN-13: 978-0764202759
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,647,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARK ANDREW OLSEN is a screenwriter, author of four solo novels and four collaborative novels including the bestselling biblical thriller Hadassah, adapted into the FoxFaith film One Night with the King. He co-wrote the MGM film Music Within, and the Bethany House novels Hadassah Covenant, Rescued, The Assignment, The Watchers, The Warriors, The Long Road Home and Ulterior Motives. Mark is the son of Baptist ministers and missionaries to France and a graduate of Baylor University in Professional Writing. He lives in Colorado with his wife Connie and three children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this story. It's my kind of read!, May 22, 2009

By 

Michelle Sutton (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ulterior Motives (Paperback)

Maybe I am a bit biased because I live in Sierra Vista and know people who work in psy-ops and intel on Ft. Huachuca. All of the details regarding the setting rang true for me. He had the facts down perfectly except for in one place. The one time it did snow here in the past six years it was more like one to two inches, tops. But that's forgiveable because my guess is he needed it for the plot. After all, it is fiction.

I love the psychology behind these types of stories, probably because that's the subject I majored in when I got my Bachelor's degree. Anyway, I found the story fascinating, especially the techniques used by the military to deal with highly classified situations. It reminded me of the Bourne Identity that way. Were the good guys always good guys? Or was it just until they got what they wanted and then they turned on you... I loved the implied messages, too. The media messes up things sometimes when they give out information prematurely and sometimes because of the security breach, people die. So true. Then they blame the military, who, of course, must pick a fall guy, at least that's how it's presented here. I found it very believable.

For me the best part of this story was the spiritual content. It's so true that people know when we are sincere and when we are not. People who don't know Christ are in search of the very thing we claim to have, but don't always show in our behavior. And, of course, God can use anyone and anything to change us for the better. Bottom line...you have to forgive yourself for others to see the forgiveness Christ has given you. Very well done!

The only weakness I saw in this book was the six year old's thinking and speech. A few times he sounded more like a ten year hold than a six year old. But that wasn't significant enough to taint the story for me. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants to be inspired by a story with a deep faith element. I love stories that make me think and make me want to share my faith more with people who seem "unreachable."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner, February 25, 2009

By 

Jake Chism (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ulterior Motives (Paperback)

Greg Cahill has faced his share of turmoil and despair, much of it of his own making. After a mission gone horribly wrong and a failed marriage, Greg finally hits rock bottom and turns his life over to Christ. Greg longs to win back the love and trust of his family that he has hurt. In the meantime he has dedicated his life to ministering to prisoners.

After Greg brings a convicted death row murderer to Christ he is approached by the U.S. government. Osama Bin Laden's successor, Omar Nirubi, has been captured and is the only link to an imminent terrorist attack on the U.S. All interrogation attempts have failed to bring any answers and the government has turned to an unorthodox interrogation protocol that has all but been forgotten. The plan involves convincing Nirubi to renounce his Islamic faith, and the powers that be believe Greg Cahill is just the man for the job. Time is running out as Greg attempts to convert the world's most hated man who is the only one that can save millions of American lives.

Mark Andrew Olsen delivers another winner with this intriguing and controversial premise. Olsen's brilliant storytelling is on full display here with a frenetic pace, well crafted characters, and enough tension to keep you churning the pages. What really carries this story is Olsen's willingness to tackle controversial subject matter. Indeed Olsen takes questionable interrogation tactics to a whole new level with the idea of using religion to gain a terrorist's allegiance.

While Ulterior Motives is not as action packed as Olsen's latest works we are still treated so some full throttle sequences that will leave you breathless. Much of the story revolves around the relationship between Greg Cahill and Omar Nirubi. I love what Olsen does with these characters and how he takes this relationship to a level many will not anticipate. This is a challenging and engrossing story that is sure to have people talking. Olsen has yet to let me down and I truly can't wait to see where he takes us next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Motives! I Think I'll Keep Reading Olsen, August 20, 2009

By 

Wolfe Moffat (Franklinville, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ulterior Motives (Paperback)

Ok, is everydbody getting sick and tired of all the al-Qaeda novels that constantly stack the shelves? Maybe. But just suppose there is one out there, that has a catchy title. Should you go for it? Well, I did! And I'm glad I did. It gave me the opportunity to praise the skills of Mark Andrew Olsen. This took a little time getting into, and the ending was somewhat obvious, but it was still worth telling.

It is always us against them, and we always have to win. When Saddam was hanged, people were rushing to YOUTUBE to see if they could witness the execution before the video was blocked! Hey, I was one of them, and I loved it. That's sick, isn't it? I mean, we don't want to have anything to do with letting these guys get away with any more than they can.

An attack set for New Years is found out about. But when Omar Nirubi, a big-time leader is captured, and interrogation is pushed to the limit, they resort to one other option. And Greg Cahill is brought in. What we learn about Greg is that he is a man with a past, and not a very honorable one either. But he has come to know Christ, and he knows something about forgiveness. And he finds that he has things in common with Omar as the days go by. What can he learn from Omar? Better yet, can they learn anything from each other?

Mark Andrew Olsen is a stud this time around. And he had the guts to go for broke with this one. This is one novel where the message might not be so popular, yet almost reluctantly appropriate. Too many people still harbor hatred in ways that are unacceptable, and that isn't right! Tough love, forgiveness. Sound like too much? Well, too bad, because that's what is interlaced throughout this one! And I sure enjoyed it the whole way through. Thanks, Mark!