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52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Once a Spy ... Always a Winner!, February 2, 2010
This review is from: Once A Spy: A Novel (Hardcover)
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Keith Thomson's debut novel is a rollercoaster of a spy thriller that zips along at a breakneck pace, careening along a sharp track full of twists and turns and peaks and valleys that leave the reader breathless with excitement. What great fun, from the first page to the last, especially for those who are willing to hold on tight and just enjoy the ride!
Charlie Clark is an inveterate gambler on a lifetime losing streak who is summoned to a senior citizen's center to arrange for his father's long-term care. It seems as though the elder Clark is suffering from the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, and passes in and out of awareness. Father and son have never really been close - but they're about to appreciate each other on an entirely new level as it becomes increasingly evident that Dad had a secret career as a master spy, and has now been targeted for elimination due to his faltering memory!
Thomson has created two delightful eccentrics in Charlie and Drummond Clark, and the novel is a perfect balance of character development and plot. The action never flags until the final paragraph, and it's laced with plenty of witty dialogue and dry humor. Here's hoping that "Once a Spy" proves to be the first in a new series. Climb aboard, buckle yourself in, and get ready for a one of a kind adventure that you won't want to end!
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Once a Spy: Twice as good as most thrillers, March 13, 2010
This review is from: Once A Spy: A Novel (Hardcover)
"Once a Spy" is about a retired CIA black ops man, Drummond Clark, who suffers from Alzheimer's and thus is perceived by his ex-colleagues as a risk to leak their secret of "the device," which is vital to national security. So they conclude that it's for "the greater good" that Drummond have an accident. A fatal one, of course.
The only person Drummond can rely on for aid is his estranged son, Charlie, a career underachiever and professional horseplayer who only ever known his father as a dull appliance salesman. Charlie tries to institutionalize Drummond, but before they can get to the nursing home, bullets start flying, and things start blowing up, almost every page.
In vivid, lighting-paced chapters that read like scenes from the best action movies, Charlie must solve the mystery of why assassins are trying to kill him and the old washing machine salesman, then develop the spine to do something about it. Drummond, in periodic episodes of lucidity, remembers bit here and there that offer clues. Sometimes he aids in their defense too--he fights and shoots at a world class level. Other times, he imparts tradecraft, like hot-wiring cars and disguise techniques. The previously estranged father and son come together, poignantly, and making a smashing team. Literally smashing.
The thrilling story that results is not just an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster ride, as many others have commented. It's a revelation in the thriller genre, as novelist Lincoln Child avows. LeCarré books are wonderfully crafted (Thomson is no slouch with the written word either) but slow-paced. Other luminaries in the genre, Flynn and Thor, don't have characters with the depth and dimension of Drummond or Charlie. Or the wit. Thomson, a national secuirty reporter, also manages to add a layer of verisimilitude and insight of some of the genre's headier members, Ignatius and McCarrie.
I've never read anything like "Once a Spy." Hopefully there will be a sequel. Five stars and highly recommended on top of that.
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39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What Company?, February 7, 2010
This review is from: Once A Spy: A Novel (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
"Once a Spy" starts of at a run. Charlie Clark, 30-ish slacker in general and racetrack gambler, gets a call from a local senior center asking him to pick up his father, who was found wandering the streets of Brooklyn in his pajamas. Charlie is estranged from his father, Drummond Clark, who never paid much attention to him, preferring instead his job as an appliance salesman. When Charlie picks up his father, however, bullets begin to fly, and it soon becomes apparent that Drummond knows as much about espionnage as about appliances, if only his Alzheimers weren't destroying his memory.
The foregoing is not a spoiler, since as much can be learned from the book's dust jacket. I was fascinated by the premise, and carried away by the speed of the chase. The story rockets forward in the time-honored manner of Ludlum and his literary descendants, as Drummond and Charlie try to stay alive and find out why so many people are trying to kill Drummond, and now, Charlie as well. It's an enjoyable ride, even though, the survival of our heroes becomes ever more improbable.
My reservations are similar to those I have with this genre generally: after a while I get a little tired of the progression "information tidbit -- gunfight -- information tidbit -- gunfight" that forms the backbone of the structure. The way Drummond's Alzheimers makes him fade in and out of coherence is, perhaps, just a little too convenient. And finally, the story would be more fully alive if a few spots were less sketchy -- like, for example, why Charlie is so unmotivated and whether he has any kind of job.
Even so, I hope that our duo returns for another episode, or at least that Thomson keeps writing. I'll be happy to read the next volume.
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