Once A Spy: A Novel (Drummond and Clark Series)

A really well written book that deals with what to do with what happens with a spy and all the details, information, records, he's gotten throughout the years he's stuffed up in his brain......when he gets a neurological illness? What happens if the person starts talking by accident? And who cam you trust? Now not only do you have an illness, but you also have a second problem on who you can trust to help you. The easiest thing is to have you eliminated. So then what do you do? Here I'm not giving stuff away, but it's just a bit of this thriller of a book. The thrill ride does not stop. Very cool book, written by someone who knows what he's writing about! If you like Spy stuff, James Bond, espionage, not knowing who you can truly trust, hidden agendas, etc. Or issues where things happen but you're not told the whole story or it gets put off as something else. Then this book is for you!

"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.

Keith Thomson has come up with a very original premise for Once a Spy. Drummond is an aging spy, facing of all things, Alzheimers. His failing mental health has made him a major liability to his former bosses and agency because he's got some major secrets in danger of leaking out of his mind. He's been estranged from his son Charlie who saddled with gambling debt, of course never knew his dad the "appliance salesman" was a spy and now has troubles of his own to deal with. The premise of the story is absolutely plausible in today's world where almost everyone knows someone affected by Alzheimers. And seriously, what would a spy agency do with a retiree spy who doesn't know if he's spilling secrets but has momentary lapses of perfect memory, right down to remembering his spy training for killing and escaping. Like any spy story there are parts that are ridiculously impossible. There are plot twists that are downright silly. But Thomson recovers and saves by throwing in a retiree home for aging spys and other positively fun twists. Teaming with the same Russian mobsters out to get Charlie for his overdue loans, discovering what was really going on inside those washing machines, all makes a very fun and completely original read.

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!