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3.5 

Once a Spy

By Keith Thomson
Once a Spy by Keith Thomson digital book - Fable

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Publisher Description

Drummond Clark was once a spy of legendary proportions.  Now Alzheimer’s disease has taken its toll and he’s just a confused old man who’s wandered away from home, waiting for his son to fetch him. 
 
When Charlie Clark takes a break from his latest losing streak at the track to bring Drummond back to his Brooklyn home, they find it blown sky high—and then bullets start flying in every direction.  At first, Charlie thinks his Russian “creditors” are employing aggressive collection tactics.  But once Drummond effortlessly hot-wires a car as their escape vehicle, Charlie begins to suspect there’s much more to his father than meets the eye.  He soon discovers that Drummond’s unremarkable career as an appliance salesman was actually a clever cover for an elaborate plan to sell would-be terrorists faulty nuclear detonators.  Drummond’s intricate knowledge of the “device” is extremely dangerous information to have rattling around in an Alzheimer’s-addled brain.  The CIA wants to “contain” him--and so do some other shady characters who send Charlie and Drummond on a wild chase that gives  “father and son quality time” a whole new meaning.
 
With Once a Spy, Keith Thomson makes his debut on the thriller stage with energy, wit, and style to spare.

21 Reviews

3.5
“This was a fast paced, action packed and funny ride with the Clarks. I didn't know what to think about at first when I read the premise. A retired CIA agent who has become a confused old man due to alzheimer, suddenly becomes a target for his ex bosses and bring his clueless son into it. But it really did not dissapointed and I laughed really hard with this book. It was definitely a great time. _ The story with the Clarks ain't an easy one, marked by espionage and treason from the beginning didn't give them much space to have a normal happy life. Charlie Clark never knew his father: he was the most boring workaholic guy on the street and he never had time for him. That just meant that by the end of his life he hardly ever saw his father, let along call. There was no relationship there other than "the guy helped mom to bring me into this world" But as the plot unravels he gets to see another side of his father that allows him to understand him and his lonely childhood, as well as run for his life from a bunch of CIA officers who wants to kill both of them. _ The story about the real life of Drummond Clark and how that led him to be such a danger to corrupt agents in his office was great. Maybe we could have get a little more detail with it but it was well developed. Great persecutions, awesome action scenes and amazing Drummond moments (awesome and really funny I have to say) make this book just great. Now what I truly love was how the father-son relationship between Drummond and his son grew alongside the disaster they were put into and how Charlie was finally able to meet his father and learned to love him on the road. _ Definitely a great story for the winter season and for those who love spies stories.”

About Keith Thomson

Keith Thomson is a former semipro baseball player in France, an editorial cartoonist for Newsday, a filmmaker with a short film shown at Sundance, and a screenwriter who currently lives in Alabama. He writes on intelligence and other matters for the Huffington Post.

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