Once a Spy

We have all been caught up in the mystery and intrigue of classic spy characters like James Bond and Jack Ryan due to movie dramitizations of popular novels. We generally associate spys with suave debonair movie idealizations, when in fact most literary spys have very fallible lives.

A book that dramatically illustrates this point is Once A Spy by Keith Thomson due in March from Doubleday Books. Character Charlie Clark gets a rude awakening when the father he always assumed was a low key appliance salesman, turns out to be a former CIA operative. This is only the beginning, Charlie's father Drummond has alzheimers, and now the CIA want him "contained" as he might inadvertantly disclose information regarding still active ops. Once a Spy allows readers to get a dose of a classic spy novel with clandestine meetings, gadgetry and shootouts, but the book really deals with the growing relationship between father and son. Through some serious and sometimes comical situations to evade the "bad guys,", Charlie and Drummond's relationship evolves from distant to close.

This quick, easy read had the nostalgia of Ian Fleming or John Lecarre, but with the humor of Man from U.N.C.L.E and Wild Wild West (yes, that dates me, but I watched them in reruns as a kid). Charlie and Drummond have to create makeshift disguises, forge alliances with shady characters and interpret code from racing forms in Drummond's moments of lucidity. This is a first novel, and while I had a few issues with some of the plot construction, it was a fun read and I would recommend it.