Twice a Spy by Keith Thomson is the clever sequel to Once a Spy. Both feature the same father/son spy team, and this is one unusual -- and entertaining -- duo.
The elder is Drummond Clark, an old CIA type who was, in his time, quick-witted, quick-fisted, and quick to kill when he or the Agency deemed such ultra-violence necessary. He worked undercover, masquerading as a bland, boring washing machine salesman. His problem is the early onset of Altzheimer's; he is now dangerous not only to criminals but to his former employer, the Agency: important state secrets are locked in his now unreliable brain. So he becomes potential prey to bad guys on all sides.
The son is Charlie Clark, who has been totally unreliable his whole life; he is an obsessive though brilliant gambler, particularly prone to blowing all his money at the racetrack.
In Once a Spy, Charlie learned, to his (and the reader's) amazement, that his boring old dad had actually been one of the deadliest and smartest spies in the world. He also learns that in Drummond's random moments of clarity, the old man's skills are undiminished. The adventures of both heroes are handled with wit, slightly skewed sense of authenticity, suspense, and plenty of action.
Summarizing the weird, winding plot would prove a hopeless task. Suffice to say that before the action subsides, we are introduced to good and bad guys who dare the reader to figure out which is which; a beautiful and dangerous femme fatale whose real motives are also a mystery; a crazy search for a new and exciting kind of washing machine -- it doubles as an alleged nuclear bomb, but it carries its OWN secrets; and even a hidden treasure of gold worth untold billions.
Of course, by the explosive (!) ending, all the mysteries are solved, explained, and neatly tied up. And the reader is on the edge of his seat only in that he must wait in suspense to see if there is a third entry in the series. Hope so.
Visit Thomson's website for fascinating information including a link to CIA want ads, reviews of both books and much more.
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