Twice a Spy

Starred review from January 31, 2011
Razor-sharp writing, laugh-out-loud humor, and a sturdy plot combine to make Thomson's sequel to Once a Spy a real treat for thriller fans tired of more of the same old same old. Charlie Clark has left his life as an inveterate gambler far behind as he and girlfriend Alice go on the lam in Switzerland from Alice's employer, the NSA, and a special CIA black ops unit known as Cavalry. The real star of the group is Charlie's father, Drummond Clark, who after a career as a CIA agent is sinking into the throes of early Alzheimer's, but who's able, when the occasion demands, to revive his old skills and save their skins. The plot surrounds the sale to terrorists of a small nuclear bomb disguised as a washing machine. The nonstop action and quirky, engaging characters will leave readers eager for the next installment and the next and the next.

March 1, 2011
Since discovering that his dad, Drummond Clark, was a brilliant spy instead of a plodding appliance salesman, Charlie Clarks life hasnt slowed down. Two weeks after dodging CIA assassins in Brooklyn (Once A Spy, 2010), Charlie and Drummond are in Switzerland. Although theyre still being hunted, Drummond is in an Alzheimers clinic, and Charlie is in love with Alice Rutherford, the gorgeous NSA agent who helped them back in Brooklyn. But Alice is snatched, and Charlie and Drummond are off to the Caribbean to secure a miniaturized nuke hidden in a washing machine, leading to relentless derring-do: frenetic chase scenes, plausible tradecraft, lots of gunfire and explosions, virtual platoons of bad guys (both terrorists and bent CIA agents), an attempt to bomb an international meeting of finance ministers, and even buried treasure. The plot is almost farcically convoluted, but nonstop action and the main characters, especially Drummond, who continues to summon moments of lucidity when most needed, and the indomitable Alice, save the dayand the novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)