Twice a Spy

This is part two of a spy vs. spy thriller that's a cross between Robert Ludlum and Mad Magazine. It's fast, funny, frantic, and wildly entertaining. Inveterate horseplayer Charlie Clark and his father, a CIA operative with Alzheimer's who has escaped from a nursing home, travel the world trying to corral terrorist nukes that are disguised as washing machines. Danny Campbell uses exceptional timing and pacing to color each character and scene with the appropriate drama. He has a talent for rendering the senior Clark's transitions into and out of lucidity. Campbell's talent with his gravelly, macho voice even succeeds with the female characters. M.C. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

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.