The Old Man
Ratings8
Average rating3
From the New York Times–bestselling author of Poison Flower: a retired intelligence officer is caught in “[a] harrowing hunt-and-hide adventure” (The New York Times). To all appearances, Dan Chase is a harmless retiree in Vermont with two big mutts and a grown daughter he keeps in touch with by phone. But most sixty-year-old widowers don’t have multiple driver’s licenses, savings stockpiled in banks across the country, or two Beretta Nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run. Thirty-five years ago, as a young army intelligence hotshot, Chase was sent to Libya to covertly assist a rebel army. When the plan turned sour, Chase acted according to his conscience—and triggered consequences he never could have anticipated. To this day, someone still wants him dead. And just when he thought he was finally safe, Chase is confronted with the history he spent much of his life trying to escape. “Perry drives deep into Jack Reacher territory in this stand-alone [novel] . . . Swift, unsentimental, and deeply satisfying. Liam Neeson would be perfect in the title role.” —Kirkus Reviews
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The ex-army man on the run has been done much better by others. The old man does not come across as particularly interesting or resourceful.
Started this book and couldn't stop. It pulled me out of another book that I was enjoying.
We get lots of spy stuff, gunfights, chases, and covert operations involving old secrets. Enemies can be anywhere and are deadly. The Old Man, however, is no easy target. There are several side trips that don't seem to move the main story line forward but do deepen some of the characters' backgrounds. But, it all starts coming together toward the end.
The ultimate bad guy and some of the other antagonists seem a bit nebulous. However, they don't really need to be developed for the story; they just need to be there and do their thing to push the Old Man into action.
Overall a satisfying read, though the ending seemed a bit rushed to me. Everything is pretty well resolved, but Perry did leave a couple of threads that I reckon he could use to build a sequel should he so decide.
Good suspense-thriller; solid four stars.
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Update upon a second read:
My memory of the story had faded a bit but it seemed like the new TV series of the same name starring Jeff Bridges deviated quite a bit from the book. So, I decided to do a reread and compare. The TV show took a couple of characters and a few ideas (and the two dogs) from the book and then went elsewhere with them – pretty much a different story.
Both are entertaining, however.
