Synopses & Reviews
Paul Christopher is back or is he? The answer is in this relentlessly entertaining espionage novel with all the hallmarks of a McCarry bestseller.
Charles McCarry is considered by many to be the master of American spy fiction, brilliantly staking his claim with such international bestsellers as The Tears of Autumn and The Miernik Dossier. A spy writer's spy writer, he has been lauded extravagantly by his peers. George V. Higgins wrote, "Charles McCarry is the Lord's best combination of spellbinding storyteller and silken prose writer." "Intelligent and enthralling," said Eric Ambler, and Jeffrey Archer praised writing that "makes one put the book down and gasp."
In his magnificent new novel, with rights sold in six countries before publication, McCarry returns to the world of his legendary character, Paul Christopher, the crack intelligence agent who is as skilled at choosing a fine wine as he is at tradecraft, at once elegant and dangerous, sophisticated and rough-and-ready. As the novel begins, Paul Christopher, aging but remarkably fit, is dining with his cousin Horace, also an ex-agent. Dinner is delicious and uneventful. A day later, Paul has vanished. The months pass; peculiarly, Paul's ashes are delivered by a Chinese official to the American consulate in Beijing, and a memorial service is held in Washington. But Horace is not convinced that Paul is dead and, enlisting the support of four other retired colleagues a sort of all-star backfield of the old Outfit Horace gets the "Old Boys" back in the game, to find Paul Christopher. They start with a photo found in Paul's study: a woman's hand holding a centuries' old scroll, once in the possession of the Nazis and now sought by the United States government and Muslim extremists alike. Harassed by American intelligence, hunted by terrorists, Horace Christopher and the Old Boys travel the globe, from Xinjiang to Brazil, from Rome to Tel Aviv, Budapest to Moscow, in search of Paul and the unspeakably dangerous truth.
Review
"There are numerous narrow escapes from goons, police, armies, and Arabs, and a lot of interesting side trips well off the beaten tourist-track. Excellent spy thriller in the Anglo-American style." Kirkus Reviews
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"[A]n old-fashioned, rollicking adventure that beats Ludlum and Cussler at their own game....McCarry's commitment to this fanciful premise is absolute, and the resulting yarn combines the intrepid exploits of John Buchan, the cagey intrigue of Eric Ambler, and the clipped cadences of Dashiell Hammett. Tremendous fun." Booklist
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"[A] cheerfully convoluted yarn whose tone is by turns mischievous and elegiac....McCarry is a careful plotter and an unfussy stylist; he nourishes his narrative with cosmopolitan reflections on the craft..." Charles Trueheart, Washington Post Book World
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"Old Boys is high entertainment. To be sure, suspension of disbelief is required....Still, the leap of faith is not too extreme, and Mr. McCarry's witty writing and fast pace make it easily bridgeable. All fans of espionage should welcome this return of Charles McCarry." Dallas Morning News
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"[A] tale that travels from the outlandish to the absurd...It is something of a Treasure Island for lovers of spook fiction, a near-juvenile adventure that entrances adults who know better with fabulous writing." Boston Globe
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"[McCarry's] scrumptious writing carries triumphantly from one climax to another and the plot unfolds with vivid velocity to an explosive end." Los Angeles Times
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"[E]xhilarating, engrossing...the work of a writer in complete control of his plot, which is topical and technical and mind-twisting, yet plausible, and his characters....Don't start reading this one if you want to have a life for the next couple of days." San Antonio Express-News
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"Score one for Charles McCarry, who proves that at 70-something, he can still trounce younger writers with his spy-writing tradecraft." Detroit Free Press
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"McCarry, a wizard writer, transforms the sturdy ingredients of the spy and suspense genres into a magical brew for our new age. A summer read that will be in demand..." Library Journal
Synopsis
When crack intelligence agent Paul Christopher mysteriously disappears, his ex-agent cousin enlists the support of four other retired colleagues to find him and prove he's not dead.
Synopsis
When crack intelligence agent Paul Christopher disappears, his ex-agent cousin enlists the support of four other retired colleagues to find him. Harassed by American intelligence and hunted by terrorists, they travel the globe in search of the unspeakably dangerous truth.
Synopsis
They start with a photo found in Paul's study: a woman's hand holding a centuries-old scroll, once in the possession of the Nazis and now sought by the U.S. government and Muslim extremists alike.
About the Author
Charles McCarry established an international reputation as a novelist with the publication of his worldwide bestseller, The Tears of Autumn. He is the author of nine other critically acclaimed novels. During the Cold War, he was an intelligence oficer operating under deep cover in Europe, Africa, and Asia.