Synopses & Reviews
"You gotta have guts to be nuts." In a top-secret asylum for former CIA agents who have lost their grip on reality, five insane spies find their beloved psychiatrist dead, killed by a professional assassin. Sensing an obvious setup, the quintet of crazies concoct an ingenious breakout from their high-security institution and hit the road in search of the Enemy. God help the populace when their meds run out . . . Traumatized by their experiences in the CIA, they operate under somewhat skewed perceptions of reality. Their training, however, has prepared them to survive in a hostile world--even if that world is the Boston-to-Washington corridor as they chase down the assassin. A rousing blend of Ken Kesey's darkly satirical masterwork One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Robert Ludlum's spy fiction classic The Bourne Identity, Mad Dogs is a stunning novel of political commentary and a tour-de-force of literary style.
Review
"
Mad Dogs goes full-throttle, pedal-to-the-floor right up until the final page. A great, great read."-- Dennis Lehane,
New York Times bestselling author of
Mystic River "Mad Dogs is the literary equivalent of a supercharged Hemi, a rock-and-roll road novel that roars out of the gate and never slows pace. James Grady, the king of the modern espionage thriller, is back with a vengeance."--George Pelecanos
"James Grady writes it straight, pure, and hot as lava."--Stephen Coonts
"Grady is a master of intrigue."--John Grisham "A brilliantly conceived premise ripped from the secrets behind the headlines. Mad Dogs shines with satire and spies, shocks to the mind, and triumphs of the soul. A bullet-paced book you can't put down and won't forget. James Grady is a pro, and he never disappoints. This is a winner."--Nelson DeMille
"In a world of fast-food thrillers written by committee, James Grady has given us a three-star feast. It's Ambler on acid, a Ken Kesey Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Mad Dogs is an instant classic---Grady's blackest, grittiest, scariest work since Six Days of the Condor."--John Weisman, six-time New York Times bestselling author of Direct Action
"Oh, what a ride! Terrific characters, hell-for-leather pacing, and an astounding amount of tradecraft. Mad Dogs echoes both Grady's own Condor and Heller's Catch-22. Grady's one of the acknowledged masters, and Mad Dogs delivers!"--S. J. Rozan
"Grady grips you immediately with phantasmagoric writing at a breakneck pace."--Library Journal (Starred Review) on Mad Dogs
"Not to be missed!"--Rocky Mountain News on Mad Dogs
About the Author
James Grady has published more than a dozen novels, a handful of short stories, and has worked in feature films and television. He's been both a U.S. Senate aide and a national investigative reporter for Jack Anderson. Grady's writing honors include France's Grand Prix du Roman Noir (2001), Italy's Raymond Chandler Medal (2003), and an Edgar Award nomination (1997). He has two children and lives with his wife inside Washington, D.C.'s Beltway.