Old Boys

An excellent yarn about a group of former spies getting together for one last caper. The premises are an entertaining homage to several classics in this field – a central character who is declared to be dead but may not be, the mysterious jihadist who has also returned from the dead, and (surprisingly) a long-lost Gospel that could have enormous repercussions. This last item is in fact an enormously intriguing concept but it serves only as the omnipresent McGuffin; I should like to have seen it developed a lot further.

About the only objection I found was that the geezer factor really didn’t play into the story except as a running punchline: these old guys are still lethal, still able to undertake feats of derring-do, and still highly connected even though all their colleagues would also have been long gone. I would much rather have seen them overcome situations through recalling old situations or craftiness. But, having said that, the book is an entertaining read and well worth the small investment.

Only to be expected in a spy thriller, there is quite a lot of violence, but (thank goodness for geezerdom) no sex scenes, so it is more than safe for teens.

Amazon link