The old man / Thomas Perry.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A finalist for the Barry Award for Best Thriller

Edgar Award-winning author Thomas Perry writes thrillers that move "almost faster than a speeding bullet" ( Wall Street Journal ). The Old Man is his latest whip-smart standalone novel.

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, and a bugout kit with two Beretta Nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run. Thirty-five years ago, as a young hotshot in army intelligence, Chase was sent to Libya to covertly assist a rebel army. When the plan turned sour, Chase reacted according to his own ideas of right and wrong, triggering consequences he could never have anticipated. And someone still wants him dead because of them. Just as he had begun to think himself finally safe, Chase must reawaken his survival instincts to contend with the history he has spent his adult life trying to escape. Armed mercenaries, spectacularly crashed cars, a precarious love interest, and an unforgettable chase scene through the snow--this is lethal plotting from one of the best in crime fiction.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Dan Chase seems to be an ordinary retiree and is devoted to his two dogs and his daughter and grandchildren. However, his past as a covert operative in army intelligence, stationed in Libya, when he made a decision that botched an assignment, has found him. And now his life is on the line. Reawakening his professional skills and instincts, Chase turns the tables, and the hunted becomes the hunter. Narrator Peter Berkot gives a strong performance in this exciting tale of espionage, credibly affecting different voices for various characters. His inflection is suitably expressive and confident throughout. Verdict Public libraries should strongly consider. ["Perry plays his plot with virtuosic deftness, thrilling readers to the core": LJ 11/1/16 review of the Grove hc.]-Michael T. Fein, Central Virginia Community Coll. Lib, Lynchburg © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Nearly half a lifetime ago, an Army intelligence officer using the name Dan Chase participated in a mission in Libya during which he allegedly stole $20 million from a corrupt "asset." Since then, he's been in hiding, living in Vermont with his two dogs. When Libyan assassins suddenly appear, only to be turned into chew toys by his trained pets, Chase starts running, not only to save his life but to find out who wants to kill him and why now. Author Perry fills this standalone thriller with nonstop action, shifting from Chase's long-prepped escape maneuvers to chapters featuring Julian Carson, a young special ops contractor hired by military intelligence because of his tracking skills. He's too honest not to do the job he's being paid for, but also honorable enough to sympathize with Chase once he realizes his bosses are cynical, deceitful, and without conscience. Reader Berkrot sets an energetic pace right from the start and, once Chase flees, both protagonist and reader put the pedal to the metal, slowing down only long enough for the old man to hook up with Zoe McDonald, a 40-something pianist, who becomes his traveling companion. A Mysterious hardcover. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* There are thriller heroes like Lee Child's Jack Reacher or Alex Berenson's John Wells whose combination of cunning and physical prowess makes them intensely appealing fantasy figures. And then there are thriller heroes like Thomas Perry's Old Man, who, at 60, has lost most of whatever physical attributes he once possessed but who can still think his way out of jams that would leave the rest of us whimpering for mercy. This is hardly the first time that Perry has written about a seeming Everyman with a hidden wealth of special training and ratiocinative ability, but the Old Man, who has many names on call and changes them as situations dictate, is surely one of the most appealing. A long time ago, he found himself in an untenable position in the Middle East but managed to escape with his life and a pot of CIA money. Hiding was his only way to stay alive, and so he has managed to do, until now. After decades of eluding but never exhausting his would-be assassins, the Old Man realizes he has no choice but to go on the offensive. This one's all about suspense and narrative propulsion, but the Old Man will remind Perry devotees of Chinese Gordon, the wacky hero of Metzger's Dog (1983), Perry's Edgar-winning comic caper novel. Both men are crazy good thinkers and planners and improvisers, and it's pure pleasure to watch them at work. Another delight from a writer who never disappoints.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2017 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Perry (Forty Thieves, 2016, etc.) drives deep into Jack Reacher territory in this stand-alone about a long-ago Army intelligence officer whose less-than-grateful nation just wont let him be.Dispatched to Libya a generation ago to deliver $20 million to Faris Hamzah for distribution to rebel fighters, Michael Kohler watched as Hamzah sat on the money, purchasing a Rolls-Royce, financing a cadre of personal bodyguards, and doing everything except pass the bundle to the intended recipients. So Kohler grabbed the rest of the money and hightailed it back to the USA. His offers to return the money to the National Security Agency fell on the deaf ears of bureaucrats who informed him that he was a wanted criminal whod better turn himself in and face the music. So Kohler went off the grid as Dan Chase, of Norwich, Vermont, invested the money cautiously, and set up several false identities, just in case. Ten years after his wife died, his past catches up with him in the shape of two Arab-looking men who break into his house while hes supposed to be asleep. After taking care of business with brutal efficiency, he goes on the lam once more. As Peter Caldwell he drives to Chicago, where he meets Zoe McDonald, whos quickly drawn to him. They make some sweet memories together as Henry and Marcia Dixon; then its time once more for Henry to leave. Julian Carson, the special ops contractor assigned to locate Dixon and set him up for the kill, ends up sympathizing with him insteadespecially after he helps arrange the return of the $20 million and sees that it doesnt lessen the pressure on Dixonand passes on the information that allows the Dixons to escape, though it doesnt exactly feel like an escape to Marcia. They retreat to an isolated cabin in Big Bear; Carson quits the assignment and marries his Arkansas sweetheart. Both men wait for the inevitable, and in the fullness of time, it arrives with guns ablaze. Swift, unsentimental, and deeply satisfying. Liam Neeson would be perfect in the title role. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Thomas Perry was born in Tonawanda, New York, in 1947. He graduated from Cornell University in 1969 and earned a Ph. D. in English Literature from the University of Rochester in 1974.

Perry's novels, successful both critically and with the public, are suspenseful as well as comic. Butcher's Boy received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel in 1983, and another one of his novels has been adapted in the movie, The Guide (1999). His other novels include: Death Benefits, Nightlife, Fidelity, and Strip.

(Bowker Author Biography)