A retired CIA agent is dealing with being home with his family after many bouts of working abroad in secrecy. He must figure out how to raise his son Noah with Down Syndrome after his wife is suddenly gone and the idea that he might die before his son spurs him into action, making sure Noah will be taken care of. Coupled with the fact that he’s trying to lay low with the large sum of money he had siphoned into his own offshore bank account during one of his CIA missions, his paranoia and his need to provide for his family are battling for his attention.
The premise is an interesting one, and that’s what made me give it 2 stars rather than just 1. The idea of looking at what home life would be like for someone who’s entire professional career was to be covert seemed really interesting to me.
I unfortunately could not get into this book. Full disclosure, I was sent this book by the author quite a while ago and had picked it up numerous times to try and read it, each time losing interest a few pages in. I’m actually not sure if I was sent a finished e-copy or an ARC with the number of spelling & grammatical errors, and repetitive narrative in some spots – as if the author had forgotten he had already said that a few pages earlier. Another point that completely turned me off of the book was the main character & his wife pushing for people to treat their son with respect, and getting the same opportunities that everyone is allowed but then referring to him as “mentally retarded”. At first, I thought this might have been from the advanced copy, and hadn’t been edited but it’s right there in the synopsis as well. I’m sorry, I refuse to accept that a loving father & husband would refer to his son as “retarded” and any intention to show his humanity by looking out for him was overshadowed by that.
I wasn’t quite following what was going on for most of the book and it wasn’t until about 3/4 in that stuff really happened and caught my interest. I found the storytelling disjointed, and the main character to be not very likable at all. There was so much emphasis on him & his wife’s love-making and his inadequacies that I was waiting for something significant to develop from that.
Unfortunately, A Spy at Home wasn’t for me even though I did find the CIA/siphoned money plot point substantially more interesting than his day-to-day routines.
Rating: ★ ★ (2/5 stars)
Available: January 11, 2010
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I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review
It sounds interesting, but it’s too bad that it didn’t live up to your expectations. I hate it when I just can’t get into a book.
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