The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen

Thomas Caplan’s romp has one thing that I’m not sure any other spy novel can claim — an introduction by Bill Clinton.

Turns out they met as freshmen at Georgetown, were later roommates, and Clinton advised Caplan on this novel early in the editing process, since they have always been fellow devotees of the spy thriller genre. You can learn more about their friendship and shared interest in Caplan’s article in the Huffington Post, and more about the novel in this CBS News interview.

Caplan is nearly finished with a sequel, and is planning to stick with Ty Hunter for the foreseeable future.

CAPLAN, Thomas. The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen: A Novel. 400p. Viking. Jan. 2012. Tr $26.95. ISBN 978-0-670-02321-9. LC 2011032992.

Adult/High School–Ty Hunter is a spy for the modern era, an era that includes rogue nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union and problems in the Middle East. He is a true patriot, serving in army intelligence as a covert operative when he is gravely wounded. Those wounds, however, lead to a near-complete facial reconstruction (no visible scarring) that give him a second, highly lucrative career as a movie star. Think Delta Force meets Harrison Ford with a twist of Jason Bourne and you’ve got Ty. The problem is those rogue warheads. Ty’s casual meeting with the man supposedly behind the sale, tycoon Ian Santal, and Santal’s ward, the very beautiful Isabelle Cavill, gives the government an opportunity to figure out what’s going on and stop it before real damage is done. Ty is also contending with Philip Frost, who is Santal’s protégé as well as Isabelle’s fiancé, and highly connected to the U.S. Government, in charge of the nuclear decommissioning process. Visiting exotic locales like Tangier, Gibraltar, Cannes, and even Camp David, Ty plays “dumb actor” while trying to unravel the puzzle’s threads. This is the perfect bridge from Alex Rider and Young James Bond to John le Carré or Frederick Forsyth.–Laura Pearle, Venn Consultants, Carmel, NY