I pretty much ignored Thomas Perry, the author of THE OLD MAN, for years. But I started watching the TV series based on this book and was unclear about things that I was sure the book would explain. Yes, it did. And I was also surprised: Perry is a darned good writer.

The man we first know as 61-year-old Dan Chase seems at first to be a regular old man living with his two big black dogs in Vermont. (I assume that Perry was quite a bit younger than 61 when he wrote this, or he would not have said this is old.) But he has let his guard down. An attempt is made on his life, and he goes on the run. Again. And he changes his name again, too.

Next he is in Chicago. Little by little we learn why he is running and who he is running from, although the who isn’t clear, even to him at first.

He soon moves into an apartment In Chicago with a woman, Zoe, who falls in love with him and who he pretends to love back. For him, Zoe adds a look of normalcy to his life, the better to evade his enemies. She eventually learns the truth about his background, and they are on the run together, both of them changing their names.

Speaking of background, Perry could have come up with a better one for Zoe. Granted, it doesn't have much to do with the main story and it isn't even mentioned until nearly the end when she and the old man are separated, but Perry wrote a pretty lame, unbelievable background for Zoe.

Even so, this book really is better than the highly rated TV series based on it. And although in some ways the book differs from the TV series, the book does give some needed explanations. But I doubt the TV series will go the same way the book does, with the old man always keeping to himself. If you are familiar with Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, you will see the similarities between the old man and Reacher.

Although, as I said, this book is superior to the TV series, I have one more problem with the book: Perry's math. He says the old man is 61 years old. He wrote it in 2017. That means the old man is the same age I am. Perry also says that the old man served in Vietnam in 1972. In 1972, I was 15 and 16 years old. No one my age served in Vietnam. Is Perry’s math wrong, or did I miss something?