I joined a Book Funnel promo with a bunch of other fantasy and sci-fi authors and we are collectively offering 73 different books, novellas, anthologies, and so on for free until the end of January (click to check it out). I checked out the offerings and downloaded probably 20+ books that were in subgenres I liked. From those, I recently finished reading Grandfather Anonymous. I may have gotten it free, but this was not one of those free book for a review type situations. The author and I don't know each other, and he doesn't even know I'm writing this. I just want to write more reviews of indie published books, because I want to boost authors whose books I've enjoyed.

So, on to Eichenlaub's book. It's about a retired cyber operative named Ajay who worked for the NSA in his younger days. He has been off-radar and staying in hiding since he left his job, and likes it that way. One day, his estranged daughter that he hasn't seen in 20 years shows up and dumps her two kids in his lap and tells him to watch them. He didn't even know she had kids. She's in trouble and won't tell him what kind. She takes off, and doesn't come back.

Thus begins a non-stop adventure where Ajay must find his daughter, re-unite her kids with her, and escape the bad guys on the way. But it isn't so simple as that, as he uncovers new information. The bad guys may not be who he thinks they are. And his grandchildren are not your typical girls. He has to piece together clues to figure out what is going on, and it doesn't help that his granddaughters keep wandering off every chance they get.

This book reminded me a bit of the movie R.E.D., except Ajay isn't the badass agent like Bruce Willis. He's old, he's got a bad hip, and he's slow as molasses. He was a desk jockey, not a field agent, so it's not like he's an expert at kicking ass. Fortunately, his best friend Olivia is a retired Army Ranger... with Alzheimers. She is a fantastic ass-kicker, but only when she remembers who Ajay is. I like the characterizations of Ajay and Liv, as they are real, they are human, and they have problems.

But Ajay must find a way to rise to the occasion. His granddaughters may be strangers to him, but they are his blood, and he will protect them or die trying. It is non-stop action and even in the "slow" parts, stuff happens that keeps the narrative firmly in crazy mayhem territory.

I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Apparently, it is the first in a series called Old Code. I can't wait to read the next one.