COLTS NECK, N.J.--The Mission is a book by top thoroughbred racehorse trainer J. Willard Thompson, who began this book in the 1960s, but it got lost in a move.
Thompson, now 82, returned to the scene of the crime after finding it in a desk drawer.
The Mission is about Jack Perry, who knows he’s a luckier man than most.
He has a terrific job, a beautiful wife, a comfortable home, and not too much stress.
Yet he believes he’s missing out on some element of life that would make him truly successful.
He needs a challenge, a quest with a touch of danger.
He hits upon a plan to rob the very bank he works for – more for his mental health, he reasons, than for improving his wealth.
As he begins to plan the details of the perfect heist, it seems that things are still coming far too easily for him.
But plans are one thing and the execution is another altogether, as Jack is about to find out in this hilarious caper set in the sixties that tackles the age-old question: Just how does one measure success?
A review by its publisher, Dog Ear Publishing, shows how it’s easy to become discontent, even if you apparently have it all.
A loan officer decides to scratch a nagging itch to finally grab the brass ring, but his well-laid plan may not turn out as he hopes.
Set in Garden City, N.Y., in the 1960s, “The Mission” features Jack Perry, a loan officer at a New York City bank.
HE'S MARRIED to his beautiful college sweetheart Ashley, has a lovely home and doesn’t have much stress in his life.
But everything changes one night when he wakes up with the overwhelming sense that something is missing, and his solution: rob the bank he works for, which will provide the excitement, risk and reward he’s looking for.
Planning the perfect heist goes well, including buying a suitable disguise, but making it happen could be another story altogether.
After all, the bank he plans to rob is the one that keeps him gainfully employed.
Add to this mix a best friend who makes his living as a private eye, and this humorous novel tells a rollicking story even as it raises age-old questions about how people measure success and what it takes to be content in their lives.
Ironically, the book’s author is renowned for his honesty.
J. Willard Thompson is an American thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
He was the first recipient of Monmouth Park Racetrack’s Virgil W. Raines Distinguished Achievement Award in 1996 for his dedication to the sport, professionalism, exemplary conduct and integrity.
The former steeplechase jockey won three straight training titles at Monmouth Park Racetrack between 1975 and 1977 and in 2001.
He also won back-to-back titles at the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1980 and 1981.
Before her death. he was married to Carol Hoffman, a very successful grand prix jumper rider in the 60's and 70's who took up training jumper riders and began the successful career of Callan Solem, who rode for her for many years.
Half the author's sales proceeds will go to The Retired Racehorse Project, https://www.retiredracehorseproject.org
The Mission is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other book stores.