I’m a fan of Bruce Perrin’s stories and enjoyed this departure from his trademark psychological sci-fi thrillers to a romping, twisty tongue-in-cheek spy story. This is a plot that I thought I had figured out early on. I was partly right, but mostly the events spun in a completely different direction. The author brings in a familiar character from prior books, private investigator Rebecca Marte, to help the protagonist, Jessie, make sense of events. But mostly these are fresh characters and a very fresh story.

It is impossible to write a thorough review without spoiling the intricate plot. Suffice to say that things are not always what they seem to be (which readers will figure out pretty quickly) and there are plenty of twists and surprises. And look out for Charlie, the incredible farting dog.

As always, Mr. Perrin’s prose is clean and well-edited. There is plenty of exposition from the characters, but it is neatly woven into the story. The device of using the PI to help uncover facts, including a lot of speculation about what the facts could be, both works and causes the story to drag a bit after the action-packed beginning. The explanation in the end requires close attention to follow properly, and still may leave you puzzled about what really happened and why. But it’s a mystery that’s worth figuring. The Mind of a Spy is a quick read and one you won’t want to put down.