When Jesse Bolger ran into an old acquaintance from his high school days, Robert Gleason, he wondered if the man still had an imagination that was unencumbered by reality. His question was answered in the affirmative that evening. After insisting they talk inside his homemade, electronically shielded room so no one could listen to their thoughts—no tinfoil hat was good enough for Robert—he confided that he’d stumbled onto two KGB-era Russian spies intent on destroying the United States. And he wanted Jesse’s help to stop them.
Jesse was certain, of course, that it was just a hoax, but he played along. It didn’t prove to be one of his better decisions, however, as the next thing he knew, he was being detained by the FBI under suspicion that he was a double agent. And where was Robert Gleason, the man who had started this whole fiasco, the unemployed eccentric who lived in his grandmother’s basement in a retirement community while he was learning to talk to self-aware computers? He was nowhere to be found.
Knowing he was out of his league to investigate a missing persons case, Jesse hired private investigator Rebecca Marte, hoping she could unravel a case that one minute looked like a spy spoof and the next, a terrorist plot that would plunge the United States into financial chaos.
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Editorial Reviews
A Wishing Shelf Book Review
www.thewsa.co.uk
An accessibly written spy story packed full of thrills and spills.
Firstly, love the title – very ‘James Bond’; as is the cover for that matter. So, if the author/publisher is looking to attract the ‘Bond crowd’, it’s off to a flying start.
Now, to the story. Jesse bumps into an old pal from school, Robert, who’s acting a bit, well, odd. He wants to meet him ‘privately’, and Jesse, being Jesse, plays along. It seems Robert’s discovered a KGB spy ring intent on destroying the US. From there, things sort of spiral out of control, and Jesse ends up being charged by the FBI for being a double agent. Framed, he contacts the only person who can help him - Private Investigator, Rebecca Marte.
All in all, I very much enjoyed this smartly plotted spy thriller. I know it’s the seventh novel of a set, but, even though I have never read the other six, I never had a problem following the story or understanding the characters and what made them tick.
So, if you happen to be looking for a book for a long flight to Deli, then In the Mind of a Spy might help you to while away the hours. It’s not in any way difficult to follow, and you’ll happily root for Rebecca and Jesse to find justice and discover who’s behind the sinister plot. Good fun!
Diane Donovan
Senior Reviewer
Midwest Book Reviews
In the Mind of a Spy (which joins Bruce M. Perrin’s Mind Sleuth series) tells of Jesse Bolger, whose unexpected encounter with high school classmate Robert Gleason leads him to believe that Russian spies have hatched an active plot to infiltrate and destroy the United States.
Jesse believes he’s listening to a hoax, so he listens with half an ear to a nearly impossible story. However, he is soon drawn into events when the FBI identifies him as a participant in the plot and a possible double agent. Gleason conveniently vanishes, leaving Jesse high and dry.
What is the actual truth? In order to answer this question, Jesse must move outside his comfort zone and experience, conducting an investigation that immerses him in not one, but several deadly games.
He can’t do this alone. So he hires private investigator Rebecca Marte to join him, and together they unravel facts that could, indeed, change the course of America’s future.
Perrin crafts an intriguing story that takes the usual Russian spy activity to new levels, embedding his saga with two strong personalities whose association and psychology guides readers into new territory in unexpected ways. Consider Jesse’s assessment of the FBI interrogator’s methods:
“The notion that he, a person who had struggled in high school art and had no training since could sketch a scene close enough to aid in the investigation was ridiculous. But then, Jesse was sure the agent wasn’t really interested in his drawing ability. Rather, he was interested in how he would handle the additional mental load of sketching the scene on top of the requirement to keep all of his fibs and their implications straight.”
The fine art of this work lies in how it fulfills its promise of depicting a ‘mind sleuth.’ Jesse employs psychology as he delves beneath the surface of events to arrive at new revelations about motivations, actions, and likely outcomes.
In the Mind of a Spy exposes the modus operandi and nature of not just the spy, but investigators whose experience and viewpoints create scenarios and possibilities beyond the typical investigative approach of assembling facts and figures.
Perrin’s story is, first and foremost, a terrorist plot exposé, but the undercurrents simmering beneath its surface are those of tides of change and challenge. These keep readers immersed and thinking about the cat-and-mouse games which challenge both perp and problem solver in new ways.
Rebecca also applies this special brand of psychological inspection to events as they play out:
“…whoever had dressed Jesse in those rags for the final part of their run knew exactly what they were doing. Given the obvious socioeconomic differences between the two men, no one would suspect they were together.”
Libraries and readers looking for the devices of a spy thriller that are enhanced by psychological revelations and analysis will find In the Mind of a Spy thoroughly absorbing. Readers interested in a story that introduces thought-provoking insights about the nature of spying and countermeasures will find it realistic, engrossing, and powered by characters who are unforgettable and unpredictable.
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