The Spy Who Spoke Porpoise

The Spy Who Spoke Porpoise, Philip Wylie, Pyramid Books, 1969

One day, the President of the United States is shocked to learn that there is a category of CIA files, code named Zed, to which he is not allowed access. They were supposedly authorized by a predecessor to build a wall between the Presidency and the occasional messy, but needed, political assassination. The president is unsuccessful in getting to the bottom of this through regular channels. On an official trip to Buffalo, he personally recruits Grove, and ex-OSS man who was something of a legend in the field, to do some digging for him.

Through some eavesdropping on the head of the CIA, Grove learns about something called Project Neptune which will happen near Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. He buys a house nearby, and sets up shop, not knowing what or when it is. He makes himself known to the locals, including Jerry, the night watchman at a local sea park. An ex-Honolulu cop who is no dummy in the secrecy and investigating departments, Jerry is recruited into the Project Neptune quest. Slowly and painstakingly, the pieces start to come together.

This book is much quieter, and, in many ways more realistic than, say, a James Bond novel. Spying isn't all adventure and daring escapes. Philip Wylie is a veteran writer who certainly knows his way around a novel. For a good old, Cold War, spy novel, check this out.