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The Clockwork Spy: A Literary CIA Espionage Thriller
Memento meets 24. From science fiction author Maya Darjani comes a contemporary political thriller—told in reverse.
It's bad enough CIA officer Helena Deane is under suspicion of espionage by the FBI.
The kicker? Her own husband is one of the investigators.
Helena works to clear her name and uncover the true culprit–responsible for at least nine deaths, including Helena’s asset.
But when her boss shoots himself after being confronted, Helena knows it’s not the end of her journey. It’s only the beginning.
But if her secrets get exposed, there goes her marriage…and possibly, her life.
It's bad enough CIA officer Helena Deane is under suspicion of espionage by the FBI.
The kicker? Her own husband is one of the investigators.
Helena works to clear her name and uncover the true culprit–responsible for at least nine deaths, including Helena’s asset.
But when her boss shoots himself after being confronted, Helena knows it’s not the end of her journey. It’s only the beginning.
But if her secrets get exposed, there goes her marriage…and possibly, her life.
- GenresThriller
427 pages, Paperback
Published January 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 15, 2025
I gave this book a possibly somewhat mean 3 stars as I found the whole plot hard to follow. This might be because I read it on my kindle and it was well nigh impossible to keep going back to check details then return easily to the page I was reading and not least because the story is told in reverse. The central pivot being an interrogation, from which the questions are answered by going back in time, with Helena explaining what occurred. I also found it hard to follow the “spy craft” as the central character, Helena Deane, is a CIA field officer accused of treason. The twists and turns of the story are fairly tortuous as I tried to get a handle on what was going on.
Having said that, as I continued to read, the sections gradually fell into place and began to make sense but it did try my patience somewhat as nothing really happens and the structure of the story distances the reader (well- me) from the action, so there was never a feeling of danger or life in peril. Do we care if Helena is really a traitor? Do we care if she ends up in prison? I guessed correctly whether she was guilty or not so there wasn’t any sense of suspense.
There is an attempt at analysing America’s rôle in the world; Helena seeing her actions as maintaining the myth that America cares about democracy but in reality cares only if it suits the government of the time. She struggles with her conscience, but not too much!
I wonder if the book is too clever for its own good but the twist at the end was fairly surprising if not confusing! I have mixed feeling about the book as I think it could have been much more exciting and suspenseful given a different structure. It is undoubtedly clever in terms of plot, but the characters could have been fleshed out more.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for my kindle. This is my honest review after reading the complete novel.
Having said that, as I continued to read, the sections gradually fell into place and began to make sense but it did try my patience somewhat as nothing really happens and the structure of the story distances the reader (well- me) from the action, so there was never a feeling of danger or life in peril. Do we care if Helena is really a traitor? Do we care if she ends up in prison? I guessed correctly whether she was guilty or not so there wasn’t any sense of suspense.
There is an attempt at analysing America’s rôle in the world; Helena seeing her actions as maintaining the myth that America cares about democracy but in reality cares only if it suits the government of the time. She struggles with her conscience, but not too much!
I wonder if the book is too clever for its own good but the twist at the end was fairly surprising if not confusing! I have mixed feeling about the book as I think it could have been much more exciting and suspenseful given a different structure. It is undoubtedly clever in terms of plot, but the characters could have been fleshed out more.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for my kindle. This is my honest review after reading the complete novel.
July 23, 2025
Finally, a book that brings Le Carré-style espionage thrillers to the changed reality of the 2020s – and with a female, black immigrant main character to boot.
As someone loving Le Carré style espionage novels with their focus on the people rather than actions of the espionage world, believable morally grey characters, grounded knowledge of setting and interwoven timelines exploring cause and effect I was excited to be offered an ARC of The Clockwork Spy.
Suffice to say, I was not disappointed – quite the opposite. Maya Darjani’s The Clockwork Spy left me hungry for more and even less willing to settle for the standard fare of 1990s-style espionage thrillers.
Darjani tells a very believable yet unpretentious story from the heart of the intelligence community, exploring the motives and moral dilemmas of contemporary intelligence and the humans within it. So much so that I would not at all be surprised at all if I learned things quite like it had played out – who knows how often – within the intelligence world. At the same time the story kept me at the edge of my seat, chasing the next clue to the puzzle. I felt like in the head of her main character, Helena Deane, as I followed along many twists and turns to a conclusion that, in hindsight, feels like “OF COURSE” exactly in the way past mistakes often do once you realize you made them – but that I couldn’t possibly have guessed at the beginning of the book.
The reverse timeline flows so naturally it feels like introspection on the why and how rather than a storytelling tool and makes it very intuitive to read. I particularly enjoyed Darjani’s uncluttered writing style with enough detail to set the scene while moving the plot forwards – or rather backwards – without ever running out of steam.
And then, of course, we have Helena Deane and her colleagues, all with their own stories, their own motivations and their own desperate struggles to do right by themselves, their morals and believes – and their country. A woman, and a black immigrant, Helena Dean is a long-overdue change to the usual fare of white men featured as main characters in the espionage genre.
If you love espionage, or if you are curious to explore it, and are tired of reading white men's Cold War cowboy stories this book was written for you!
As someone loving Le Carré style espionage novels with their focus on the people rather than actions of the espionage world, believable morally grey characters, grounded knowledge of setting and interwoven timelines exploring cause and effect I was excited to be offered an ARC of The Clockwork Spy.
Suffice to say, I was not disappointed – quite the opposite. Maya Darjani’s The Clockwork Spy left me hungry for more and even less willing to settle for the standard fare of 1990s-style espionage thrillers.
Darjani tells a very believable yet unpretentious story from the heart of the intelligence community, exploring the motives and moral dilemmas of contemporary intelligence and the humans within it. So much so that I would not at all be surprised at all if I learned things quite like it had played out – who knows how often – within the intelligence world. At the same time the story kept me at the edge of my seat, chasing the next clue to the puzzle. I felt like in the head of her main character, Helena Deane, as I followed along many twists and turns to a conclusion that, in hindsight, feels like “OF COURSE” exactly in the way past mistakes often do once you realize you made them – but that I couldn’t possibly have guessed at the beginning of the book.
The reverse timeline flows so naturally it feels like introspection on the why and how rather than a storytelling tool and makes it very intuitive to read. I particularly enjoyed Darjani’s uncluttered writing style with enough detail to set the scene while moving the plot forwards – or rather backwards – without ever running out of steam.
And then, of course, we have Helena Deane and her colleagues, all with their own stories, their own motivations and their own desperate struggles to do right by themselves, their morals and believes – and their country. A woman, and a black immigrant, Helena Dean is a long-overdue change to the usual fare of white men featured as main characters in the espionage genre.
If you love espionage, or if you are curious to explore it, and are tired of reading white men's Cold War cowboy stories this book was written for you!
June 24, 2026
Nonlinear storytelling is often treated as a stylistic flourish. In The Clockwork Spy, it is the foundation of the narrative itself—and that distinction matters.
Telling a political thriller in reverse is not simply a conceptual hook; it is a structural constraint that reshapes how tension operates. Instead of building toward revelation, the novel asks whether tension can be sustained through understanding—through the gradual uncovering of cause rather than effect. That is a far more difficult balance to achieve, and the execution here demonstrates a clear awareness of that challenge.
What stands out is the control. The narrative does not rely on disorientation to create intrigue. It maintains coherence while moving backward, allowing each layer to recontextualize what the reader thought they understood. This creates a different kind of suspense—less about what will happen, and more about why it already has.
Helena Deane’s position at the center of this structure is equally effective. A protagonist under investigation, entangled both professionally and personally, provides a stable axis around which the reversed timeline can operate. The emotional stakes—particularly the intersection of loyalty, secrecy, and trust—anchor the conceptual framework in something tangible.
There is an inherent risk in this kind of narrative design. When it works, it elevates the story. When it doesn’t, it collapses under its own complexity. Here, it holds.
The Clockwork Spy is not simply a thriller with a twist. It is a thriller built on a different understanding of how stories can move—and how tension can be constructed when time itself is no longer linear.
Telling a political thriller in reverse is not simply a conceptual hook; it is a structural constraint that reshapes how tension operates. Instead of building toward revelation, the novel asks whether tension can be sustained through understanding—through the gradual uncovering of cause rather than effect. That is a far more difficult balance to achieve, and the execution here demonstrates a clear awareness of that challenge.
What stands out is the control. The narrative does not rely on disorientation to create intrigue. It maintains coherence while moving backward, allowing each layer to recontextualize what the reader thought they understood. This creates a different kind of suspense—less about what will happen, and more about why it already has.
Helena Deane’s position at the center of this structure is equally effective. A protagonist under investigation, entangled both professionally and personally, provides a stable axis around which the reversed timeline can operate. The emotional stakes—particularly the intersection of loyalty, secrecy, and trust—anchor the conceptual framework in something tangible.
There is an inherent risk in this kind of narrative design. When it works, it elevates the story. When it doesn’t, it collapses under its own complexity. Here, it holds.
The Clockwork Spy is not simply a thriller with a twist. It is a thriller built on a different understanding of how stories can move—and how tension can be constructed when time itself is no longer linear.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Espionage thriller set within the spy arena of the USA. This is a reverse presented story. Which makes things interesting, but also had me struggling to start with as the time line jumped from present to somewhere in the past.
Helena, CIA Officer, finds herself in trouble. Trouble that came from past interventions, and trying to protect her husband and family. It’s the smallest detail, missed, that could have saved her all this trouble. But when you live and work in the shadowy world of counter espionage trust is sometimes, actually maybe often, misplaced.
Thank you to Starshot Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
Helena, CIA Officer, finds herself in trouble. Trouble that came from past interventions, and trying to protect her husband and family. It’s the smallest detail, missed, that could have saved her all this trouble. But when you live and work in the shadowy world of counter espionage trust is sometimes, actually maybe often, misplaced.
Thank you to Starshot Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
Review of advance copy
I haven’t read a spy novel in ages, so I was eager to read a contemporary take on this classic genre, and Meena Daye’s Clockwork Spy delivers all the double- and triple-crossing I’d expect from this kind of undercover-agent-y work.
Although I found it a bit hard to get into the story with the timeline jumping all over the place, and new names being introduced left and right. So, initially, I had some trouble keeping people and agency departments sorted (YMMV). But as more of the story got revealed, I enjoyed how the puzzle took shape, bit by bit.
I'd definitely read more books by this author.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Although I found it a bit hard to get into the story with the timeline jumping all over the place, and new names being introduced left and right. So, initially, I had some trouble keeping people and agency departments sorted (YMMV). But as more of the story got revealed, I enjoyed how the puzzle took shape, bit by bit.
I'd definitely read more books by this author.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 7, 2025
I love the aims of this book – there’s nothing better to read than a good spy novel. I struggled with the story line as it flip-flopped between the present and 3, 4 ,8 days before. As a previous reviewer has observed it’s difficult to keep track of the plot when it’s not easy to move backwards to reread or check facts.
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
June 3, 2026
What just happened? I’m still not sure whodunnit. Interesting. Written for the screen, highly dependent on visuals..probably make a good movie.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews