The Moscow Rules is the story of a real world Q Branch, the CIA's Office of Technical Services, where authors Tony and Jonna Mendez devised the devices and techniques that made some impressive intelligence breakthroughs possible.

Soviet Moscow was as hostile an environment for intelligence tradecraft as could be produced, short of an actual prison. Americans were tailed whenever they left diplomatic compounds, all contacts between Russians and foreigners was logged, and the embassy buildings themselves were riddled with bugs and Russian servants working for the KGB. A simple matter of getting intelligence back from an agent, let alone making a meeting, seemed impossible.

Mendez found ways to elude surveillance, using the techniques of stage magic and some Hollywood special effects. The trick was to be able "go into the black", to evade KGB surveillance using misdirection such that the KGB didn't know they'd been tricked. Tactics included a device called the jack-in-the-box, which mimicked a passenger in a car, allowing an officer to bail out, and quick change disguises to turn CIA officers into Moscow civilians. Mendez and his team could perform miracles, swapping everything including race and gender.

This is a breezy and quick read through spycraft. It's a lot of fun, though not particularly deep. Recommended for fans of The Americans, and the Jennings' wig game.