Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
Paperback, 384 Pages
2010, Spectra
ISBN: 0553592610
Series: Book 1 of the Disillusionists Trilogy
Synopsis
JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.
Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem.
Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine’s first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye. Soon, while battling her attraction to two very different men, Justine is plunging deeper into a world of wizardry, eroticism, and cosmic secrets. With Packard’s help, Justine has freed herself from her madness—only to discover a reality more frightening than anyone’s worst fears.
Review
Main characters that have nearly paralyzing mental issues make me wary. Usually, in the face of extreme neurosis, story lines suffer due to the extreme constraints the main character puts on themselves. That is most definitely not the case in Mind Games. Carolyn Crane does a superb job of creating a character that not only has a debilitating psychological problem, but goes on to utilize this problem in a unique and fascinating way.
At the start of Mind Games, Justine Jones is a hard character to read, relate to, or even like. She's an extreme hypochondriac convinced she's going to die at any moment. She somehow manages to keep a job, but her relationship is just about over. Her boyfriend has finally had his fill of her near constant medical freakouts, and who can blame him? I would have left her after the third or fourth emergency room trip. Her episodes are getting worse and she's clearly going to need to be locked up in a mental hospital any day now.
Quite the downer, right? Not exactly. Justine meets Packard and her whole world changes. He offers her the opportunity to have her fear of sickness and death removed. For a price. He'll help her by teaching her how to use her neurosis as a weapon against criminals. This is where the story really gets creative.
What seems to be too good to be true may very well be. As Justine lives without fear, she finds herself falling deeper into a world where people with issues like hers fight crime in an almost vigilante style. She's not sure if she's one of the good guys or one of the bad guys, but does it really matter now that she's "normal"?
Mind Games is a completely unique novel that combines superhero abilities, unstable characters and an unbeatable mystery. By the end of the book, you'll love Justine, love Packard and even love the man who may or may not be the villain. The Disillusionist Trilogy promises to be unlike anything you've every read, and that's a very good thing.
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