Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
The Disillusionists Trilogy, Book 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback, 384 pages
Published: 03/23/2010 by Spectra
ISBN: 978-0553592610
Received From: Author
My Summary:
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.
My Ramblings:
Mind Games is Carolyn Crane’s much anticipated, debut Urban Fantasy novel and the first book in The Disillusionists Trilogy.
Coming from a dysfunctional family, it’s not surprising that Justine Jones has some serious issues of her own, hypochondria. Her deep seated fear is that she has a blood vessel about to burst. She just knows that the tingle she feels on her scalp is sign of the life threatening blood vessel on the verge of bursting, even if none of the doctors she frequents can find any medical proof of her condition.
On a celebration date with her boyfriend Cubby, Justine meets the strikingly good looking Packard who immediately recognizes her hypochondria with his own special insight. Justine recognizes Packard as a highcap, a person with unexplained special abilities. Packard offers Justine the opportunity to weaponize her fear against some of the vilest criminals in Midcity while alleviating herself of it at the same time by joining his vigilante group of extraordinary disillusionists. Is fighting the crime wave that has engulfed Midcity as black and white as Packard and his team of disillusionists have made it out to be?
When I first heard about Mind Games, it immediately claimed my attention with a hypochondriac heroine. I was curious how a heroine with health phobias would play out in a genre saturated with the usual mixing of vamps, shifters, witches and zombies. The creativity of the plot was beyond anything I would have imagined, Mind Games turned out to be a breath of fresh air in the Urban Fantasy genre. It was full of dangerous and wicked suspense that took off in directions I didn’t see coming from start to finish. I found this story to be full of scenes containing action, paranormal mystery and relationship intrigues threaded throughout the entire novel, and those scenes were “sit on the edge of your seat” tense.
The characters are all so original with personalities that add a quality of realism to the story. Justine Jones is an optimistic, who puts a lot of faith in good always prevailing over evil. Justine also just wants be an average, normal person without phobias. Packard is mysterious man, and deviling through the mysteries surrounding him is one of the main draws of this story. Then there’s Chief Otto Sanchez, and he is what I would call a debonair man with a flair for theatrics, his character is one you can’t help but like even when he calls criminals “evildoers” in such a dramatic fashion.
Mind Games needs to be a on everyone’s must-read-now list. Seriously – not kidding.
You can bet Double Cross, the next book in this trilogy, is at the top of my most anticipated books list now.
My Rating: 
Places you can find Carolyn: Web Site | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
The Disillusionists Trilogy:
- Mind Games
- Double Cross – 09/28/2010
Other Ramblings:
