Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

Title:  Mind Games
Author:  Carolyn Crane
Publisher:  Spectra
Publication Date:  March 2010
Format:  Paperback, 384 pages
Age Group:  Adult
Series:  The Disillusionists (Book 1)

Justine Jones is a hypochondriac, convinced that a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain.  Her life is filled with fear until she meets Packard, a highcap who can see people's psychology.  Packard uses people's fears, weaknesses, and vices against criminals and invites Justine to join his team.  However, there is more to Packard and more to the targets than meets the eye.  Soon Justine is deeper than she ever could have imagined in a world she knew nothing about.

I wanted to like Mind Games.  I've read so many great reviews of this book on a variety of blogs.  The story concept is unique and original.  Unfortunately the book just didn't work for me overall.  Maybe I didn't read the description closely enough but I didn't realize that the novel would, in many places, read like a superhero comic book.  Now I have nothing against superhero comic books when that is what I sit down to read but I didn't expect it from a novel.  The characters throw around the word 'nemesis' a little too often until it almost sounded like a joke to me.  Two of the characters even have a conversation over dinner about what their mottoes are, as if they really are superheroes.  Character's names ranged from comic book style to regular folks to just plain silly.

Mind Games is a dark book and that was enjoyable.  Justine faces many moral questions as she realizes things are not as they first appeared and the concepts of good and evil are frequently tangled closely together.  Often, there is no right choice even when the path seems clear enough in the beginning.  Of course out of this tangle comes the inevitable love triangle where Justine has to choose between two sexy men who both claim to be doing the right thing.  I realize I may be one of the very few readers on the planet who would enjoy a good novel without this added sexual tension in there but seriously, the whole love triangle thing is really old.  It has been done so many ways and I didn't feel that Crane added anything new to it at this point in the series.

While I did enjoy some parts of the book, I didn't enjoy it enough to continue on with the series.  I won this copy of Mind Games from Lovin' & Livin' Life Reviews.  There was no expectation of a review and the opinion presented here is my own.

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