Guest Review - Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

KATI: My boyfriend, Scott, agreed to read a romance (actually a UF). These are his impressions of his first foray into Romanceland.

After being asked what I thought of doing a guest review on Kati’s blog and assenting, I was handed Carolyn Crane’s Mind Games. What lies below is a combination review of the novel itself as well as the novel as my first foray into the entirety of the genre.

**Mild Spoilers Herein**

Mind Games is a novel centering around the lead female character, Justine, whose life is being ruined by her ever present and almost all-consuming hypochondria. After a chance encounter, she meets a tall and dashing restaurant owner who promises relief from her condition, with the understanding that she assist him with a psychological “hit squad” whose sole purpose is to bring the city’s worst and un-prosecutable criminals to a form of justice. Joining this squad will put her in close proximity to the leader of the squad, the previously mentioned restaurant owner, and pit her against the equally but differently attractive Chief of Police. Is this the answer she’s been craving, or is she but a minion of the evil she so desperately wants to battle?

I read the novel in a 24 hour period and was surprised by a number of things, and these are in no particular order:

1. There was a story there, and I mean a story. I read the back cover, decided that the premise was within acceptable levels of suspension of disbelief, (if I can get my head around parallel worlds in The Dark Tower series, this is no problem) and began reading. The heroine was introduced and fleshed out within the first 20 pages, the main set-up was given to you in the first 30, and the dude with whom we assume she’s going to be naked at some point offered in the first 35. I can dig that. Makes it easier to read.
2. Crane did not use the story as a vehicle to get the heroine from bedroom to bedroom and position to position; the story itself holds its own.
3. Crane’s idea of a psychological “hit squad” designed for rehabilitation of un-prosecutable criminals had enough of the movie The Star Chamber updated with a world where precogs, telekinetics, and the like exist and thrive. Well done creating such a place.
4. Her writing style fits with what I like – she tells you that the city is dark and dangerous without needing to describe the gray water running down the sewers after the driving rain. Just enough for me to paint my picture of “Mid-City” (it was really Detroit in my mind.)
5. At times, Justine was just a bit wishy-washy at times for my taste. She seemed at different points to have absolutely no control over desires – by my count that included 4 different men and one woman. I get the fact that she’s just been both cured of her hypochondria and at the same time put on an abnormal and dysfunctional hit squad, but jeez Louise, lady, get a hold of yourself.
6. There was “The Regular Guy”, “The Big Bad”, “The Big Good”, and “The Dark Horse” in here. At some point, I thought she was going to have them all individually, and that would have been a problem for me, but Crane did a really great job bringing you to the edge of it and then allowing the heroine to have what I would think are realistic feelings and make choices based on them.
7. I had the benefit of knowing that this was the first book in a presumed trilogy before I started reading it, so I was not aggravated at the potential openness of the ending of the book. The really interesting part of this is that I think this novel could work as a stand-alone work. You could pick it up, read it, and be totally satisfied with the story and characters. It also leads beautifully into a second novel. The story arcs were wrapped very effectively, yet enough of a set up was left there the second novel will pick up without missing a beat and allow for another tale without re-mining the same material. Tales of Packard’s squad would be enough for Crane to write a few books on the stories alone, but I think that the sequel will go in a different direction. It was fascinating to me how well the author set herself up with the ending of Mind Games for the sequel. While the ending was at the same time open as well as a natural stopping point, it was in no way narrow, forcing her to write a certain themed sequel. You dig what I’m saying? Hard to convey, except that I liked the way it was handled. It worked for me.
8. There was less sex than I expected, but Crane’s style, when it came down to writing about it, was right in my wheel house. Hot, but not flowery; dirty, but not Penthouse forum (not that flowery nor Penthouse are necessarily bad unto themselves – there is a time and a place for both of them, but Crane’s style and the characters’ innate, well, characters didn’t lend the either of them at that point in the story). There was enough for it to be enough, but not too much that it took over the story. I can get around that, too.
9. This was my first time experiencing what I have been informed is a “happy for now” ending. I can deal with that, as long as there aren’t so many twists and turns to the characters in the second and third novels that make me feel like I’m being toyed with. You now? “Here, like this guy – he’s good.” “No wait, I didn’t tell you about this thing with the other guy, he’s better.” “Wait. I forgot to tell you about the first guy working with burn victims at the Children’s Hospital.” “Yes, but the reason he does that is because he put them there in the first place. Like the second guy. (Or the third, or fourth, or fifth, or even the chick over there…)”. DON’T TOY WITH ME! I AM A HUMAN BEING, DAMMIT!

Overall, I’d have to say that my first foray into the Romance genre was a pleasant one. In fact, is this truly a Romance novel, or is it sexy Sci-Fi? Either way, I will tell you that I will be reading the second one as soon as I can get the opportunity. This is a buy, as will be the sequel.

It makes me want to take a deeper look at this author’s other works. If the other books are as good as this one, she’ll have a fan for life, “Romance Author” or not. Good writing is good writing.

Mind Games can be purchased at Amazon, Borders or B&N.

Book 2 in the Disillusionists series, Double Cross comes out September 28, 2010.