Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

I've been eagerly awaiting Carolyn Crane's debut novel Mind Games for what seems like ages now. If you're not familiar with the name, I suggest you head on over to Carolyn's hilarious blog The Thrillionth Page and acquaint yourself with CJ and her hilariously eclectic style and wit. One night a few weeks ago I was lying awake in bed scheming on how I could get a hold of an early copy of Mind Games and then--POW--Carolyn contacted me wondering if I'd be interested in a review copy. I love it when the fates align like that. This is the first in the Disillusionists trilogy--and I really do love this cover. I love the tangle of highway behind her and her cool stance and watchful expression. The knife doesn't hurt. Or the blurb by Ann Aguirre at the top.

Justine Jones is on death's door. At any moment she could drop dead. Of this she is absolutely certain. But she's also aware that she is a hypochondriac in the worst way and her life has been one long, tense struggle not to give in to her disorder. And while she knows she's prone to over analyze her health (understatement much?), she also knows that her mother died from the rare vein star syndrome and, as her symptoms continue to mirror her mother's, Justine fears she's not long for this world. Then one night she goes to dinner with her numbingly normal boyfriend Cubby and meets Sterling Packard--the proprietor of the Mongolian Delites restaurant in which they are dining. Packard, it turns out, is a "highcap"--a human with mutant/super abilities. In Packard's case, he has enhanced psychic powers that allow him to channel emotions, which is how he zeroed in on Justine as she sort of blares pain and neuroses on the psychic plane. He makes her a deal she can't refuse when he offers to siphon off her constant, crushing fear and paranoia in exchange for her services on his elite psychological hit squad. As Justine delves further into Packard's history and the underground forces at work in her city, she grows increasingly uncertain as to what is right and wrong and who is worth fighting for. Or against.

I have to give props to Carolyn Crane for her insanely unique and clever idea for an urban fantasy series and protagonist. Your run-of-the-mill hypochondriacal dress shop manager turned psychological assassin fighting for justice on a vigilante special forces team headed up by a spatially challenged, rakishly handsome, possibly amoral mastermind? Genius. I lapped it up like cream. And I liked Justine from the start. I liked how torn, yet accessible she was. How she longed for normality or at least the illusion of it, almost to the exclusion of all else. How certain she felt that she was broken beyond fixing and how certain Packard felt that she wasn't and how fascinating he found her. It's alternately funny, sad, and charming to watch her find a group of friends and comrades in the other desperate misfits that made up Packard's squad. And, as much as it pained me at times, I appreciated how no single character was entirely black or white and how their abilities made them both strong and dangerous, highlighting those grays in between admirable and unbearably flawed. I will say that there is a love triangle of sorts and that, though I see pros and cons to both sides, I feel strongly inclined in one direction. It comes on a bit late in the game for me and a few more romantic scenes felt a bit awkward and/or rushed. I, of course, don't trust either of her love interests as far as I can throw them. Unless I was one of the awesome mutant throwing highcaps tearing about Midcity. In which case I would hurl both of them about at will for some of the pain they inflict on our girl! But what I enjoyed most about this story was the unquenchable comic book hero theme running through it. From the heroine's classic alliterative first and last names to the Gotham City-like atmosphere and truly disgusting villains to the normal person thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Made of awesome, my friends.

The good news is the sequel--Double Cross--is due out September 28th. That's right, this September! Also be sure to drop by tomorrow for my interview with Carolyn. We'll be giving away a signed copy of Mind Games to one lucky commenter!


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