Mind Games

Disillusionists, Book 1

By: Carolyn Crane

Narrated by: Rebecca Wisocky

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.

Listen to more of the Disillusionists trilogy.©2010 Carolyn Crane (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Mind Games is a violent U-Turn in a fresh direction, signaling the dynamic and welcome arrival of both Carolyn Crane and the most unique urban fantasy heroine I’ve seen on page in a long while, Justine Jones. And like Justine, Midcity is brightly imagined, beautifully dangerous, and perfectly flawed. Flashy and stylish, this is urban fantasy’s new shot-in-the-arm." (Vicki Pettersson, The New York Times)

Likeable Hypochondriac

Original premise. The heroine is sure she will die of Vein Star Symdrome at any minute. She knows it is an unreasonable fear but even hypocondriacs die of something! She discovers a group of people who can help her use her fears to benefit society. I wasn't sure about the narrator at first, but she grew on me. She captured Justine's moodiness. Good start to a series.

Just finished the series

I enjoyed this series more than anticipated. The narration was good. A few characters tended to sound similar, but not horrible. Didn't bother me, only stating viewpoint.
I believe this is the first series I've read where the main character doesn't have a singular focus on a love interest. This really kept the story interesting. I got all of these in the plus catalog, but if I had only gotten one title free, I likely would have spent credits to finish the series.

wonderful

so hapoy I found this book. great narration, great plot. going now to download book two.

Interesting -

Justine Jones is a hypochondriac, convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain.

While the author is very creative and this story doesn't mimic any other book on the shelf I found it hard to get through this book at times. This story is nearly 12 hours long which perhaps why I didn't love it as much as the other reviewers -

I couldn't connect on an entertainment level for this story even though it was creative, and had positive messages woven through.

very well-written story

I found this to be a very enjoyable book. overall the story had a lot of depth and the characters in it were very colorful. I will say however the main character that the focus is on got on my nerves a bit oh, I think that was just because I didn't like her personality. nevertheless the rest of the story was very well written, I found some things to be a bit predictable but not in a way that was disappointing. The ending did surprise me quite a bit. but it came to the performance, narrator did a very good job creating personality to each person however some voices I felt we're a bit ridiculous. but no matter what I still am really glad I got to listen to this book