Review: Mind Games by Nora Roberts

Mind Games by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both an ebook and an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I mainly listened to the audiobook, because January LaVoy is one of my favorite narrators.  As always she does a fantastic job voicing all of the characters in the novel so you always know who is speaking and what they are feeling.  

I actually really enjoyed this book!  This started out as a questionable read for me, as the main character Thea is a child when the villian Ray Riggs enters the storyline.  I don't enjoy thrillers where children are involved, but I really liked what the author did with the interactions between Riggs and Thea.  I thought it was a creative way for them to interact, while still protecting Thea as a child and as she grows up and she is ready to face him in person.  Make no mistake the interactions with Riggs are plenty ugly and at time vulgar, but knowing that he and Thea are never physically in the same space makes for an interesting plotline and easier to stomach when she is younger.  There are several scenes where you are going to want to check trigger warnings for especially when Riggs is in the drivers seat or when Thea is describing crime scenes to the detectives.  While short, they are disturbing.

I thought the pacing was good in this one.  I sometimes find Roberts book to be a tad on the long side and the pace to be slow, but I didn't find that to be the case with this one.  This follow Thea and her brother from childhood when tragedy strikes their family on their annual 2 week trip to their grandmothers Kentucky home.  Grammie becomes their legal guardian and raises them into successful adults.  Both Grammie and Thea have a gift, so this does delve a bit into the paranormal throughout the book as Thea has a connection with the man who killed her parents.  She works hard to keep him out, but he is working just as hard to break down her walls.  As we follow Thea through adulthood, we see her build a successful career and life, and when she least expects it love enters the picture.  I thought all of the characters had good character development and well defined storylines.  I loved all the side characters as well and felt they did a good job to support the story.  I was invested in Thea and Ty's relationship as their romance developed, and thought they had good chemistry.  This is pretty closed door when it comes to the spice, which I prefer.  I also loved all the references to home cooked meals.  This book should come with a supplemental cookbook for all of the yummy things Thea and Grammie cooked, as well as Grammie's secret recipes to her soaps, candles, and lotions.  

Overall I thought this was really entertaining.  Sometimes the author's work can feel a bit formulaic, and while that might have been true for this book that formula worked really well for me here.  If you are a Nora Roberts fan and like a thriller with a paranormal twist this, I recommend this one!

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