Scan barcode
A review by mrsbooknerd
Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder
3.0
Political thrillers are the type of novel that I avoid most. I just find that novels based on untouchable characters can often become over dramatic and frustrating to read. Our hero knows that Mr. Politician has been bad, but Mr. Politician has a long reach and so nobody believes our hero, and he is portrayed as the bad guy.
I didn't read the blurb very well when I picked up 'Guilty Minds' so when I started reading, my enthusiasm dropped when I realised that it was political. Still, I am nothing if not a trier, so I carried on. Soon enough I was over 100 pages in without even realising and was rather enjoying myself.
The writing style is actually really refreshing and engaging, and I found it really easy to read, right from the offset. I enjoyed the writing as much as I did the plot and characters.
Nick Heller is your standard wonder-man. He always lands on his feet - literally actually - and can outmaneuver the best of them. By the end of the novel, this was actually a little irritating, because just once I'd like to see him trumped and maybe needing to rely on someone else to survive. I did genuinely feel tense when things did start to go wrong for Nick though, another sign of good writing.
I wished that perhaps Nick had had more a team, just something to break up the luck that always seemed to be on his side. There were a number of connections that he called, but none were really developed as supporting characters. Dorothy was unengaging and I didn't warm to her at all, yet she was the closest thing that we had to a supporting character until Mandy Seeger was introduced and became both love interest and supporting character.
The initial case was actually solved rather quickly, and I worried that the remainder of the book would be lacking in excitement and progression, but the focus just shifted. The fallout of this initial case came to the forefront, and reinvigorated the novel again. I rather enjoyed this, especially as it all came back full circle at the end to tie up loose ends.
I loved the easy writing style, and I didn't get bored of the plot once, but I guess I found it all a little too easy. Nick was an all-round action man who didn't need anyone for anything. He escaped every situation that he found himself in, whether physically escaping a situation or calling a 'contact' and suddenly getting information to help. He never hit a dead end or encountered something that set him back. I just felt that a little sprinkling of grit would have raised the tension.
I would absolutely read another by this author.
I didn't read the blurb very well when I picked up 'Guilty Minds' so when I started reading, my enthusiasm dropped when I realised that it was political. Still, I am nothing if not a trier, so I carried on. Soon enough I was over 100 pages in without even realising and was rather enjoying myself.
The writing style is actually really refreshing and engaging, and I found it really easy to read, right from the offset. I enjoyed the writing as much as I did the plot and characters.
Nick Heller is your standard wonder-man. He always lands on his feet - literally actually - and can outmaneuver the best of them. By the end of the novel, this was actually a little irritating, because just once I'd like to see him trumped and maybe needing to rely on someone else to survive. I did genuinely feel tense when things did start to go wrong for Nick though, another sign of good writing.
I wished that perhaps Nick had had more a team, just something to break up the luck that always seemed to be on his side. There were a number of connections that he called, but none were really developed as supporting characters. Dorothy was unengaging and I didn't warm to her at all, yet she was the closest thing that we had to a supporting character until Mandy Seeger was introduced and became both love interest and supporting character.
The initial case was actually solved rather quickly, and I worried that the remainder of the book would be lacking in excitement and progression, but the focus just shifted. The fallout of this initial case came to the forefront, and reinvigorated the novel again. I rather enjoyed this, especially as it all came back full circle at the end to tie up loose ends.
Spoiler
I guessed the mastermind behind it all rather quickly, and would have been more shocked had it not been Gideon. He was suspicious from the start, or at least, he was to me. I liked that his reasoning behind the whole saga was quite undramatic. It made it all feel more honest and sincere. Not some crazy and tenuous reason just added for dramatic effect.I loved the easy writing style, and I didn't get bored of the plot once, but I guess I found it all a little too easy. Nick was an all-round action man who didn't need anyone for anything. He escaped every situation that he found himself in, whether physically escaping a situation or calling a 'contact' and suddenly getting information to help. He never hit a dead end or encountered something that set him back. I just felt that a little sprinkling of grit would have raised the tension.
I would absolutely read another by this author.