by Nora Roberts
Pub: May 21, 2024
Source: St. Martin's Press & Netgalley
4.25 stars
As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.
Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.
The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse―because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them―and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head.
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Twelve year old Thea has a special bond with her grandmother (Grammie) and looks forward every year to the two weeks she and her younger brother Rem spend with her each summer. She talks to her parents almost every day while immersing herself in life on Grammie's farm. One night Thea awakens from a terrifying nightmare, having watched every horrific moment of her parents murder back in Virginia. When she runs, terrified, to her Grammie's room and finds her with tears streaming down her face, she knows the nightmare is real.
Grammie (Lucy) and Thea share a kind of second sight, a gift that passed to the women in the family. Thea's sight was even stronger than Grammie's and with her help the killer was apprehended quickly and sentenced to a supermax prison. What Thea comes to realize is that the killer, Ray Riggs, possesses the same gift and he knows that Thea is the reason he now sits in a cell. Year after year, Ray uses that gift to infiltrate Thea's dreams, to torment her through the mental connection they share. As Thea grows into adulthood, embarks on a career, and finds love, Ray is always there tainting both her dreaming and waking moments with promises of vengeance. When Ray's abilities seem to grow stronger and ever darker, Thea knows she must fight to break their connection for good - no matter the cost.
The first chapter or two of Mind Games were gut wrenching and went a long way in displaying the twisted hatred and violence in Ray Riggs and the innate goodness in Thea. Their connection was a frightening one but was not always front and center. The first third of the book was devoted to Thea's childhood and it wasn't until almost the halfway point that the love interest was introduced. While there are certainly psychological suspense elements at play, readers should not expect a fast-paced thriller. The story unfolds at a slower pace, with many day to day details of Thea's life on the farm with Lucy and Rem.
Mind Games is a blend of women's fiction, psychological suspense, and romance. The main characters are richly drawn and have such distinctive personalities, and Roberts' descriptions of Thea's life in Kentucky shared the beauty of the Appalachians in vivid detail. I could see Grammie's kitchen, and the animals, Thea's cottage, and their peaceful surroundings. I highly recommend Mind Games to readers who enjoy a suspenseful tale without the breakneck pace. 4.25 stars
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