Bonds of Justice

Psy-Changeling Series, Book 8

By: Nalini Singh

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Max Shannon is a good cop, one of the best in New York Enforcement. Born with a natural shield that protects him against Psy mental invasions, he knows he has little chance of advancement within the Psy-dominated power structure. The last case he expects to be assigned is that of a murderer targeting a Psy Councilor's closest advisors. And the last woman he expects to compel him in the most sensual of ways is a Psy on the verge of a catastrophic mental fracture.

Mind over matter: listen to more in the Psy-Changeling series.

©2010 Nalini Singh (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Consistent excellence makes Singh one of today's premier storytellers!" (Romantic Times)

Solid installment

Sophia and Max’s story is okay. Too similar to the previous book with the female Psy in danger of dying.

The main things I liked about this book are Nikita’s character development, Kaleb Krychek’s appearance, and the Psy Council’s split on the issue of Silence. Exciting reading up ahead!

Not a fan of the voice narration

Why does Ms, Dawe read Sophia to sound like a man after 20 years of two pack a day smoking? So annoying. This is the first and last time I will try an audiobook of my favorite series. I own all the books, but needed something to listen to while working remotely. I think I'll just go re-read the series from beginning just to erase this mess from my ears.

Otherwise, Sophia and Max are one of my favorite couples.

Max in a million

Wanted a book for Max so bad and was not disappointed. The story was beautiful. Dark at times so check your triggers. Also opened up new possibilities for other characters to show out and now I’m eager to see what will happen. On to the next!

I LOVED this One

This might be the favorite of the series so far.

Max and Sophie are perfect for each other. She is scared as all get out though. Can you imagine someone going into your memories all the good or bad and being able to project them for someone else to see?
I mean it would be good for catching the bad guy’s sure but then that person would have all those memories of bad. I can’t help but feel for her.

Max is different because he has natural shields and this really helps her. Ohhh their connection is the sweetest. He is so intrigued by her and her by him. Ahhh I just loved this about them.

Oh, that ending sure puts a spin on things. I can’t wait to see how it is all going to play out!

Again the narration is perfect for the books.
This might be the favorite of the series so far.

Max and Sophie are perfect for each other. She is scared as all get out though. Can you imagine someone going into your memories all the good or bad and being able to project them for someone else to see?
I mean it would be good for catching the bad guy’s sure but then that person would have all those memories of bad. I can’t help but feel for her.

Max is different because he has natural shields and this really helps her. Ohhh their connection is the sweetest. He is so intrigued by her and her by him. Ahhh I just loved this about them.

Oh, that ending sure puts a spin on things. I can’t wait to see how it is all going to play out!

Again the narration is perfect for the books.

Really good addition to the series. :D

4-4.5 stars

This was a really good story. I liked Max in the previous book he was in Mine to Possess and I was happy to see him get his story. Sophia is a good match for Max and I liked the way their relationship developed.

Sophia is a J-Psy (a Justice Psy, they have the ability to not only read memories but also project them to others) and has been working in that capacity since she was 16 years old (and she's now 28). Sophia has a troubling past that messed up her conditioning at an early age but she's worked to keep herself together and avoid showing any signs of problems. Her conditioning is slowly unraveling though and she knows it means her end is coming.

Max is a human cop but happens to have a natural shield that protects him from Psys intruding in to his mind. He grew up in the care of a mother that hated him and then foster care so his life hasn't been the best. Max is a good cop but he hasn't made it as far up in the ranks as he should have due to the inability of Psy to be able to read him (they like being able to spy in the human police’s minds). Regardless of him being held back, Max does a very good job and takes his job very seriously.

Sophia is a typical J-Psy in her failing conditioning. J-Psy all have issues with their conditioning because of all the emotions they encounter regularly in their job. They’re constantly monitored and reconditioned but that only lasts so long. After a number of years, all J-Psy are completely reconditioned which wipes everything of them so they're no longer who they were which is basically the same as death. Sophia knows that her complete reconditioning is coming as her conditioning is almost completely gone. Sophia and Max don’t know each other but are pulled together in a case. The Psy counselor Nikita Duncan (mother to Sascha Duncan from Slave to Sensation) is having issues with her closest advisers showing up dead and they’re called in to find out what is going on. Sophia and Max have a connection from the start and Sophia is curious about Max and can’t help letting out snatches of non-Psy behavior. Max is intrigued by Sophia and is attracted to her. He sees the pitfalls of getting involved with her but he can’t help but dive in when the opportunity presents itself.

Max and Sophia start working on the case and flowing the leads. They don’t have immediate luck and things are rather sketchy as they try to find clues that would lead them to the culprit. Max and Sophia dance around each other but not in a denial way, more in a cautious way. They both acknowledge the attraction and since Sophia knows she’s dead with her next conditioning, she wants to take what she can with Max before she’s gone. They start with brief touches and it evolves in to more as they continue to spend time together. They come to realize that they want more together and they discuss Sophia’s situation but since she acts as a minor anchor in the Psy web she doesn't think it’s possible to leave the web without wiping herself. There is a lot going on as the action plot heats up with danger from multiple opponents. I really liked how the Psy counsel story line is proceeding and Nikita is proving to be a lot cooler than I expected. With the way things were going on the romance side, I didn't know how Singh was going to pull out the ending but she did and did it well. With some unexpected help they're able to solve their case and figure out a way to have their HEA and I was very happy with the ending.

I really liked this story. Max and Sophia are both great characters and the storyline was interesting and engaging. It felt like there was more action/suspense in this story than some others in the series and I really got pulled in to it. The story left some good open threads of things for us to look forward to in future books. I can't wait to see how they turn out so I'm looking forward to the next book. I'd recommend this story. Thumbs up. :)

100% satisfied

With every book I think this is the best one and then I start a new book. Love this series! Love this author!

More relevant after the latest release

I reread this one after the latest release. I wanted to really understand Sophia's story after seeing in the latest book how important she is to the stability of the net. Enjoyed it more this time.

Criminally good

The narration is getting better all the time.
Being able to enter a criminal mind in order to retrieve proof of crimes is the job of the Justice psy. But Sophia's shields are already crumbling and age knows she is close to death.
Max enters the picture as a cop who caught a psychotic human butcher. But then they are asked to work together to find who is killing Nikita's people .
Can Max save her or will his touch send her over the edge?

:D

This series is getting good ! Things are changing and so are some characters, who can and do surprise you. I love this series. I've flown through each book and can't wait to continue listening. The narrator is great at impersonating many different voices, and she is one of my favorite narrators so far. Check out side stories and deleted scenes from this series on nalinisingh.com as well.

Justice, Love & Dissension

Sophia Russo is a J-Psy whose years ferreting out truth from the minds of criminals has left her burned out and scheduled for her final mental reconditioning.
Detective Max Shannon is one of the few law officers who has mental shields strong enough to block Psy influence. This has kept him from being promoted to a position of influence, but makes him known for his ethics and integrity.
They are reassigned to Councilor Nikita Duncan in San Francisco to investigate the deaths of three of her top aides.
Max connects with DarkRiver for assists in protecting Nikita and Sascha. Meanwhile, Sascha’s pregnancy progresses.
PurePsy is an ongoing threat and terrorist tool for a Councilor. It is pushing Silence, but Silence is killing the net. A schism erupts in the Psy Council and sides are drawn.
Dawe does a good job of narration.
Ok, Audible tech support, this is my 6th attempt to submit my written review.