Clean

A Mindspace Investigations Novel, Book 1

By: Alex Hughes

Narrated by: Daniel May

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

A ruthless killer - out of sight, out of mind

I used to work for the Telepath’s Guild before they kicked me out for a drug habit that wasn’t entirely my fault. Now I work for the cops, helping Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino put killers behind bars.

My ability to get inside the twisted minds of suspects makes me the best interrogator in the department. But the normals keep me on a short leash. When the Tech Wars ripped the world apart, the Guild stepped up to save it. But they had to get scary to do it - real scary.

Now the cops don’t trust the telepaths, the Guild doesn’t trust me, a serial killer is stalking the city - and I’m aching for a fix. But I need to solve this case. Fast. I’ve just had a vision of the future: I’m the next to die.

©2012 Alexandra Hughes (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Really worth a read

Well worth checking this book out. Its futuristic bot not hard to get into and not too techy in the language

Sci*Fi at its best!!!

I loved the story line. I am glad to see someone with great abilities with issues beyond their control. I could not understand why the book was called "Clean," until his addition struggle was over shadowing his every thought. I also enjoyed the ending not ending with the capture of the bad guys becoming the main focus of the book.

Gripping SF-noir

"Clean" is an excellent start to what I hope will be a long-running series.

It succeeds on many levels. It is a gripping story of a police investigation of a serial killer that draws upon familiar archetypes - a cop/consultant with a shady past and an addiction problem who has a strong, beautiful, karate black-belt partner (also with a painful past) who stands up for him because it's the right thing to do but still doesn't want him in her head - while breathing enough personality and context into them to make them feel fresh.

It skilfully builds a picture of a future Atlanta, coping with doing things manually after the Tech Wars have devastated the Western World. The ideas are seeded carefully without resorting to clumsy info-dumps.

It gives an insight into a Guild of people with "abilities" in Mindspace - telepathy, teleportation, and telekinesis - amongst other things that is original, credible, intriguing and left me hungry for more.

The prose is crisp and clear. The action scenes, including the ones requiring special powers, are exciting and fully visualised. Best of all, Alex Hughes' first-person story-telling is as compelling as any noir-fiction writer I've ever read, including Chandler. I loved that we barely get to find out the main characters name because he already knows it and seldom has to bother introducing himself. The main character is flawed in a very unglamorous way. He is often self-absorbed. He lacks social skills. He is an addict who constantly craves his poison. He is also brave and loyal and trying hard to get his shit together.

I listened to "Clean" as an audiobook. It's perfectly suited for the medium and Daniel May does a great job in giving the main character a a convincing voice.

If you like Dresden Files you'll like this!

This story reminded me a lot of Harry Dresden in the Dresden Files. It was a good book, not a great book, but definitely worth the credit. Sometimes the women's voices just weren't working for me, but the male voices were great. It's defintely something you can overcome. I will listen to more books from this author and continue on with the series. It was worth it.

Good read

started off a little slow, built up to a good story though. looking forward to the next book.

Great Story

This was my first time listening to this author and I really liked the book. Looking forward to the next.

Had a Dresden Hangover and this hit the spot

After having a long 6month re-listen to Butcher’s Dresden series I needed something just as good. This was suggested and I’m so glad it was because it’s just different enough but the same to transition me. I adored the world building and deep character development without a ton of exposition dumps. It takes real talent to write something like this. I’ve reread this book 5x now and enjoy the rest of the series just as much. Pick this up. You’ll enjoy it.

Great book

Book source ~ Purchased at Audible

A recovering drug addict who is also a powerful telepath works for the police department helping to solve crimes. Most times it’s just grinding away at normal harder than usual to break criminals. But sometimes he helps Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino solve murders. And this time, there’s a serial killer on the loose.

The entire book is first person and our battered and broken hero is never really addressed by name until the end. Anyway, the telepathic crime fighter has a drug problem that he tries really hard to overcome. He’s fallen off the wagon before and had stricter sanctions put upon him, not to mention losing the trust of his co-workers and place of employment, so he knows what’s at stake each time a craving hits. Now there’s a serial killer on the loose and it looks like it’s someone like him. At least, with abilities similar to his which makes things even harder.

Set in a near future where the Tech Wars have already happened and tech is now severely regulated, it’s pretty bleak. Add paranormal abilities to some people who are regulated by an entirely different governing body and there’s strain in an already strained atmosphere. It all makes for a tense and compelling read. Or listen in my case since I have the audiobook. A fascinating look at one possible future.

Some good, Some annoying!

Unique & interesting story but over use of many phrases and lines. Off the top of my head, here are a few. "She took in a deep breath and blew out a line of air" used way too many times. The main character, Adam, smokes and constantly complains about his lungs and how hard it is for him to breathe when he exerts himself but never speaks of quitting and in the next scene is smoking again only to complain more. He also talks about "The one thing you learn in the Guild is..." And throughout the book points out MANY of the one thing the Guild teaches them. It's little things like this that put me off to the book but the storyline is interesting enough that I went ahead with the second book. I have to say I had a hard time following the second book starting halfway through. But that will be in that review.
The narrator did a good job but his voices for the women needs work. I'm sure it's hard for a man to do justice to a female voice but his portrayal for the women was just awful except for the main female character.
I'm not sure if I would recommend this book. If you are ok with the over use of phrases and so on then give the book a chance, it may not be as annoying to everybody else as it was to me.
Happy Listening!!

Fun Worldbuilding

If you could sum up Clean in three words, what would they be?

Sci-fi with personality.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Clean?

When Adam faces his poison, and decides he wants to be clean.

What about Daniel May’s performance did you like?

Really great characterization. Recognizable voices that I could easily tell apart. Good level of emotion. This character goes through a lot, and May portrays it without getting overdamatic or crazy-sounding.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sections of it were. It was so fast-moving and high emotion that I ended up needing a break sometimes.

Any additional comments?

I thought the world building was interesting. In a place without technology, mind-powers are more prevalent. Loved that people were basically afraid of things like cell phones, etc. And she did a great job of maintaining it throughout. Finished it this morning, already downloaded book 2. :)