Marked

Mindspace Investigations, Book 3

By: Alex Hughes

Narrated by: Daniel May

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Forsee no evil.

Freelancing for the Atlanta PD isn’t exactly a secure career; my job’s been on the line almost as much as my life. But it’s a paycheck, and it keeps me from falling back into the drug habit. Plus, things are looking up with my sometimes-partner, Cherabino, even if she is still simmering over the telepathic Link I created by accident.

When my ex, Kara, shows up begging for my help, I find myself heading to the last place I ever expected to set foot in again—Guild headquarters—to investigate the death of her uncle. Joining that group was a bad idea the first time. Going back when I’m unwanted is downright dangerous.

Luckily, the Guild needs me more than they’re willing to admit. Kara’s uncle was acting strange before he died—crazy strange. In fact, his madness seems to be slowly spreading through the Guild. And when an army of powerful telepaths loses their marbles, suddenly it’s a game of life or death.…

©2014 Alexandra Hughes (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Enjoyable Series - not just another mystery!

This is another entry in a solid series of mystery/detective stories with a twist. The twist is - the hero is a telepath with a drug addiction. The future setting is fresh and original which makes an ordinary police procedural fresh and interesting as well. The narrator does a great job of reading the main character's first person narrative and the voices of other key characters are also well done. it's worth listening to the whole series in order to get the flavor of the characters but each book is a sufficiently interesting stand alone story. If - like me - you enjoy both mystery and sci fi this series is a great blend of the two.

EXCELLENT!!

What made the experience of listening to Marked the most enjoyable?

Brilliant author with a good story line and the most outstanding narrator! Mr Daniel May perform so very well.

What does Daniel May bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His narration is so good. He performs the male and females well. I like the series so much I have already downloaded all three books and am now waiting anxiously for Bk 4. I hope it will be soon.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes all the reactions. I feel so sorry for Adam Ward and the unfairness towards him. Luckily he have allies too.

Any additional comments?

I hope Alex Hughes will please write more on this series. Also please Audible make future books available ASAP!!!

I Enjoyed the Entire Series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

For me good books are defined by characters I am interested in. This does not mean I have to like them or their actions, but I ultimately have to be interested. Cherubino and Adam were interesting characters that made me want to continue to listen adn find out how they could possibly reconcile their complex relationship and the environment they find themselves in.Good story, good characters. Highly entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

Adam cannot catch a break yet carries on....I also enjoyed that Al;ex Hughes is female writer, which I thought brought an interesting element to a genre that is often male dominated. Knowing this enhanced my enjoyment of the storyline and the characters. Though the genre can be sometimes conventional, her handling of the material was unconventional. Well done Alex Hughes, I hope to listen to the next installment real soon.

What does Daniel May bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I though Daniel May did a fine, fine job. He was credible with the different characters, which made them stand out. I like it when a narrator does this, it enhances the story and brings additional life to the characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I could see this being made into a movie. I think alot of people would enjoy it...I would not be one of them. I enjoy books more than TV or movies because they act on your imagination more.

Any additional comments?

If you are not a listener who usually reads police or detective stories give this a try. It's good Sci Fi within a clever detective "who done it". Adam's struggle with substance abuse puts an additional layer of emotion the story that at times is heart wrenching, and will make you look within yourself for answers. I highly recommend.

Everyone abuses Alex

So this is the third book in the Mindspace series, and I've listened to all three without giving up - so there's definitely something about these books that is listenable and interesting. This is despite the enormous, glaring plot and world-building holes, deus ex machina and characters continuously making exaggerated major actions without any discernible motivation. So even despite these huge problems, there's an underlying story that manages to be a pretty enjoyable listen.

The series centers around Alex Ward, a telepath 3 years into recovery from an intense drug addiction, presently working as a barely-tolerated consultant for the police force and shunned by the Guild of telepaths - which itself is portrayed as a shady, secretive, semi-religious and political organization that recruits and trains folks with telepathic ability and has absolute legal power over their lives and well-being.

Despite having a nearly 100% success record in his police interrogations and, as far as this series is concerned a 100% close rate in investigations of violent homicide, Adam is continuously humiliated, shamed, controlled, threatened, verbally and physically assaulted, accused, punched, kicked, bullied and insulated by his boss, coworkers, members of the Guild that raised and trained him and even by the female cop partner he's secretly in love with. Adam's employers and various other parties routinely use his powers to help them close cases, while abusing Adam viciously the entire time. I still can't figure out where this comes from. After he closes a case or saves someone's life, he's generally put on probation and threatened with losing his job and/or threatened with death and/or threatened with the death of his loved ones and/or literally punched in the face by his partner while her mind waves generate furious anger at him. Why? Who knows.

Even his former drug addiction is described as coming from a medical experiment run by the Guild, designed to improve the powers of telepaths through chemical enhancement. The medication turned out to be highly addictive, even more so for those with stronger telepathic powers, and Adam, one of the experimental subjects, was therefore immediately chemically addicted. The Guild took no responsibility for their experimentation and, after his drug use harmed some of his students, kicked him out of the Guild and stripped him of all support, assuming he'd crawl into the drug gutter and die. Shocked that he managed to kick his addiction and gain some kind of employment with the police force using his mind-reading skills to catch criminals, The Guild now hates Adam and, for reasons never spelled out, actively tries to kill him, while simultaneously using his power to help them solve their own murder cases. And then after he solves their cases for them, they again try to kill/imprison/torture him or his loved ones. Why? No idea.

Adam's telepathic powers are an ever changing grab bag of mind control, telepathy, precognition, and the ability to physically alter someone's brain. Adam is sometimes portrayed as frighteningly strong, able to put someone to sleep by "activating the sleep centers of their mind" and to kill someone with a single thought. Other times Adam is in dire straits, held captive, or watching his friends held captive, and the story forgets all those previously used abilities and he's portrayed as helpless, powerless, and unable to defend himself. I wish there were some more solid explanation for all of these odd plot choices, or some theme that tied them together.

On the plus side, the idea of a telepath/detective team can sometimes work well. The idea is good, and the bait thrown out in the last book that Adam might be consulting for the FBI is another cool idea, and I'd like to see that realized in the series (it's not in this book - the FBI like everyone else asks for Adam's help then yanks the rug out from under him) - I'm not at all sold on the romantic part of this book - it's unsexy in the extreme and just awkward and very weird. I'd like to see Adam move on in his romantic life and perhaps gain some personal empowerment, stop being everyone's punching bag and perhaps become more successful.

The narration is once again a mixed bag - I love the main narration of Adam, but the female voices are largely terrible. Luckily we have mostly Adam's voice, so it's a nice listen. I'm debating getting the next in the series.

Are they mind readers or not?

Amazing how mind readers can't or won't fully read a person about to be killed.

Same stupidities as previous books. Shame on me for hoping and not realizing the truth sooner.