This is one of the those books that each chapter switches between 5 narrator's which I don't normally love but it was really well done and worked with the story. I loved in the beginning, seeing what drove each character to click the link to try to beat the puzzle. I found myself really rooting for Sinéad from the very beginning. The question of what was happening with Emilia and how the DNA would affect Bruno kept me really intrigued.
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I was hooked in the beginning from the summary and then the story kept me hooked until the very end. And the epilogue was just right, I loved it. I highly recommend checking this out!

Set in the future, a terrorist group is hacking into government systems around the world and causing chaos. In an attempt to safeguard their data, the British government has developed a way to store their most classified information within the minds of five ordinary people. They call them The Minders. Given that humans are inherently flawed, what could go wrong?
Although this is a standalone novel, elements of ‘The One’ and ‘The Passengers’ are included throughout. I didn’t know this in advance and wish I had read my copy of The Passengers first. So if you haven’t read either of those, I would recommend you read them first.
I love the short chapters, and they rotate between each of the characters. However, I found the overall pace quite slow. I loved ‘The One’ and this fell a bit short of that for me, it was still an enjoyable read though, and I cannot wait to read what John Marrs comes up with next.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

John Marrs has done it again in this intense thriller. It’s the near future (complete with self-driving cars) and the government needs a new way to keep their secrets safe. Enter the Minders...a group of people with rare abilities whom the government will use to store information. And what a ride this takes us on.

At times terrifying, this book was an exciting page-turning novel of nonstop suspense. This is my third book of his, and I have become quite a fan. Side note...though not completely necessary, I’d advise reading The One and The Passengers first. It will add to the experience as there are some references.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, John Marrs, and Berkley/Penguin Random House for the chance to read and review this book.

Set in the near future but in a much more technologically advanced world, a future terrorist group is hacking into world governments computers and holding their darkest secrets ransom for the entire countries worth. A few countries have already succumbed to this threat, and others fear that theirs will be hacked next. How do you keep all this information safe? Having a safe house or designated spot leaves the information to vulnerable, so first they move it all to automated transport lories that drive 24/7. They believe they have beat the threat for now... until an attack makes the UK government take action.

With thrills and suspense from the get go, this book is incredible. Upon finding their new solution to keep they information temporarily safe from the terrorist hackers, the UK government create a new, highly secretive and dangerous way to store their secrets, inside of individuals minds. The story, as its being told, rotates between these five main figures who are chose and tells each of their back stories and why they were so willing to leave their lives behind. All of them have secrets, now they carry some of their governments most dangerous secrets.

Slowly things start going askew until finally all the "Minders" are in danger for their lives. From pulse pounding adventure, to suspenseful intrigue, if you enjoy sci-fi thrillers, be sure to check out "The Minders" by John Marrs.

I am a huge fan of John Marrs, his futuristic novels feel like episodes of Black Mirror. The perfect blend of a thrilling, nuanced plot, combined with a reckoning that technology has its limits. And as with anything, too much of it is definitely a bad thing.
In The Minders, countries are in danger of being hacked by an organization that wants their deepest, darkest secrets. The UK develops an initiative to store its security secrets within the minds of five humans. Humans can’t be hacked, they can be trained to be soldiers for the government. What could go wrong? Well humans are fallible and .... human. Fellow Marrs fans will be happy to know that plot elements from both “The Passengers” and “The One” make it into this book, weaving it into a fantastic semi-extension. But make no mistake, this is a stand-alone with the twists, turns and ultimate horror that you’d expect.

Wow what a ride! The book follows five volunteers who allow the government access to their brains to implant and safe keep top secret information as to remain unhackable. This not so distant, sci-fi, technologically advanced world had me seriously questioning if the tech wasn’t already developed somewhere. I guarantee you will fly through this smart and thought provoking read wondering the whole time, what if....

When John Marrs made the leap into speculative fiction with his book The One, he became a must-read author for me. The Minders is his eighth book (I've read five) and the third novel of this unnamed "series", following The One and Passengers. While I personally don't think it's absolutely necessary to read the first two books, there are a lot of references and plot points included in The Minders. If you are planning on reading the other two books, reading this first would essentially be a spoiler. So I would recommend reading those first.

The Minders was a bit of a struggle for me. It wasn't as fast paced as his previous books, or I dare say, as interesting at least to me. It's the third book set in this world and we don't really learn anything new about the technology or future in this book - which is my favorite part of speculative fiction.

The book is centered on four main characters and their day-to-day lives. They are assisting the government with a sensitive security issue and have given up old lives. After their contract is up they will be able to start over. There is also a "mysterious" fifth character whose background is revealed as the book progresses. The book is written in third person and the chapters alternate between the five narrators (which isn't hard to follow).

The action does pick up towards the second half, but even with that I couldn't seem to get into it as much as his previous books. Some of the characters are really unlikable and they do things that seem really out of character without any explanation given. I was able to guess the big twist before it happened, something I'm not always able to do (I like to be surprised).

I'm rating this book three stars, rounded up from 2 1/2. I'll definitely read more books by John Marrs, but this one was somewhat of a disappointment given that I had such high expectations I had going in. I would recommend this book for fans of psychological thrillers, sci-fi, speculative fiction, technothrillers, and action and adventure books.

Marrs does it again. I absolutely devoured The Passengers last year and could not wait to read The Minders. I love how pieces from Passengers and The One are sprinkled throughout this one. No spoilers but enough to catch the readers interest. Like his last novel we follow a group of individuals. The build up is there and the ending had my heart racing. I wasn’t sure if I would have the emotional attachment to any of them but again Marrs managed to fool me and I finished a very satisfied reader.

After a hacking collective tries to steal government secrets a new top secret initiative is proposed. While a secure, hack proof facility is developed, give ordinary people are recruited to have a medical procedure that implants a genetic code they. Obtains all the country’s most secret information.
These five must agree to leave their family, friends, their lives behind for no longer than five years. Each of them has their own reasons for agreeing- from wanting to escape dashed hopes of a romantic match to needing money to care for a disabled child. Now they each know the answers to conspiracy theories, urban legends and truths behind government cover ups. Someone has learned the program exists though and is hunting for them one by one.
I had a hard time with this book. I found the premise absurd, first national security kept in moving trucks and then implanted in 5 random people? Oooookay. There are references that readers will not understand if they have not read “ The One” and “Passengers” but both of those are more engaging stories so read them instead. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved "the One', so I had high hopes when I started this. While I didn't find 'The Minders" as engaging, this was still a fun, fast-paced read.

THE MINDERS by John Marrs is an interesting blend of thriller and science fiction that unfortunately missed the mark for me. It’s about five British citizens who have to safeguard government secrets while one of them goes rogue. The beginning was a slow start for me as we are introduced to each of the characters and the point of view would switch quickly between each of them. I really liked the fast pace and the short chapters which makes this book a quick read but I found the whole plot and all of the characters unlikeable. There was a lot going on with each of the characters subplots and relationships. It was just too much going on. Nothing felt entirely flushed out to me. I did like how this novel is set in the not too distant future but in the end I don’t feel compelled to read any more books by this author.

I like how The Minders is written in the same word as The Passengers and The One.

I believe it makes sense to read the first two books to get an idea of the world John Marrs has created.

This time, the Hacking Collective is ready to blackmailed countries into paying them what they want or having all their secrets revealed.

Many countries have fallen to this blackmail but the UK has not fallen yet. In order to prevent this, a new approach has been taken by the government with the help of the best scientists. With the use of a puzzle, certain humans who have synaesthesia have been selected to get the information implanted in their heads. If after five years nothing happens, they can be returned to a normal. In the meantime, they have to walk away from everything they know, they love or hurts them.

Then, one of them is murdered. And the other ones have to try to stay alive before all the secrets die with them.

At first, it was hard to follow Charlie Nicholls, Flick Kennedy, Sinéad Kelly, Bruno Yorke, and Emilia but soon I was able to keep them all straight and started rooting for one of them to survive it all.

The Minders by John Marrs is entertainment in the best possible way. Complex characters and a sense of dread and running out of time kept me reading until the end.

The idea of getting something implanted is not too crazy anymore. Same with cars that can drive themselves. The DNA match is harder for me to accept.

I wonder if we will see this world again. I hope we do.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Berkley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So this Sci-Fi book feels like it may actually be non-fiction in the near future....which is scary. The UK decides it's top secret information isn't safe and needs to be moved to a more secure location. That location being the brains of select people. A capsule is implanted and will disintegrate over the course of 5 years, when the secure storage facility will be ready to house the nation's secrets.

Flick, Charlie, Bruno and Sinead are the chosen ones and now must leave everything behind to start a new life with their secret implants. The story is told from their points of view along with that of Emilia, who awakes with amnesia and is desperate to find out who she really is.

So I'm a big John Marrs fan, The One literally made me gasp out loud....I don't think that has ever happened with any book before. The Minders was enjoyable and thought provoking but I can't say I loved it. I certainly liked it and recommended it to my husband, but I feel maybe my hopes were set a little too high so I set myself up to be let down. I gave this one 3 stars.

John Marrs has a fascinating imagination and writes amazing stories and The Minders is certainly worth the read.

Thank you to #Netgalley and @Berkleypub for an advanced copy of The Miner's by John Marrs.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

I am a huge John Marrs fan, he weaves a plot through multiple characters, with just the right amount of suspense. The Minders was another great concept - What happens when a government implants all their secrets inside the brains of 5 citizens, and then trains them to disappear in plain site. In true J Marrs fashion, each chapter switches to a different characters perspective, and you never really understand how the various characters truly fit together until the very end.

While the beginning of this novel was a bit slower than the other two related novels, I still was hooked very quickly into wanting to know more about who the characters were, where they were going, and how it would all end.

I enjoyed The Minders...I didn't love it.

I'm a long-time John Marrs fan...he's an author I consistently give five star ratings. (A rarity for me.) Unfortunately, I couldn't give this book more than 3.5 stars (I am rounding up though...it is John Marrs, after all).

First, let me add this caveat...if you haven't read his previous books, The One and The Passengers, DO NOT read this book. It contains spoilers. Honestly, I think these three books should be labeled as a series. Though they're all about different topics, they still tie together.

Second, while this is a cool idea, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see things like this in the future, the plot just didn't grab me like his other works have. In fact, Bruno's chapters felt a little incomplete and confusing.

Third, the characters, because there were so many points of view, never felt fully fleshed out. Their stories were all eventually revealed, but it was choppy. I didn't feel particularly attached to any of them.

Finally, the final scene in the church (don't worry...no spoilers), was rather anti-climatic, and honestly, a bit silly. I was underwhelmed.

Nevertheless, an average Marrs book is still better than most authors at their best. If you've enjoyed his other books, I wholeheartedly recommend this one as well.

3.5 stars
Available February 16, 2021

My sincere thanks (seriously...I love John Marrs; I'm always ecstatic to receive his ARCs) to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for my review copy.

Fantastic premise and one that I can unfortunately possibly see happen in real life..... the future is scary y'all. I loved the concept of the minders and the book flowed exceptionally well as John Marrs' books all seem to do. I liked the ending and the only negative in my point of view was that it leaned toward Science Fiction and noone does crazy characters like John Marrs so I missed that. However, I still recommend this book.

The Minders by John Marrs Implants into the brain, what could possibly go wrong? Confusing at first with the introduction of the characters which seemed disjointed. After a few chapters, the characters took on their individual voices. Fast paced during second half of the book, suspenseful, with a satisfying ending.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

John Marrs you did not disappoint! This book kept me up reading late into the night. What a story and I love how it tied into his book The One. You don’t have to have read The One to enjoy this book, but if you have read it you’ll know what I mean. This was such a great read. Favorite character for me is Flick of course! Although I really like Sinead as well. Just a great thrilling keep you guessing book you won’t want to put down!

4.5 stars rounded up! Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this galley.
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John Marrs has become an auto read author for me! In yet another suspense driven book, Marrs leads us into the future. The British government had chosen to protect their secrets in the minds of people.

Loved: The plot was unique and interesting! I was vested in the stories of most (4/5) of the minders! The ending was well done and not too neat and clean. This last twist I did not see coming!

Disliked: it dragged a bit in the middle. I felt the pacing could’ve been a bit better.
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Overall this is a mind bender and if JM isn’t in your to-read pile, I recommend!