Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Dr Theo and fbi agent Jessica are on a team that's tasked with finding the individuals responsible for a cities that are entering a black hole. This book was well written.

Mystery

These Theo Cray mysteries involve some high concept crimes and I don't know whether to feel smarter or dumber after reading them.

Andrew Mayne brings two characters (Jessica Blackwood and Theo Cray) from their own series together in this search for the Warlock. We get introduced to the Warlock in the Jessica Blackwood books - think Sherlock Holmes' Moriarty. The Warlock, aka. Michael Heywood, has escaped custody and he cannot be anything but a suspect when all of New York City disappears in a puff of black smoke they are calling the Void. Jessica gets called back into the field by the FBI, she had been teaching recruits, but her background in magic seems helpful to this particular case.

One of her assignments is to track down Dr. Theo Cray as he is also on the short list of suspects. She finds him a prisoner in Myanmar and breaks him out of jail. At almost first glance Jessica realizes he isn't responsible. Their mutual respect and admiration for each other grows as they try to figure out the nature of the Voids and the other crimes that seem to tie in. Their efforts land them in hot water with a newly created agency IDR, which seems to have no boundaries. They also learn that the Warlock must have had insider help. Who can they trust but each other? Why is the Warlock still obsessed with Jessica and afraid of Theo?

I LOVE these mysteries by Mayne. He stretches the readers thought processes while keeping the action and storyline progressing at a rapid pace. I like both these characters and bringing them together was genius! If you like smart mysteries pick this book up. You don't have to have read The Naturalist series, or the Jessica Blackwood series to follow along. Those are great reads, though, so you should pick those up as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC of this book.

In my rush to hit the "read now" button, I clocked only that this was a novel featuring Jessica Blackwood (my favorite Andrew Mayne character). I didn't even notice that it was also a novel featuring Theo Cray (my other favorite Andrew Mayne character). So yeah, this was a pretty great experience for me.

#Mastermind #NetGalley
I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

A very satisfying mystery-thriller, the likes of which that I have not read for a long time, makes me give this book 5 stars.
This is well-paced story which has believable characters with credible motivations. The dichotomy of good vs evil is also wonderfully showcased. What makes the reading experience even more enjoyable is the science facts that the characters tell and explain to each other (thus also educating the readers) in very simple terms, avoiding mostly technical jargon. As a biologist-in-training, the bit about DNA reconstruction of long-dead organisms was my favourite bit of the 'science-y stuff'.
The only flaw (which I had to look very hard to find) is 'places' being spelled as 'palaces' in only one instance, but since it is an uncorrected ARC, I'm sure the spelling will be corrected in the published copy.

This was the first book I've ever read by Andrew Mayne but it has prompted me to go through the other series he has authored, notably the 'Jessica Blackwood' series and the 'The Naturalist' series, as the protagonists of those series are also the two lead characters in this book.

After reading the first in the diving series I knew I had to read another Mayne. I liked the characters but the double first person writing threw me a bit. Overall all a well done suspenseful read with great characters.

This book started with a bang. It normally takes me at least a few chapters to get into a book but I was hooked by the end of chapter 1, which was only a few pages long. I didn’t want to put it down. The entire books was filled with intriguing problems and turns. Each time I set this book down I was frustrated because I just wanted to devour it. I kept wanting to read more about Jessica and Theo. I really enjoyed how the book was told half in each of their perspectives. The chemistry the two had was obvious and helped move the story along even when it could have been bogged down in technical information. This was the first Andrew Wayne book and as a result of this one, I’ve added several more to my to be read list.

I picked this book up because of my love for the Naturalist series and I wasn't disappointed with the results. This book is a zany action movie full of government corruption, scientific anomalies, and some good ole Theo Cray rational deduction. Even though it lost a bit of its Naturalist charm by incorporating the FBI and a more nefarious villain, I really did love it at the end.

I was given an ARC of Mastermind by Andrew Mayne. But I'm sorry but sci-fi,-cult-leader -terrorism books are not my cup of tea.. It started out as a good FBI book but then took off....