Sci-fi crime novel. How can our perceptions be manipulated? What happens when others can control what we can and cannot see. I enjoyed this novel, but true sci-fi fans may be slightly disappointed, as it is more crime thriller than scientific explanations of the technology, etc. Owens is a great character - tough but messed up and just trying to do his best.

"Seven years ago, everyone in the world went blind in a matter of months. Technology helped people adjust to the new normal, creating a device that approximates vision, downloading visual data directly to people’s brains. But what happens when someone finds a way to hack it and change what people see?

Homicide detective Mark Owens has been on the force since before The Blinding. When a scientist is murdered, and the only witness insists the killer was blacked out of her vision, Owens doesn’t believe her—until a similar murder happens in front of him. With suspects ranging from tech billionaires to anti-modernity cultists—and with the bodies piling up—Owens must conduct an investigation in which he can’t even trust his own eyes."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

While I'm a fan of mystery/ thrillers and scifi, this blending of the two is a little out there for me. Or maybe I don't want to think about a world where we are all blind. The premise is sound, if the world lost sight, science would find a way to give us some way to manuever, I hope. But the tech involved with the rest of the story just kind of lost me. I finshed the book and was surprised with how Thomas Mulllen managed to pull everything together in the end, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the book. It will cause some interesting conversations at bookclub, so I guess that's a good thing. I'm wondering what he'll write next.....

Blind Spots
By Thomas Mullen

This is what would probably be classified as science fiction – if it didn't have so many indicators pointing to the direction we may be heading in in America today.

The world has suffered a pandemic which has left mankind blind. Mass chaos followed as government, the military, and law enforcement have tried to keep things under control. As time passes, big tech has come up with devices caller vidders, which allow people to "see" virtually.

The police have been fitted with vidders in order to fulfill their duties. The story begins with a police raid commanded by Officer Mark Owens to a suspected drug dealer and gun supplier. When the raid goes wrong and Owens' vidder is disabled, he manages to kill the suspect using his other senses and cues from his partner Jimmy Patterson. Many illegal weapons are confiscated.

As Owens is being investigated by Internal Affairs and other murders happen, Owens begins to realize that things are not as they appear. While he himself is being hunted, he is trying to figure out who is behind these crimes – and what the next step for them is.

This is a very scary book precisely because it seems so prescient. Mr. Mullen has given us a peek at a future that could very well be ours.

Blind Spots is not a genre of book I would normally gravitate to, but took a chance and am so glad! Starting out on audio, voiced very well be Gary Tiedemann, was a bit overwhelming, rather the blind leading the blind 🙃 Switching over to reading, left me quickly invested and kept me turning pages quickly. Thinking I wasn’t sure that I would like the storyline changed pretty quickly, this was a very good read!! Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I am always enthralled by the dystopian worlds that authors create, so the stunning book cover and riveting premise immediately caught my eye. If you're a fan of dystopian, sci-fi, and heart-pounding thrillers, then this book is definitely for you!

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

There are a lot of bases covered in Blind Spots. There is a police procedural mystery but also a science fiction thriller. I enjoy all of these genres and the technological aspects in the story were interesting.

Basically a virus caused The Blinding 7 years ago. Technology was developed so that people would be able to see again. Police and other essential services got the new technology first. Now most people have it. There are some people who won't have it because they feel it is giving too much control to others as to what they see. Also they can be tracked with them.

One layer of the story is the technology. There is the current product and a new product that lets people change their appearance. There is a company that was trying to develop a product to selectively obscure sight. Another company wanted to do a more natural improvement to restore sight more organically.

Another idea developed is what sight means to our lives. How much is determined by our visual sense and how much do other senses inform us? I thought the discussion on this was interesting as it wove through the story.

We also learn about Owens and his personal life. He was married to a women, an artist, who committed suicide. He feels badly because he had unkind words with her before she died. Now he is dating a police officer, not in his same role. Owens is in homicide. She goes through some insecurities about their relationship.

Owens, and his partner, end up investigating homicides where people say they can't describe the killer because they were a black blur. They just didn't see them well enough. The police have heard this a few times over the past few years and see it as a lie. The person either committed the crime themselves or are protecting someone. Then Owens sees a killing with a black blur and has to face his fellow officers seeing him as having lost it or lying.

The pace was brisk. There was plenty of action and events. The problem was clear but Owens had a lot of work to define who the criminals and actual killers were. He finds out who he can really trust.

This isn't normally my sort of read but I'm trying to sample books outside my usual choices. I do enjoy police procedurals and thrillers but not so much of the dystopian genre. I'm glad I took the chance on Blind Spots. The premise of sudden mass blindness and how society adapts to it in a high tech way made for a very good mystery. The question becomes can you trust technology to replace your sight when hacking is always a possibility. When a killer is on the loose law enforcement agents Owens and Peterson are faced with trying to solve the case without being confident about trusting their senses. It makes for a fascinating police procedural.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Well, that was original!
I really liked the world-building of Blind Spots. It was a little bit like Birdbox meets Covid. While reading, I actually started thinking about what it would have been like to experience The Blinding instead of Coronovirus, and how difficult it would have been if everyone had lost vision and not just the ability to walk around unmasked. The book is full of action, making me feel tense and on-edge the whole time. The main character, Owens, is very real. His struggles (both personal and professional) made him seem like a down to earth guy, and I definitely wanted to see him come out on top. There were several things about Blind Spots that didn't get resolved in the end, and I felt like the final chapter was just super rushed.

Master storyteller Thomas Mullen returns following Midnight Atlanta, Lightning Men, and Darktown (5 stars) with his latest, BLIND SPOTS —a dystopian mind-blowing near-future mystery set seven years after The Blinding.

This thought-provoking riveting crime thriller explores how our perceptions of reality can be manipulated. Can you imagine a world where everyone is blind? So many were helpless, and some became addicted to drugs—then how they attempted to correct the blindness.

Seven years after a global event known as The Blinding (where everyone was blind), the vision was restored with the help of vidders—metal discs implanted in human temples.

This has helped many people, but organized crime is still a huge challenge for law enforcement. Also, who gets them first, and are some misusing them? And what about hacking, tampering, and manipulating?

Technology assists with the new normal by downloading visual data to people's brains. However, what happens when someone hacks into the system (much like our internet today) and changes what people see?

Partners Mark Owens, Safiya Khouri, and Jimmy Peterson (cops) —find themselves in the run-down River District, where a tense situation and a malfunctioning vidder lead to a questionable shooting by Owens.

A scientist is murdered, and the only witness insists the killer was blacked out of her vision, and Owens doesn't believe her—until a similar murder occurs before him.

That suggests that someone may have found a way to hack vidders, a development with frightening implications.

With an array of suspects and bodies mounting, Owens must conduct an investigation in which he can't even trust his own eyes.

Can law enforcement agents Owens and partner Peterson decide if they trust what they see and believe what they hear?

Owens will also have to figure out if he is ready to move on from his wife, Jeanie (artist), lost to the "Blinding" and if he should trust his new girlfriend, Amira, also in law enforcement, with what he has found out.

Told from multiple POVs, the story explores conspiracies and lies with surprising revelations.

A big fan of Mullen and have enjoyed his previous work set in Atlanta (former resident)— I was intrigued by BLIND SPOTS.

You will be pondering (a cautionary tale) about our not-so-distant future, technology, and government. Utterly fascinating! Enthralling, scary, and thought-provoking.

From the stunning front cover to the superb writing, Mullen delivers a first-class intelligent novel—Blending literary, crime thriller, whodunit, cop procedural, Sci-fi, action, mystery, and dystopian. Highly recommend.

AUDIOBOOK: I had the privilege of reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook narrated by Gary Tiedemann for a captivating performance!

Fans of P.D. James' Children of Men (1992), set in England, will enjoy this.

Thank you to #MinotaurBooks #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #MinotaurInfluencers and #NetGalley for an ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased a hardcover copy for my Mullen home library collection.

Blog review posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: April 4, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
April 2023 Must-Read Books

Seven years ago, everyone in the world went blind but technology helped people adjust to the new normal downloading visual data directly to people’s brains. What happens when someone finds a way to hack it and change what people see. When a scientist is murdered, Mark Owens doesn’t believe her. He must conduct an investigation in which he can’t even trust his own eyes. A vidder is what they discovered to use which is a small disc like implantation on the right temple but it can be manipulated and change what people are seeing. This is a dystopian sci-fi novel that made me think about what it would be like having to rely on other people in order to see. There are some good plot twists and turns which kept me engrossed and reading on until the end. If you like dystopian sci-fi mystery novels then you would love this book. I would like to thank Minotaur books and NetGalley for a copy for an honest review.

A story with a plot that will totally engross the reader. The main character is a cop, Mark Owens. The utopian setting is magnificently imagined by the author. The story packed with action and deceptive moves. The characters tell a vivid tale of a country trying to live with the aftermath of a pandemic. It is one exciting page turn after another to the very end.

Creative premise, intriguing characters, and a fast paced plot kept me reading late into the night. This is more than a police procedural with interesting twists (which it is). The premise of a pandemic of blindness and its after effects is ripe for social commentary and the author doesn't disappoint. Highly Recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced reader copy.

This is a story set in dystopian times but there is so much more to it. There is also, technological advancement, betrayal, behavior ruled by the hunger for power and control, and so much more. After everyone in the world went blind, some people were able to design a device that would people to see. That should be a cause for celebration, right? But what happens when unsavory characters find a way to hack the device? The first part of the book read a little slow but then it was necessary to set up the premise for what was to follow. And once the pieces started falling together, the pace picked up.

Thomas Mullens follow-up to Coptown takes an interesting premise and really runs with it-make for a unique procedural/thriller. A pandemic leaves the world blind and the only way they can see is through technology implanted into their brain. Owens is a police officer trying to make sense of this world new world and keep order when a murder occurs and the witness claims her vision was “blacked out” where the perpetrator would have been. Owens doesn’t believe her story until he has a similar occurrence and suddenly realizes someone is hacking the technology to ensure that they he or she can stealthily commit crimes without detection. But who? And why? What follows is a tale of action, mystery, and conspiracy. Owens is a well developed character and the plot makes at a breakneck pace. Interesting premise sets this apart from run of the mill procedural tales! Well done!

Thanks for the arc provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

Set slightly in the future, after a pandemic of unknown origin causes all of humankind to lose their vision, Blind Spots imagines a new world where technology directly connected to people's brains allows them to see again. But, of course, technology can be hacked. Homicide detective Mark Owens and his partner don't believe the witness to a murder when she claims the killer was "blacked out" in her vision, but after Owens has a similar experience, he realizes that someone, or some group, has learned to manipulate what people see and they are using it to work beyond the law. Mullens takes this unique premise and combines it with strong characters and a fast-paced plot with twists I did not see coming.

In a world trying to recover from a pandemic that left everyone blind, police detective Mark Owens struggles to keep the peace, avoid being pulled into a conspiracy and works to reconcile his family and his past. At the heart of this is a very good crime story that keeps the reader engaged in the plot. The post-pandemic world and the technology it spawned is an important part of the story, more than just a curious backdrop. Thomas Mullen is able to pull everything together into a very engaging book. I usually have two or three books that I'm reading at a given time, but I quickly put down all others until I finished this. The characters are well developed and the plot is fast paced. I highly recommend this book and thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A unique take on a dystopian future wrapped into a police procedural. Detective Mark Owen has an odd set of murders on his hands. Someone is messing with the bidder devices that all those who have them to see- but why? This has echos of the problems of AI and fake news (more than echoes) as well as conspiracy theories. It's also got a pretty darn good hero in Owen and well done worldbuilding. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Blind Spots takes place in a world in which a virus has robbed the world of its sight. Now, the murder that needs to be solved here is interesting and the unique challenges made this a fascinating read. What I’m left thinking about, though, is the argument about living as you are or augmenting who you are to make yourself who you could have been. There are a lot of people who don’t even remember being able to see naturally. I can truly see (no pun intended) both sides of this issue. It is still tumbling around in my brain.

Anyway, when you can’t see can a murder be committed right in front of you? And how do you solve it?

Blind Spots by Thomas Mullen is a highly recommended crime novel set in a dystopian world where everyone is blind but can see through a device.

Seven years ago everyone in the world eventually went blind when the Blinding occurred. Technology came to the rescue creating a device called a vidder, a metal disc implant in the temple that approximates vision for people by downloading visual data directly to people’s brains. Mark Owens is a homicide detective who has been on the force before the Blinding. When a scientist is murdered and the perpetrator was invisible to the witness, detectives are dubious that the witness is telling the truth, until Owens actually "sees" the black blob when he witnesses another murder.

Clearly someone has hacked the vidder and can manipulate what people see. Owen must conduct an investigation in which he can’t even trust his own "eyes." How do you investigate when your perceptions of reality can be manipulated and you can't trust what you think you can see?

Blind Spots is a compelling science fiction/dystopian crime novel that features a detective searching for truth in a world of surveillance and disinformation. Mullen provides plenty of details to develop the world he has created and the addition of the crime that must be solved adds another element that helps hold your attention. The crime is complex, as is the backstory and all the details. The plot moves at a steady pace and is interesting throughout. This mix of a procedural with a dystopian will be appreciated by a wide variety of readers.

Owens is a fully realized, complex character and has a backstory that makes him very sympathetic and interesting. The story unfold through his point-of-view as well as that of other characters. Owens is a thoughtful, careful, and intelligent character who you will trust to solve the case/puzzle of the blurry figures.

There are some slower parts of the plot, but that shouldn't deter you from reading this excellent novel. The combination of a police procedural with a cautionary tale about technology and government control rings true.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Minotaur Books via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, BookBrowse, Edelweiss, and Amazon

3.5 STARS - I requested this book based solely on Thomas Mullen's name on the cover. I absolutely loved his previous books Darktown and Lightning Men (the first two books in his Darktown historical police procedural series) and was eager to see what he had written now.

This time out, Mullens is changing up genres and has written a dystopian/Sci-Fi/ speculative thriller. Admittedly, SciFi isn't my go-to genre but it had a very unique premise. A pandemic takes the sight of everyone on earth and now people rely on technology called Vidders that approximate vision directly into people's brains. But what if someone was able to manipulate the images people 'see'?

Within this thriller, Mullen throws in some good twists and interesting world building. The story is told by a few POVs, but the one that stood out the most for me was Homicide Detective Mark Owens who is on the hunt for the person who murdered a scientist and is still reeling from the loss of his wife.

But I felt the thriller aspect gets a bit lost in the details, the multiple POVs and their backstories. Sci-Fi is not a genre I normally read so I appreciated that Mullen doesn't get into the nitty-gritty of the science behind how people now see with Vidders but would have loved to have known what caused The Blinding in the first place.

Audiobook: I jumped between the eBook and the eAudiobook for this read and while Gary Tiedemann did a good job narrating, I preferred reading this book on my kindle due to the many characters. I also couldn't help but feel like Blind Spots was written more like a TV script and less with a book format in mind.

A unique blend of genres, this dystopian story (with some social commentary for good measure), will make you wonder what your life would be like and how you would manage if you and everyone around you lost your sight.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for the complimentary eBook and eAudiobooks that were provided in exchange for my honest review.