In a dystopic future seven years after all the humans on Earth went blind, Homicide Detective Mark Owen is trying to solve the murder of a scientist. Technology has created Vidders which allow those who can afford the devices to see. But the only witness to the crime insists the killer was blacked out of her vision. Something that is supposed to be impossible.

As Mark deals with this mystery, he is also being called to testify before the Truth Committee which is looking into the events of The Blinding and how the police reacted when they were the first to get the new Vidders.

Mark doesn't see the point of the whole commission. He believes that he and his fellow officers did the best they could under horrible circumstances. He's also still dealing with the apparent suicide of his wife who was a visual artist.

This story had intriguing worldbuilding along with an engaging mystery. I liked the characters and was swept along trying to solve the mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the copy of Blind Spot, by Thomas Mullen. I loved the premise of this book and the sci-fi innovations were clever and scary. I couldn't connect to the characters or the writing style. The book didn’t really pick up until near the end, so most of the book was a slog to read. If you love sci-fi innovations, mixed with action,this book is great for you. I need to love the characters and the writing, so this was not the book for me. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I almost quit this book at around the fifth chapter. When I decided to read it I hadn't realized it was science fiction. But, having requested the title, I plowed on.

Ultimately, the science fiction conceit fell into the background and the suspense and action kept me reading. I enjoyed the story. If you love thrillers with dystopian themes, i think you'll like Blind Spots.

Spoilers in next section:
Unfortunately, the allegorical aspects of the tale left me a bit cold. There are so many obvious parallels in this to current events in the US --the sudden pandemic that changes everything, the technological "cure" for the virus that is shunned by factions of zealots, the angry police who think they should be in control, the heroic moral minority on the "inside", the terrorist plan to take place at a presidential appearance --and the ultimate "insurrection" that is put down at the last moment.

Maybe it's an issue of personal taste, but I find apocryphal novels annoying. It feels unoriginal despite some very clever details. There is a saying about science fiction that I am going to butcher. It goes something like "anyone can imagine a flying car, but few people can imagine a 10 flying car pile-up at rush hour". The author does a good job of painting the picture of the world that ensues after a global blinding pandemic --and the second and third order consequences that could happen. But there is a moral preciousness underneath the dystopian story that felt judgmental and childish. While I enjoyed the ride, I wouldn't deliberately read a next book in this series, or another by the author.

Imaginative cops versus criminals in a future where electric implants stimulate vision, senses strengthen or disappear, and yes new drugs to take advantage of it all. Creative and enthralling.

Combining genres in a novel is always a tricky proposition . The author has the challenge of pleasing two fan bases while creating a totally convincing and original new story. Thomas Mullen proves he is up to the task in his new science fiction/mystery thriller #BlindSpots. It has been seven years since The Blinding pandemic , an event that has left the world’s population blind. Chaos ensues until the advent of Vidders', devices attached to the side of the head which restore vision and thus bring back a semblance of normality. When scientists start being murdered and the few witnesses can only identify a “ black blob” the police must solve these bizarre occurrences. The result is a mystifying quandary which places Mullen’s #Blind Spots at the heart of philosophical questions for both now and the future and sheds light on a very real sociological dilemma that will stay in your thoughts long after it’s finished .

First of all I want to thank St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for this e-galley.

When I was looking for a thriller novel to read, this novel caught my attention almost immediately. The cover was interesting, however, the premise of the book was fascinating: A Thriller developed in a world in which people have lost their vision, and they can "see" thanks to technology. It was so different and felt kind of fresh, that I couldn't let go to this opportunity.

Just by imagining a world like this, I got chills. Without vision, people's lives changed drastically. And yes, the fact that even if people could "return" to normality thanks to technology was comforting, this opened a new path to disaster: What if someone could manipulate technology and therefore, manipulate what can and cannot see?

As you can see, the idea behind the book got me from the beginning and it became even more interesting every time I kept reading. However, there was something (maybe in the narration or characters) that didn't connect with me. Even if the world was fascinating to me, advancing with the story was a little painful and confusing. I didn't find much answers about what was going on.

I would recommend this book to a very specific niche: Sci-Fi thriller readers.

Mark Owens is a policeman who has lost a lot. His sight like everyone else in the world,though Vidder technology lets everyone who can afford it see again. The worst thing that happened though was the death of his wife and the pain he still feels from her senseless loss. What if this miraculous technology has a dark side? Someone who perhaps is manipulating what people see to get what they want. And how does it relate to Mark’s wife’s death? Can he uncover the truth and live long enough to do something about it.

Underneath this very good fictional story lies what might be more than a grain of truth. How much power should one company have? What if you can’t trust what is right before you? I liked Mark and his girlfriend Amira, and was sure that there was so much more going on than what most people imagined.

The identity of the ‘bad guy’ wasn’t a surprise. He or she (no spoilers here) didn’t seem overly apparent, but when I was compiling my whodunit notes, that person just seemed to stand out repeatedly. The story was fast paced, and not that I think it will, but I’d spend more time in this futuristic world with these characters if I could.

Fascinating tale about Kyiv when the Russian Occupation was displaced by the German one. in WWII. Especially insightful as background in understanding the Ukrainian attitude toward the February 2023 invasion by Russia. The characters come alive to make this personal, thrilling, and evocative.

4.5 stars

Synopsis: Seven years ago, for inexplicable reasons, everyone in the world went blind over the course of months, which has since been referred to as "The Blinding." Through the use of technology, people began to find a new normal by using devices called "vidders" that approximate vision. Detective Mark Owens' latest case involves the murder of a scientist, and the only witness to the crime claims the killer was somehow "blacked out" of her vision. Owens doesn't believe her until he experiences the exact same phenomenon as a murder is committed in front of him. Clearly someone has figured out a way to hack vidders and distort visual reality. Suspects range from tech billionaires to anti-vision cults, and Owens has to figure out who is responsible when he can't even trust his own eyes.

Thoughts: This book grabbed my attention right away, and I was racing to the end to figure out what happened. I enjoyed Mullen's quick cadence and curt writing tone-- it really worked with this type of story. Admittedly, it grew a little confusing toward the end, and I was slightly underwhelmed by the big reveal. Still, I enjoyed the ride and think others will too.

Read if you like
-Blake Crouch
-Dystopian books
-Station Eleven
-Investigative stories

I’m not saying Blind Spots is a noir detective novel, but it’s definitely on the spectrum. The book is a speculative fiction novel told from the viewpoint of Detective Mark Owens whom like everyone else lost their sight during The Blinding. Luckily within a year or so a technological solution was devised so people could see again with the assistance of a Vidder. Of course police forces, government officials, and the rich got them first. But with all that technology can you really trust what you are seeing? What if you saw a murder, but couldn’t see the murderer? Mark Owens is on such a case, but of course the Company behind the Vidders say that’s impossible, but is it? How can you blindly trust a company with a lot to lose? Blind Spots draws a lot of parallels to many of our current societal ills and overall is worth the read.

Please note, I received an ARC copy of this book for review from NetGalley, but that never influences my honest reviews of books or authors.

A noir-like whodunit set in the near future where sight has been lost by humanity, and technology has filled in. But what happens if the technology.... and your very sight... get hacked?

A strong setting, a decent cast of characters and great pacing made this techno-mystery stand out! Great for fans of Crichton, Crouch and Scalzi!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I looooove his Darktown Series so I was eager to read this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for my honest review. This was a quick read with an interesting futuristic premise. The mystery was fairly compelling but I don’t think this book will stay with me. I didn’t feel like I got a strong sense of place and only a few characters seemed fleshed out. Disappointed because this was just ok - not brilliant like some of his other books.

This book was fantastic! Great pacing, interesting characters, incredible dystopian storyline. This is a 4 star for me because there were a few things that weren’t explained well enough and the writing was very direct and simplified at times, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The twist wasn’t that hard to figure out early on and the end felt slightly rushed but overall a great read and I would highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one was a little out there for me, and I can't say it was my favorite. I struggled to keep with the story and connect to the characters.

In a somewhat convoluted plot, all of humanity loses sight, but in an instant something real is revealed. Or is it? Good for fans of science fiction.

I thought the synopsis for this sounded so cool and so original, but I’m sad to say that this was not my kind of book. Don’t get me wrong - I love dystopia, and I like science-fiction. I thought those would be the primary genres for the book, but this was more of a crime/mystery book.

The Blindness hit globally seven years prior to this story. It was a pandemic that took people’s sight, and soon, everyone in the world is blind. This vaguely follows the Covid pandemic, as when a new device called a “vidder” comes out, some are skeptical. Vidders are implanted in people’s temples, and restore their vision. Just like anti-vaxxers, there are anti-vidders too: people who are worried that the government will be controlling their sight.

This part of the book was the part I was interested in, but it was a relatively small part of the book. Very little about the actual pandemic was revealed, and the rest of the book was about the mystery of people’s vidders showing them black blurs where people should be. Is this a glitch in the technology? Is it intentional? Will people be able to get away with crimes if they can figure out how to black themselves out?

I guess we get answers, but not very involved ones. This book is told from multiple points of view, and that combined with the amount of random characters who give nothing to the story, make this a bit convoluted. I didn’t feel anything towards any of the characters; they were all as flat and two-dimensional as vidder vision is. It was lacking something - interesting characters, a clear plot line, and a thrilling feel are things you won’t see (haha) in this book.

I see some very good reviews for this book, so I may be an outlier, but I thought this was incredibly boring and, at times, rough to continue. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but even the “big ending” wasn’t that exciting. I think this book may have been miscategorized, and crime fans may enjoy it more than thriller, sci-fi or dystopia fans. I’m giving this 2.5 stars, as it was only halfway tolerable.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Thomas Mullen and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on April 4, 2023.)

I loved this book right up until the ending and something just did not work for me with the way the story wrapped up. A very clever premise but maybe needed a bit better execution.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Would it be science fiction, police procedural, post-apocalyptic doom? Somehow all of those things meshed together into an thriller that also makes you think about the state of the world and where we're heading.

My Thoughts

The mix of sci-fi and crime is not new to me, this author however is.

Detective Mark Owens has a hard road from the very beginning and it turns out that as the story unfolds further those in positions of power are some of his unexpected adversaries.

For me his tale started off slowly but once its momentum hit it was off like a rocket with reveal after reveal that changed his world and totally changed my reading speed as well.

That being said once all is revealed, conspiracies uncovered, the lies sorted from the truths it seems our finale was open ended with no indication Mark Owens character would be given more adventures.

I would so sign up to read them if he was.

On another note, I have grown to despise the words Pandemic and Virus over the last few years.

I am thankful in this particular story it turns out those words are actually only the tip of even more perilous events for purposes that drive plot points throughout this book.

However I think that, for me, what took so long to get invested fully was quite simply how slow things move at first.

[EArc from Netgalley]

On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Thomas Mullen has pulled off a dangerously awesome mesh of genres in which he gels gut-wrenching horror with inquisitive and action-packed storytelling in a science-fiction setting to create one of 2023’s most distinctive reads.

Homicide detective Mark Owens lives in a world like ours, except for an unexplainable world altering event that made every person on Earth go blind almost immediately, an event referred to as The Blinding. Now people go about their lives with technology implanted in their minds that allows them to see once again. If the worst was somehow thought to be over, a new murderer comes to town. The only problem is, those left alive swear they saw only a black blur where they should have clearly seen a person. How is it that the murderer can tap into the vision feeds so easily? It rattles all that Owens has come to depend upon after losing his sight, and leads him on a quest to uncover a conspiracy buried beneath the dark veneer of surveillance and disinformation.

Blind Spots is a powerful thriller that rallies readers with resonating sentiments about all sorts of ideas, from the philosophical connotations of natural sight, all the way to the dangerous age of information-gathering through an uneasy number of means as we experience today. Thomas Mullen demonstrates an exuberant brilliance as he builds and populates a haunting dystopian world that grounds readers with how plausible the events following The Blinding seem, taking into account political, socio-economic, and all sorts of factors that influence human behavior as it is today. I was mesmerized and frightened as Mullen explains what could very well happen in such a devastating event and how we could become even more hopelessly dependent on technology that we may not be able to even trust ourselves.

As Mark Owens brings along the readers for uncovering a dark conspiracy, there’s never a dull moment. From constantly exciting unfolding of twists to gritty action, you can’t find a good place to put the book down because each new chapter brings along a revelation that rejuvenates your desire to keep reading. Whether it’s cool car chases, pulse-pounding shootouts, or the feral nature of not knowing whether you’re rooting for a good guy or not, Blind Spots is a powerhouse of a thriller that has something for every reader to take away an experience that’s one to remember. This book helped me get through a very very long international flight and even as I did my best to slow down and savor it over the entire flight, I was flipping through the pages fast enough to become a fire hazard. It’s a dangerously addictive read indeed.


Full review to be posted on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/Kashif-Hussain