I really struggled following this audiobook. I liked the beginning, but was lost after about halfway.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

#Mind Games#NetGalley# by: William Deverell

A psychological thriller. set in San Francisco. Tim, a psychiatrist, is in therapy dealing with his separation from Sally, his girlfriend, who is an artist. Sally wants the separation claiming to need space to deal with their relationship. One of Tim's cases is a serial killer who Tim believes is faking his recovery and sending mysterious threatening letters disturbing him. Another of Tim's cases is a woman with a romantic fixation on him leading to more and more complications. Each new day brings new problems. The author takes us over an emotional roller coaster after roller coaster ride until the satisfying end of this very interesting book. William Deverell is an author to watch.
I received this book from #NetGalley# in exchange for an honest review.
Review by: Librarian

This book was not exactly what I expected. I don't know if it was because of the writing style, or all the backstories, and in the end, I'm not quite sure I got what happened. I would go back and re-listen, but it didn't grab my interest.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

This book is about Doctor Dare who is seeing a psychiatrist his mother is not only a famous author but a politician either he is very paranoid or there's someone after him. Now that summary isn’t the best summary but let me just say I love this authors books and was so excited to get this one because it sounded so very good but unfortunately I couldn’t get into it. I tried multiple times to re-listen to the book I started it over and for some reason I just didn’t get it. I did think the whole storyline with him and the guy who was released from prison was a good one but I didn’t get the whole thing with Sally and him cheating or not cheating? I mean it wasn’t a bad Book but I just couldn’t get into it. I think this is more a fault with me and not the author because I usually love his books. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

2.5⭐️ (rounded up)

This is my first time reading a William Deverell novel and I have heard very polarizing things about his work, people either love them or hate them. I feel like I would have really loved this book if I read a physical copy or if the narration was different. I had a really hard time finishing this audiobook. I found the narration to be very stiff and one note, especially the narration for Dr. Allison Epstein and the narration for Dr. Timothy Dare was to much and honestly hard to listen too.

I was initially intrigued by the premise of this book. First off, its based in Vancouver and as a Vancouverite I loooove being able to relate something I’m reading or watching back into the scenery around me. Second, the story is based on Dr. Tim Dare a forensic psychiatrist, whose life is falling apart. So he decides to get help from a fellow psychiatrist, Dr. Allison Epstein. The synopsis also states that the law and legal matters are very present in this story, which I found to be lacking. Again this is based in Vancouver and I was hoping for some great insight into Canadian Law, as a Criminology graduate I love these topics.

The mind games and situations happening in Dare’s life are really intense and keep you guessing, which is why I wanted to continue listening. The work through of Dare’s problems through therapy is also great and insightful. However, I did find it hard to relate to Dare’s character, and as the MC that was a major determent to the book. I usually don't have a problem with dislikable MC's but there was something about Dare that really rubbed me the wrong way.

The premise is very interesting but it is not delivered well in an audiobook format.

Thank you Netgalley and ECW Press Audio for an advanced audio copy for an honest review.

Oof this is just not for me. I liked the “grim portents of murder” but the male narrator’s voice is so cheesy and I hate the spy vs spy therapists set up. I think I might enjoy reading this, but it definitely does not work for me as an audiobook.

Working in the medical field and overlapping with mental health, I could relate a bit more to the premise perhaps than other readers. That being said, this wasn't the story I was expecting when I read the synopsis. The male and female narrators were good, but Allison was so clinical it was difficult to get any real sense of her character. In contrast, Timothy Dare comes across as pompous, egomaniacal, and annoying. While I'm sure this is the intent, it made it extremely difficult to connect with him, let alone like him. The POV shifts mid-chapter threw me off, and I didn't really care much for the backstory at first. It wasn't until Tim started discussing one of his prior cases that it piqued my interest, but then there ended up being far too many backstories. Eventually I did get more interested in the murders and how they connected to Tim's mother's book, but the reveals were in no way surprising or particularly satisfying. Understandably this was written over a decade ago and so attitudes about LGBTQ have changed since then, but I found much of Tim's verbiage made my skin crawl. And then the climax was so ridiculous it felt like something out of an 80's cop show. Not the worst, but not the best, either.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book. It was an interesting premise (and a great cover) but I did not find it enjoyable or listenable. It was far too long and confusing and needed some serious editing.

Well this was a really interesting story until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley I got to listen to the audio version of this one and the dual narrators were absolutely perfect. Without that, I think it would have been very difficult to differentiate between where one narrator stops and the other starts. The fact that it’s a female and male narrator really helps too.

I couldn’t stop listening to this for the majority of the book. However, after awhile it felt like it was trying too hard to hit a word count or something because it felt drug out when it easily could have wrapped up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

An intriguing read through psychological turmoil and trauma to keep you interested.

I enjoyed accompanying the protagonist on his journey and enjoyed the writing style of the author.

The main character was engaging and I found the character relationships authentic.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publishers for the complimentary copy of the audio book, Mind Games. While I found the book interesting, I found myself lost more than once! It might have read better in print version, but one thing I took from it, psychologists generally became psychologist after seeing one professionally. I wavered between a 2-star and a 4-star rating, finally landing on a solid 3-stars.

The premise of Mind Games is intriguing and was my reason for requesting the title. A murderer and former psychiatric patient released into the care of another psychiatrist who has his own troubles. Who’s really insane? Unfortunately, I’ll never find out because I’ve found this book really difficult to get into. I’m always open to different narrative styles but this is just confusing and incredibly dull. I don’t need to like the main characters to enjoy a well told story, but somehow, this seems to be trying to be just too clever. I wondered if the author was attempting to play mind games with the reader. If so it hasn’t worked because I can’t remain engaged. I usually love stories that make your head spin a little and provide challenge and thought but this is one I’ve had to give up on. With so many excellent titles, I no longer waste time on a book that hasn’t grabbed me at all within the first 25%. The narration was rather flat and didn’t add to my listening pleasure. Sorry, but not a winner for me.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

I just did not like the writing style of this book. I could not connect with the story or any of the characters. It was told in such a detached way that you could not even feel in real emotion when characters were going through things that should have been quite emotional. The female narrator was boring and the male narrator was over the top. I think the middle ground between them may have made the book easier to listen to. You just should not feel so little for people doing and going through so much. A tale of a murdered psychiatrist and her murderer being set free to, possibly, stalk the only doctor who did not think he was innocent by reason of insanity-that should not be a boring book.

:( DNF

I just couldn't get into this one! The concept sounded so interesting and I was really excited to read it, but it just wasn't working for me. The male voice was creepy (I'm sure it was supposed to be) but I could not keep listening. The pacing was confusing and I couldn't figure out what was going on for a while.

The story and concept are interesting although the pacing is mixed with so much happening towards the end. Main problem is that the audio is difficult to concentrate on. It’s was muffled/fuzzy in the beginning and the male narrator was jarring at times.

I was really enjoying this audiobook until about the 70% mark and I just completely got lost and had absolutely no idea what was going on. Is this a murder mystery? Is there an unreliable narrator? I honestly couldn’t tell you.

I definitely think I would love this as a physical copy or an e book and I would keep my way much better as the premise was really interesting! As an audiobook, I just couldn’t follow it well at all. The narrative was really convoluted.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was definitely quite the ride... I didn't really connect with it and so felt lost several times but it was an interesting book to read overall. The narrator did a good job.

Mind games for sure! This was a wild ride into the mind of quite a few of the characters, not just those in therapy!! Some of those peeps were for sure fucked up and we all love reading about that! Definitely worth a read/listen!

#MindGames
#NetGalley

Grundy was previously a patient of psychiatrist Dr. Barbara Lowes-Wiseman, who he brutally murdered 6 years prior and then claimed insanity. Dr Dare is the only expert witness on the case, who did not believe Grundy to be innocent for reasons of insanity. When Grundy is ‘rehabilitated’, he is released under the terms that Dare is allocated as his custodian and personal psychiatrist. Soon Dare believes that Grundy is stalking him, his own life having already taken a downward spiral as his wife has left him, Dare decides it time for him to see a psychiatrist himself (Dr Alison Epstein), partially to see if the stalking is real or a product of his imagination.

It is a curious writing style to me and I found it quite hard to follow who was saying/ thinking what and when, this was due to no fault of the narrator (Although I wasn’t a particular fan there either). I didn’t find any of the characters relatable or likeable - overall this book was not for me.

This was not a book I could finish. It just didn't hold my interest -- the characters did not work for me.