Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Mind Games

Mind Games 

(Kaely Quinn Profiler #1) 

Paperback, ebook, hardcover, audio

December 4, 2018

by Nancy Mehl (Author).

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Bethany House Publishers 
  • ISBN-13: 978-0764231841


Synopsis
FBI Behavioral Analyst Kaely Quinn's methods may be highly unorthodox, but her talent is undeniable. She's done her best to establish a new life for herself after being demoted and transferred to St. Louis when a reporter revealed she's the daughter of an infamous serial killer. But when that same reporter claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely's, it seems her old life has followed her.
When a body is found that fits the poem's morbid predictions, Kaely and her new partner, Special Agent Noah Hunter, are forced to move past his skepticism of her approach and work together to unravel the deadly riddle.
With a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else, including Kaely, is killed.


My thoughts: I was a bit freaked out by the prologue of MIND GAMES and the freaky first chapter. But Nancy Mehl is a favorite author of mine and as usual her writing drew me in. I absolutely could not put MIND GAMES down and had to keep reading it. In fact, I stayed up past my bedtime to finish it!

MIND GAMES is the first book in Ms. Mehl's new series Kaely Quinn, Profiler. I love how Kaely spells her name. My daughter's name is spelled similar. 

I picked this up between church services on Sunday and read the whole book in mere hours. There is a hint of a future romance, and may I say that I loved Alex and Noah  and Solomon.  

It was kind of creepy about how Kaely profiles -- but that said I've seen author interviews about how they do the same type of interviewing with their characters so it maybe the way the mind is wired. Whatever, it worked for her, and if Ms. Mehl does character interviews that way it worked for her.  I am anxious to read the second book in the series. 

As for whodunit, I figured it out somewhat early, but wasn't 100% sure I was right until the end.  There were plenty of red herrings. I was. 

Great book. Enjoyed it.  

I was given a copy free. All opinions are my own. 

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Nancy Mehl (www.nancymehl.com) is the author of more than thirty books, including the Road to Kingdom, Finding Sanctuary, and Defenders of Justice series. She received the ACFW Mystery Book of the Year Award in 2009. She has a background in social work and is a member of ACFW and RWA. She writes from her home in Missouri, where she lives with her husband, Norman, and their Puggle, Watson. She is part of The Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com, along with several other popular suspense authors. She is also very active on Facebook.

Guest Post from Nancy

Writing Mind Games is a dream come true. I’ve been interested in FBI profiling for years. I’ve read about it, studied it, and watched every TV special I could find on the subject. So when the chance finally came to write the book I’ve always wanted to write, I jumped at it. Thankfully, through the help of another writer, I was hooked up with a retired FBI profiler. I was so excited. Until I found out I had almost everything wrong. Yes, I had some understanding about profiling, but I knew nothing about the FBI and how it works.
First of all, the FBI doesn’t call the men and women who profile criminals, profilers. They’re called Behavioral Analysts. The plot for Mind Games had my analyst running around the country solving crimes while she was stationed in St. Louis. Uh, no. Behavioral analysts do travel, but they all work out of Quantico in Virginia. So…I rewrote.
There were ways around my conundrum, but one solution led to more and more problems. We finally worked through them. Then I spent the next few months learning acronyms. CIRG, CJIS, NCAVC, HRT, UNSUB, CNU, THU, ViCap, CODIS, SWAT, ERTU, OPU, THRU, ERT… Well, the list goes on and on. The FBI is made up of many specialized units. And a plethora of acronyms, it seems.
I rewrote Mind Games three times before my source said we were good to go.
If you assume I’m out of the woods now, you’d be wrong. I haven’t had the nerve to open up the manuscript I sent her for book two in my Kaely Quinn Profiler series. I figured I had Fire Storm right but… Well, I can tell from her email comments I’ll be doing more rewriting. Sigh.
So is it worth it? A resounding yes! I love learning, and as long as my analyst friend hangs in with me (she has the patience of Job), I’ll keep at it.
I hope you enjoy Mind Games. It’s edgy but fun. Kaely Quinn is a quirky character. She was thrown out of Quantico because her version of profiling is… Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out!

Blog Stops

The Lit Addict, December 11
amandainpaDecember 11
A Reader’s BrainDecember 12
Daysong ReflectionsDecember 12
Livin’ Lit, December 12
By The Book, December 13
Lighthouse Academy, December 13
Multifarious, December 14
Splashes of JoyDecember 14
Back Porch ReadsDecember 15
Robin is Bookish, December 15
Janices book reviews, December 15
C Jane Read, December 16
Ashley’s BookshelfDecember 16
The Becca Files, December 16
Bigreadersite, December 16
Quiet Quilter, December 17
Margaret Kazmierczak, December 17
Godly Book Reviews, December 17
All-of-a-kind Mom, December 18
Just the Write Escape, December 18
D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, December 18
Simple Harvest Reads, December 19 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)
Mary Hake, December 19
Remembrancy, December 20
Inklings and notionsDecember 20
Carpe Diem, December 20
Locks, Hooks and BooksDecember 21
Pause for Tales, December 21
Have A Wonderful DayDecember 22
Book by Book, December 22
Bibliophile Reviews, December 23
Cafinated Reads, December 24
Texas Book-aholic, December 24

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Nancy is giving away a grand prize of a copy of Mind Games and the three books in Nancy’s Defenders of Justice series, plus a $20 Starbucks gift card!
Two additional winners will also receive a copy of Mind Games!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d73b/mind-games-celebration-tour-giveaway


3 comments:

Marilyn R. said...

I wasn't sure about reading Mind Games with the title and all. Sounds like a nice story though.

Dianna said...

I loved this book! It's so suspenseful and smart.

James Robert said...

Congrats on this tour and thank for the opportunity to read about another great book out there to read. It helps out so I can find books I know my family will enjoy reading. Thanks as well for the giveaway.

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