Double Cross (Justine Jones Disillusionist Book 2) by Carolyn Crane

 

In my mind, the best Urban Fantasy books are those where there are mythological and/or supernatural beings, and that the general population is not aware of their existence. The Disillusionist series fits that definition, but it does it without vampires, werewolves, fairies, shapeshifters, or any of the usual supernaturals. I think it's safe to say this series is not like anything else in the genre.

Here's the blurb:

SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT. OTHERS COME TO KILL.

Justine Jones lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she was lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard, who gifts her with extraordinary mental powers—dooming her to fight Midcity’s shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves.

But now serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity’s new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will.

As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men—one on a journey of redemption, the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.

Without giving spoilers, I will say that at the end of Double Cross, I was sad, depressed, and perhaps even a bit disillusioned. The book was certainly a page turner, I'll give it that, but I wasn't happy at all with the ending.

As for the writing elements -- the plot was great, pacing had issues in the first book but was much better this time, prose and dialogue were fine, character development is okay, and world-building is well done.
 
It appears we are probably a year away from the third book, and I can't see that the author has even released the name yet. I want to say you can't end a book this way and not even tell us the name of the next book... but she did. If I had it to do over again I would wait until next year and read all three books together, when the third one comes out.

I'm conflicted about how to rate the book. Part of me wants to rate it high for the plot twists, and part of me wants to rate it really really low for the ending. It's not just that it's a cliffhanger, it's that it's... well... not nice. I'll split the difference and give it an 8.

• Book Rating:Double Cross: 8 of 10
• Series Rating: 8 of 10

1. Mind Games
2. Double Cross
3. Un-named final book, last half of 2011

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Mind Games (Justine Jones Disillusionist Book 1) by Carolyn Crane

 

Mind Games is the first book of a planned trilogy. It's not your everyday Urban Fantasy -- there are no werewolves or vampires or fairies or witches or demons.

After you've read thousands of books, at some point you end up with similar plots or story ideas played out by different characters. But every once in a while you read a book that is just different from anything you've ever read before.

I'm having a hard time coming up with a way to describe why Mind Games is different without giving spoilers, so I'll start with the blurb:

Mind Games heroine Justine Jones isn't your typical kick-ass type - she’s a hopeless hypochondriac whose life is run by fear.

She's lured into a restaurant, Mongolian Delites, by tortured mastermind Sterling Packard, who promises he can teach her to channel her fears. In exchange, she must join his team of disillusionists - vigilantes hired by crime victims to zing their anxieties into criminals, resulting in collapse and transformation.

Justine isn't interested in Packard's troupe until she gets a taste of the peace he can promise. Soon she enters the thrilling world of neurotic crime fighters who battle Midcity’s depraved and paranormal criminals.

Eventually, though, she starts wondering why Packard hasn’t set foot outside the Mongolian Delites restaurant for eight years. And about the true nature of the disillusionists.

There were a few rough points, the biggest being that I knew who the villain was going to be very early on in the story. But, there are a few twists that keeps this from being as bad of a point as it could have been. The other main issue has to do with pacing, there were some pretty slow points in the story.

The good parts? The intense descriptions of how debilitating severe hypochondria can be, and the ways that this particular psychosis was used to weave the metaphysical elements of the story. Another mark in the positive column, there are the already mentioned twists and turns, so for a while you're not entirely sure who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.

I'm going to give Mind Games an 8 of 10, and I'll be looking for the next book, Double Cross, at the end of September.

Book Rating: Mind Games: 8 of 10

This fulfulls another book in the Debut Urban Fantasy Challenge I'm participating in.




1. Mind Games
2. Double Cross, Sept 28, 2010