Crimson Minds – Book Review

Book Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 / 5 stars)

After the supposed murder of his father and sister, Daniel Cavanough is thrown back into the fray of the Minds. With three competing gangs, crowned by Kings, and an obscure individual known as “Rose” vying for power, Daniel soon realizes that finding out who murdered his family is going to be much bloodier than he anticipated.

A compelling first book in the trilogy, the reader is taken into the streets of Chicago, where three psychics gangs – Reds, Blues, and Diamonds – vie for power. It is interesting climbing into Daniel’s mind here; he’s a very powerful Mind, the Black Dog if you will, who can combat searchers, breakers, and puppeteers while holding to his convictions. But what also makes him interesting is the fact the novel is written in verse. Each word is chosen with care, meaning something, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively. In away, writing it like this gives us insight into the maze of Daniel’s mind.

I wasn’t sure at first if I would like a verse thriller. I had never read one before but Patrick Kaiser’s book interested me, so I decided to pick it up. While verse might not work for everything, it definitely worked for this story. I could still picture everything happening and I got a feel for each of the characters, especially Daniel, as the story played out.

The downside, of course, of a story in verse, is sometimes you do not get the same amount of character exploration, description, or world building. Often times, this has to be left to the imagination. While I do wish there was more to give us insight into Daniel, his family, and his relationships, I know that this being a verse novel, some of that had to be sacrificed.

Yet, despite these “holes”, if you can call them that, Kaiser does a fantastic job painting the story in poetry. Whenever I picked it up to read, I could hardly put it down, and I kept thinking in rhymes for hour after I finished. Plus…what an ending! I cannot wait to go and pick up the remaining two books in this series, because I absolutely have to know what Rose will do next and if Daniel can stop further chaos from ensuing.

If you are interested in a different type of thriller novel, written in verse, that is action packed from start to finish, I definitely recommend checking out Crimson Minds! You won’t be disappointed.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What’s it about?

It’s said humans use only 10% of our minds. But what if there are some who can use more? In modern day Chicago three gangs of psychic youth vie for power. Led by their Kings, each one seeking to control the city. Unfortunately for them, Daniel Cavanough has no interest in such matters. His only concern is to find the truth of his father and sister’s murder. With The Black Dog sniffing around, and the mysterious Rose throwing her own hat in the ring, it may not be the wind blowing things about.

Is it possible to change Crimson Minds?