SlowReader's Kingdom

I saw the audiobook of Mindreader by Patrick Lee at my local library. I had never heard of it before and I would have never picked it up as a book (since I don’t read thrillers). But from time to time I like to listen to a good written thriller. In the end, I enjoyed this book a lot.

Mindreader is about “Sam Dryden, [a] retired special forces, [who] lives a quiet life in a small town on the coast of Southern California. While out on a run in the middle of the night, a young girl runs into him on the seaside boardwalk. Barefoot and terrified, she’s running from a group of heavily armed men with one clear goal—to kill the fleeing child.” (Goodreads)

This books jumps right into the action and never stops until the last page. The action scenes are well-written, fast-paced, but still seemed logical to me.

The main character, Sam Dryden, was very charismatic. I love smart, tough men who still have a soft spot for people in need. Dryden is all that. I was a little ambivalent concerning Rachel. I thought the girl was a little too passive considering all the things she could do. It wasn’t until the end, when she finally took action herself that I started to like her more.

This book is really gripping. I caught myself searching for random things in my bag just so I could sit in my car a little bit longer and listen to the audiobook. For a perfect scoring I would have liked a little bit more personal and emotional insight. It certainly is the woman in me that is asking for this (and usually emotions are not big part of thrillers) but that is what makes this book just an entertaining read instead of an outstanding book.