I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Mastermind by Andrew Mayne Series: Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood #1
Published by Thomas & Mercer on September 7 2021
Genres: Adult, Thriller
Pages: 332
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Non stop action and larger-than-life characters make Andrew Mayne’s latest a thrilling, hard to put down series opener.
Well, this was a lot of fun! I’ve read and reviewed all four books in Mayne’s The Naturalist series, which focuses on super smart Dr. Theo Cray, a compu-biologist who is really good at catching bad guys. Mastermind kicks off the start of Mayne’s spin-off series which brings together Theo and Jessica Blackwood, who has her own popular series. I thought this was a great idea, and even though I haven’t read the Jessica Blackwood books, I was eager to see how Mayne would bring them together. And I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. Theo Cray is as smart and crazy as ever, and Jessica Blackwood shows a lot of promise in this first installment. At this point, I still like The Naturalist books better, but I’m definitely going to give this series a chance.
The story kicks off with a magic trick of sorts. New York City seemingly disappears, plunged into darkness with no electricity or cell phone service. Shrouded in a thick smoke that may or may not be toxic, FBI Special Agent Jessica Blackwood is asked to join the investigation team. Jessica, it seems, is known for being connected to cases that are on the strange side, and this one qualifies in spades. Meanwhile, Dr. Theo Cray is stuck in a prison in Myanmar, having been arrested after trying to help vaccinate people illegally. When his name appears on a suspect list in regards to the New York City event, which is being called the Void, Jessica knows that she actually needs Theo on her team in order to track down the person responsible.
Michael Heywood, also known as the Warlock, is Jessica’s nemesis of sorts, but for some reason he’s also fixated on Theo. Jessica is convinced that Heywood is behind the Void—which is spreading to other large cities—and she wants him stopped. Together, she and Theo track down clues that lead to Heywood and his motivations for plunging entire cities into darkness. What they discover is the work of a chilling and terrifying mastermind, and stopping him could be impossible.
As in all of Mayne’s books, the pacing and action scenes are excellent. There’s barely any downtime in this story, and Theo and Jessica go from one dire situation to the next. I loved the way Mayne kept changing the location of the action, giving the impression that Heywood is trying to pull off his diabolical scheme on a global scale. We go from the U.S. to Thailand to Kiev, and a few other places as well. Because Mayne uses science and technology to ground his stories, there’s a lot of cool information about chimpanzees (which I’m terrified of now!), computer hacking, medical research, government conspiracies and much much more. One of my favorite locations was their trip to Chernobyl to follow up on a lead, and it was super creepy reading descriptions of abandoned nuclear facilities and mental hospitals. The action itself is over-the-top at times, but that’s par for the course in an Andrew Mayne book.
It was great to be back in Theo Cray’s head, although he was in a very dark place the last time we saw him in Dark Pattern. Even though I don’t understand half of what he’s saying, I’m always fascinated by how his mind works, his leaps of logic that lead him to figure out the impossible. Even though he’s been through a lot—he nearly died in the last book and didn’t expect to make it out of Myanmar alive—he’s able to focus on the problem at hand. In this case, trying to find Heywood and stop him from doing whatever it is he’s trying to do, which is most certainly illegal and dangerous. Theo’s drive to help people is what keeps him grounded and makes him such a fascinating character. Mayne always adds some really cool tech tidbits into his stories, and in this one there’s an awesome thing that Theo does with a secret website that literally made my jaw drop!
The story switches between Theo’s and Jessica’s points of view, so we get alternating chapters from both of them. Although I did find it hard at times to tell who was speaking. Jessica might have five chapters in a row, and then Theo would get the next one. It was sort of random, and the chapters weren’t labeled in such a way as to make them easy to identify. Jessica’s character is new to me, since I haven’t read her series yet, but I enjoyed getting to know her. Her personality is much different from Theo’s. She was raised in a family of magicians, so she has an interesting background in illusion and misdirection, which added a nice layer to her character. I also liked the way she and Theo immediately “get” each other and form a tight working relationship. Both of them have had dangerous careers and reputations that make their jobs difficult, but together they discover they can help each other.
But even though it was fun to meet Jessica and watch her interact with Theo, I have to say that just like he did in The Naturalist series, Dr. Theo Cray stole the show in this book. He’s a large-than-life character, endlessly interesting, and it’s always exciting to see what he’ll do next. There was a point in the story where I realized that I much preferred Theo’s chapters to Jessica’s, which might change once I get to know Jessica better. Still, I think the force of Theo’s personality is just too big for Jessica to compete with, although now I’m anxious to go back and read her series, simply to give her a chance to stand out without Theo hogging all the attention.
I also didn’t care for the budding romance between them that sort of comes out of nowhere. I don’t think in this first installment it was even necessary. I get it, you’ve brought together two of your most fascinating characters, and the obvious outcome is for them to get together. It just felt too much like insta-love to me, too many longing glances and descriptions of their physical assets (Jessica’s gorgeous green eyes, and Theo’s firefighter-like muscular build). Plus Jessica turns into a love-whipped wimp whenever she looks at Theo that way, and it took away some of her badass personality. It wasn’t a deal breaker for me, I’m just saying it wasn’t my favorite part of the story.
But really, Andrew Mayne has a good thing going. It’s hard to put down one of his books once you’ve picked it up. I’ll definitely be continuing this series, and luckily the next book (The Final Equinox) is already on Goodreads with a release date. I can hardly wait!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Wow, lots to unpack in this book. It sounds like with everything going on, there’s no need for the romance.
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…August’s Shakespeare-Themed Reading Challenge: What Bill Taught Me
Ha ha you are right. It really wasn’t necessary, but I can see he’s probably setting the stage for future books in the series.
This sounds pretty good, although it does sound like the romance was in the way of everything else. I’ve been wanting to try one of Mayne’s books but might go for The Naturalist instead of this one.
The romance isn’t that prevalent. But it surprised me that it was even part of the story, maybe that’s why I reacted so negatively!
After my not-so-stellar encounter with the first Naturalist book, I’ve become a bit wary of Mayne’s novels, and yet enthusiastic reviews like yours make me wonder if I should not give this author a second chance… This new series sounds intriguing, and I’m beyond curious about that Void!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…DEAD TO HER, by Sarah Pinborough
Perhaps having Jessica in the mix might work better for you:-)
Indeed a shared character focus might be the perfect solution 🙂
I might have mentioned this before, but each time I read a new Mayne book I’m both excited and a little nervous it might finally be the book where I just grow tired of all the over-the-top action and situations and the growing arrogance of the characters. And yet, so far, each time I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the book. So I’m glad to see you enjoyed this one. I just finished Angel Killer, the first Jessica Blackwood novel, and I really enjoyed it, but like you I did prefer The Naturalist series. Jessica was a refreshing change, though, from Theo Cray. I enjoy Theo but I’m afraid if I read too many of his books too close together I might tire of his personality. So I enjoyed spending some time in the mind of Jessica, a very different character. Can’t wait to try this blending of the series.
I do like the way Theo has changed over the course of the series, though. He’s gone through some dark times but is still alive, lol.
This sounds very intriguing — I haven’t read Mayne’s books before.The action appeals to me a lot —and the Void sounds hella creepy …
When you’re in the mood for cool science facts and tons of action, this is a great author to check out:-)
Aside from the insta-love this sounds like a super exciting story. I’m also really interested now in Theo and Jessica’s own series now. They both sound kick-ass!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Book Blitz: Untamed: A Beautiful Nightmare Story by L.C. Son + Giveaway (INTL)
They are, but kick ass in different ways. Lots of fun!
I think I would really enjoy this author. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted… Bad Moon Rising by John Galligan
He’s tons of fun, Anne!
Fantastic review, Tammy! I’ve only read two books from another series of his, a procedural with a diving team. I need to check these out.
Thanks Jennifer! He has so many series going on, so lots to catch up with:-)
I have a copy of The Naturalist, but not read it. I never put the connection together this was the same author…lol. I can’t wait to read this one and I guess I should give his other series a try since I have the first book…lol. 🙂
I think you’d like it. Sort of crazy but you’ll never get bored:-)
I hadn’t heard of this series before, it sounds good. I just finished a book where the two main characters took turns narrating chapters, I like that style of storytelling also. Great review!
Bookworm recently posted…Neon Gods: A Scorchingly Hot Modern Retelling of Hades and Persephone (Dark Olympus Book 1) by Katee Robert
I do too! Especially when you like both characters.
Haven’t read the Naturalist series, but I enjoyed the Underwater Investigation Unit 😀
That’s one I haven’t read yet, but want to:-)
I just finished writing my review for later this week, and I agree with a lot of what you said here! I’ve been reading the author’s Underwater Investigation Unit which is so much tamer, I didn’t realize how much I missed the over-the-top shenanigans until I came back to this one! Theo and Jessica are also so good together, now I want to go back to her books too!
I’m definitely going to read her series at some point:-)
I really enjoyed The Naturalist and would like to read the rest of that series.
Theo Cray is such an interesting character and this sounds like an exciting read too so onto the TBR list it goes 😀
I agree, I just love him as a character and I’m so glad he’s getting this new series.
Awesome review! I agree that the budding romance between the two is unnecessary, but I’m not at all surprised by it. AndI found that Heywood makes for an even better villain after having read the first two Jessica Blackwood books (which are pretty great!).
I can’t wait for this. ahhhhhhhhh need more time.
Lynn 😀