Mastermind

A Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood Thriller (Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood, Book 1)

By: Andrew Mayne

Narrated by: Jennifer O'Donnell, Will Damron

Dr. Theo Cray and FBI agent Jessica Blackwood confront a cataclysmic conspiracy in a pulse-quickening thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist.

A mysterious electrical storm plunges Manhattan into darkness. As a strange, smothering fog rolls in, all communication crashes. In the blink of an eye, the island seems to vanish into a void.

FBI special agent Jessica Blackwood and brilliant scientist Dr. Theo Cray know this isn’t a freak accident. It’s a sinister sleight of hand. Their greatest adversary, a serial killer and cultist known as the Warlock, has escaped during a prison transfer in New York. A depraved master of manipulation, he promised the end of days. He’s making good on it.

One by one, cities across the globe are erupting in chaos as they disappear into the same black holes. Even for two ingenious trackers like Jessica and Theo, there’s still so much to learn about the pattern to the Warlock’s madness. The voids are just a warm-up for something bigger. To discover it - to stop it - Jessica and Theo must descend into the darkest of shadows - and minds.

©2021 by Andrew Mayne. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“A passionate and thorough storyteller…Thriller fans will be well rewarded.”—Publishers Weekly

Fun, but disappointing

It was exciting to see his characters from different series interact with each other, but thy execution fell flat.
Overall as a mystery thriller, it was okay. Considering the reveal, honestly felt like it could be more theatrical?
Voices are great for their main characters, but not so great for others.
And while looking back at it, I see the hints of growing relationship, I don't like the chemistry. Feels more male fantasy

Chilling Possibilities

This is a well crafted thriller that you wish was obviously sci-fi but is too close to possible for any comfort.

My "oops" = interesting listen

I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I also read a lot of Kindle books and traditional paper books, for fun as well as for research. Consequently, sometimes I forget which books or series I have in which format. This was one such "oops."

I have - on Kindle - the entire separate series for both Jessica Blackwell (plus short stories) and Dr. Theo Cray, in addition to this title featuring them both. I very much enjoy all three series, as far as they've gone as of this writing. Consequently, when I saw the pre-order for The Final Equinox on Audible while looking at new releases, I immediately did just that. Then I realized I didn't have the first title (this one) on Audible, and got this as well, before remembering that I was reading them in Kindle rather than listening.

The story is intricate and well thought out as one might expect from Mayne and these characters. Knowledge of their individual story lines is not necessary to enjoy this book, although I would suggest that knowing more about Jessica might be beneficial to a deeper enjoyment of this book given her level of prominence in this story over Theo's.

After reading these characters for so long, I found Jessica's voice pretty much aligned with how I heard her in my own mind, though the delivery was a bit different. Nothing too jarring though. Theo's voice, however, sounded nothing like how I've heard him inwardly as I've read. I enjoy Will's narration in other works, and I respect the voicing he gave to Theo here; it just didn't sync up as well as I would have liked. That made for some mental gymnastics initially and any time I restarted the book after some time away, even just a few hours. Eugene's voice, too, was a bit off for me, but given how infrequently he speaks, it wasn't too disconcerting. Jillian's voice, brief as it appeared, was pretty close to what I had imagined. Heywood - not quite as much.

Overall, I think both narrators did an excellent job with the material. I do plan to get The Final Equinox in Kindle, but having listened to this first book of the joint series now, I may keep this series as a dual Kindle/Audible venture and maintain the other two in Kindle alone. It's nice to have the option of listening to them done well while engaged in other tasks. Mayne's background as a magician and illusionist informs his writing beautifully, and although some of his earlier work is a bit rough around the edges, I have really enjoyed the Jessica Blackwood, Dr. Theo Cray, and joint adventure series. I continue to look forward to any new releases in any of these series, and am contemplating starting some of his others soon. (Perhaps starting them from scratch in Audible to prevent the mental double-takes I had here. 🙂)

Highly recommended.

Excellent Story & Performance

Very unique and in some ways confusing. I’m looking forward to see where things go after this. Jessica and Theo have a lot to face. While they are working for government nemesis Hayward is tearing apart the world. Having said he has cured all these diseases. It gave him compressed power. Jessica and Theo know the truth. Thousands of people have died, for whatever success may have achieved.

Excellent

I was duped when I started reading this book. Why am I not hearing/reading the, now, very familiar words and internal dialogue of Dr. Theo Cray? That's on me. I had forgotten the connection that was made with Agent Jessica Blackwood from the previous book, Dark Pattern. I really didn't think I was going to like this Jessica character, but...I'm here to report, this is an excellent story. Everything you've come to like about the previous Theo Cray thrillers is in this book with Jessica Blackwood adding the icing to the cake, apologies for the cliche.
This book is full of unexpected twists that made it hard to put down. I can't wait to read the next book in this new series.
Also, the Audible version features the familiar voice talent, Will Damron, as the quirky Dr. Theo Cray and an equally talented voice performance by Jennifer O'Donnell, as the brilliant agent Jessica Blackwood

Ending Sucks!

I hate an ending when you don't know what the heck happened at the end...

It really sucks!

Mastermind indeed

Loved it. Getting the message outside had my full attention. a must read good job!

as always Mr Mayne's books are unusual

very enjoyable read bringing two of his main characters together. as always he keeps you guessing and the storyline and interpersonal relationships are well done.

Fun Suspense

Tightly written suspense novel that extends two other series. Engaging characters, an interesting puzzle to solve, and believable individual details. Knocked down a point by the implausibility of the basic premise.

I'm not a huge fan of the dual narrators, though both, individually, were solid.

Recommended for people who can suppress their critical thinking skills enough to enjoy the ride.

Cartoon villain plot

Fluently told story, but over-the-top plot. Modern themes, somewhat plausible but ending up in conspiracy theory realm.

Nicely done with the two narrators, liked that part.