Mind Games

Arcane Casebook, Book 4

By: Dan Willis

Narrated by: Alex Knox

What do a murderous housewife and a wayward heiress have in common? If Alex Lockerby is right, someone is manipulating them against their will. Now all he has to do is unravel a dark tapestry of family, politics, wine, money, love, and murder before the people behind it put an end to him.

Alex Lockerby’s father once told him that it’s the simple jobs that take the longest, and finding missing things is about as simple a job as Alex can get. When wealthy socialites hire him to track down their wayward daughter, finding her is easy, but that’s just the beginning of his problems.

As he’s trying to deal with the no-longer-missing heiress and her family, Alex gets another case from a desperate young man. He wants Alex to prove his wife is innocent of murder - the only problem is that she was caught red-handed. Alex takes the case, figuring it should be easy to prove what happened one way or another, but the more Alex looks into the murder, the worse it seems. The only thing he can’t find is a motive.

As Alex investigates he becomes convinced that both of his clients are being manipulated by someone with a bigger agenda. He knows he’s on the right track when a would-be assassin takes a shot at him. Now Alex has to figure out who’s running a deadly con game in Manhattan, hopefully before he and his clients become the sacrifice pawns.

©2020 Dan Willis (P)2021 Dan Willis

A unique gumshoe approach

Well if you like the first 3 books you should listen to this one. More magic more mysteries to explore.

Keeps you listening

The story is told in such a way you want to keep listening and hear what happens to Alex. I love this series and can’t wait to start listening to the next book! Alex Lockerby is a great Detective.

Great series

One of my favorite series! Really look forward to the next one. So glad they came out on Audible

Great Series!

Really loving this series - both story and reader. Fan of Dresden series as well but this is wonderful in its own way.

another fun book in the series

this was a really fun listen with lots of good plot turns and twists some good reoccurring characters and a really a good story with lots of depth to it.... you really should read the books in order in order to really appreciate the authors development of his characters and his own writing.
the narration was done well and was enjoyable and interesting to listen to.

Alex comes into his own

People say the series takes off, but that has always driven me nuts. I wouldn't be x books in if I didn't already like the series. No, what Mind games does is flesh out the depth of the supporting cast of characters. You begin to have small looks into their lives, their responsibilities, and their driving motivations.

Alex Knox does his usual superb job of bringing you into the story. At times you feel as if you are a ghost standing next to Alex Lockerby as he stands over a clue.

The problem with mystery books is I suck at not typing spoilers, so trust me. Dan Willis has crafted a mystery that will enthrall you for the whole 11 hours and four minutes.

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Audible's rating is:
1 Star is "not for me"
2 Stars "it is okay"
3 Stars "pretty good"
4 Stars "it's great"
5 Stars "I love it"

A one star book could be a very dry topic, story, crude, or someone preaching down to the reader. I generally don't have 1-star books. I will just return them and go my own way. My last three were from the same series; I had hit a very dry spot in my listening.

A 2-star story, would be something that was phoned in by a writer that typically has done much better work. I have a couple of reviews from authors that just seemed to phone it in, one most recently from an author that decided to mix current politics into his novel. If I wanted that, I would just watch the news.

A 3-star review is where I really start. It means I enjoyed the book. That I did not have a hard time following it (I have lost a lot of my conversational hearing). That the story kept to a plot, the characters were not static, and the world built was plausible.

A 4-star review is something that I really enjoyed. It puts the author on my map to keep an eye out for. I go through 12-15 books a month. (audible is my primary source of entertainment. ) I will search for the author's works regularly and seek out their stories for future purchases.

A 5-star review, These are not as rare as one would think. These are the books where the characters grow, learn, and act according to their nature. Where the world is not only plausible but believable. Where there are economic systems, businesses, and rules of law that make sense. Where the story is woven, progressed, and told with caring and dedication. These are books, series, authors, and narrators that bring it all in a package.

So, when reading my reviews, if anyone does, that is how I judge the books.

Great story and great series

Following Alex in his experiences. Looking forward to the further stories and more information about the whalers

Little Predictable

Another great one by Dan and great performance by Alex. An element of the story, coupled with the title, gave away the key feature in this one. But, the expansion of magical lore and seeing our hero really get ahead was awesome. Character development was full front in this story and I loved every second of it.

A Film Noir with magic

It’s like a cross between Phillip Marlowe and The Dresden Files. I’m completely hooked! Great series!

Great story.

I very much enjoyed this story. I love how he ties the cases together in the end. Some of this story was predictable but still very enjoyable. Narrator is excellent. Can’t wait for Limelight.