Power of the Mind

Shadowy Solutions, Book 2

By: Nicky James

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

It’s not a real case, he’s not my boyfriend, and we aren’t partners. Three lies I told myself for survival.

After ten months of shamefully stalking and showing up randomly on Tallus’s doorstep at midnight (for reasons), the sinfully hot records clerk decided he’d had enough of my games.

In fact, he went out of his way to bring me the most ridiculous case (it was not a case) on the planet as an excuse to push me over the line (he wanted a date). Our arrangement (hooking up) didn’t suit him any longer.

Could I say no? Of course not (this was Tallus).

Five days, I told him. Five days to prove his silly theory, then we were done.

Little did I know, Tallus had a deadline of his own.

Investigating a mind-controlling-murdering psychic was hard enough (because it was not a thing), but resisting Tallus’s charm was the real challenge.

It turned out, I was wrong about a few things.

The case might be a case after all.

Tallus had potential as a partner.

And after all was said and done…I wasn’t sure I could let him go.

©2024 Nicky James (P)2024 Nicky James

ohhh Talus, will cause guns to go grey.

the dynamic duo is back. with more growls!

Diem and tallus make a good pair. when tallus isn't driving him up a wall. although significantly less baby (that's fine I'll cope) I can't wait to see the day that tallus holds her.

Diem and Tallus

I absolutely love this duo. I think Nick as Diem is so perfect. He captures what I think Diem sounds like but I also think he also sounds perfect as Tallus. I forgot how tortured Diem’s thoughts were and Nick brought them to life and made me cry. I can’t wait to not only read the next book but to listen to it as well.

Decent ride

First, I typically adore NJR as a narrator but found his extra gruff / extra raspy Diem in book one to be incredibly distracting. Sounds like he toned it down a bit here, which helped keep me in the story.

I appreciate the level of emotional complexity Nicky James brings to this story and the believable peeling of the layers of Diem’s protective armor. So props for that.

Unfortunately, while much of this story is engaging and the plot whirs along at a nice clip, there is also a lot of repetition in constantly revisiting Diem’s emotional barriers, often in nearly identical language and scenarios. It becomes tedious. I was also disappointed in the weirdly flat and underwhelming “climax.” The case is mostly resolved off page with no showdown or confrontation. What?! Truly an epic letdown.

Cat and mouse, only better

Story: The chemistry and dynamics between Diem and Tallus are like a very entertaining game of cat and mouse and I loved every second of their interactions. I love how the author created their personalities and how thouroughly their whole personas "work" in the stories.
The plot outside their relationship was as always a top notch - I love all the twists, turns and riddles Nicky James prepared this time. The criminal part of those books never fails to amaze me.
Narration: Perfect performance as always! The voices create the personalities on an incredible level, adding a new dimension to the words.

Audio narration is excellent

I love Nicky James’s investigation novels. Nick J Russo does an amazing job distinguishing between characters- even the primaries from previous books.

Russo's Gravely Diem is PERFECT!

If possible, I enjoyed this one more than the previous book. Tallus is just as quirky as ever. And poor, poor Diem. He has so much baggage. But the two make such an unlikely pair. From a somewhat romantic partnership to the PI partnership. There is development in both story lines and Nicky James does a phenomenal job telling their story. The mystery is intriguing. Their relationship is heart string tugging. I had a hard time putting this one down. I really do hope this series continues!

Updated for Audio:
Nick Russo's narration is awesome. His change in voice for Diem is PERFECT! I can't imagine what it did to his vocal cords, but it made this story so much better!

Excellent!

This series gets better and better. As always the story is top notch and the relationship between the MCs evolves at a good pace. Eagerly awaiting the next book. A solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ listen!

LOVED IT!

Nick J. Russo does an amazing job of bringing these wonderful characters to life.
Power of the Mind is book 2 in the Shadowy Solutions by Nicky James. This series should be read in order.
I can't get enough of Tallus and Diem. This unlikely pair just works so well together. They may be complete opposites in most ways but they sure do have chemistry to spare!
I love how many steps forward Diem takes with Tallus in this story. The struggle is real but his desire for a deeper connection is impossible for him to resist. It is wonderful to see how patient and understanding Tallus is without sacrificing what he wants from Diem.
Seeing them back in action on a case together is priceless! When Diem lets Tallus take the lead on this case it leads to more adventures for this duo/non-partners!
I can't wait for more!

love it!

I really enjoy the big part the mystery takes in the story.
The way we get deeper into the MCs personalities page by page is really enjoyable.
Plus, I was already hooked on D and T relationship with book 1 but now I'm just in love with them.


Can't wait for the third one 😍

Book 3 when??

Big burly emotionally closed-off men getting disarmed by sassy, flirty personalities who have them wrapped around their finger is one kryptonite of many for me, it seems.

I am really enjoying this pair’s dynamic. The depth of Diem's fears and their roots in his (perceived, but also very valid) inability to reciprocate the way he believes Tallus deserves was heartbreaking to read about in further detail. Then there’s Tallus, welcoming and accepting with open arms every little tidbit he manages to wrangle out of the guy. He wants nothing more than for Diem to see himself the way Tallus sees him. It’s incredibly sweet. I also kinda love how their behaviors in isolation are complete red flags (Diem's stalking, Tallus's overassertiveness), and yet somehow work perfectly for them? There's rarely ever a clear-cut line for exactly how much to prompt or push someone out of their comfort zone, so to some extent, their actions can come across arguably overstepping/overbearing. The clear mutual yearning for what the other would offer if it were a perfect world without a single obstacle in sight made it sit right with me, but I appreciated that it was pointed out in the text in a devil's advocate sort of move, with an awareness of the nonuniform lines being toed.

The mystery was intriguing with its foray into mind control, psychics, oh my! While it occasionally felt like Diem had to take a step down from what he could bring to the table for Tallus to take charge, I wouldn’t be surprised if his brain might've been a little too rattled by all the emotional confrontations and breakthroughs. Regardless, I absolutely adored how the case brought them together and let them grow from their very, uh, optimistic starting point of non-friends, non-boyfriends, non-lovers, and non-partners 😂

Last but not least, NJR hit the narration out of the park again - I’m so glad he was chosen for this series and I can’t wait for all his future performances!