'Double Cross' Justine Jones / Disillusionist trilogy #2 by Carolyn CRANE

From the BLURB:

SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT. OTHERS COME TO KILL.

Justine Jones lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she was lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard, who gifts her with extraordinary mental powers - dooming her to fight Midcity's shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves.

But now serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity's new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will.

As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men - one on a journey of redemption, the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.

There’s an old literary idiom called ‘Chekhov’s gun’. Based around the writings and musings of the beloved Russian writer, Chekhov’s gun dictates that if there’s a rifle on the wall in the first act, it has to go off in the third.

While reading Carolyn Crane’s explosive second instalment in her ‘Disillusionist’ trilogy, I kept thinking about Chekhov and his gun. A thick sense of foreboding permeates ‘Double Cross’ and the entire novel is rich with the smell of gunpowder... metaphorically speaking, of course.

The book begins shortly after the events of ‘Mind Games’. Hypochondriac Justine Jones is forced to work for a group of Disillusionists in order to control her cranium-centred anxieties. Justine and her troop of hypochondriacs ‘zing’ their various concerns, worries, and fears into unsuspecting criminals. They’re a type of ‘psychological hit squad’ who bring down villains with their vicarious neuroses. And heading this hit squad of fretfulness is highcap Sterling Packard – a man who can see people’s psychological make-up and can lessen the angst of his neurotic assassins.

Justine and Packard have a rocky relationship. Following a heated encounter Justine discovered that Packard tricked her into working for him, and relying on him to keep her sane.

In the wake of Packard’s betrayal, Justine fell into the arms of Midcity Mayor, Otto Sanchez, another highcap who can control building structures. Otto and Justine share cranial hypochondria and Justine believes she has found her soul-mate in the upstanding mayor.

But things are cutting into Justine and Otto’s blissful romance. Namely, a group of vigilante snipers dubbed ‘The Dorks’ who are targeting and killing highcaps. The Dorks have Otto run off his feet and Packard determined to put an end to the highcap deaths. And Justine is caught in the middle. . .

I loved this book. I went in with high expectations and came out utterly impressed. ‘Double Cross’ lives up to its name - the book is full of curveballs, character hurdles and jaw-dropping reveals. This is a book about gray areas; none more so than where characters are concerned. I finished ‘Mind Games’ liking Packard, but rooting for Otto and Justine. But while reading ‘Double Cross’ I kept swinging back and forth – from Team Packard to Team Otto and back again – and I loved the indecision! I don’t like reading about straight-up Good vs. Evil, or black and white characters. Otto and Packard are conundrums, each with a complicated past and weighing guilt. Otto and Packard grew up together for a time, and their shared history can be told from different perspectives. And at different times in the novel each man will be cast in a heroic and villainous light;

Packard says, “You love to remind me that I’m a villain, Justine, but when I do something the least bit villainous, you act outraged.”

I loved the way that Carolyn Crane kept me guessing. I was on the edge of my seat from page 1 to 326 and I didn’t want it to end.

I feel a little ill. “We’re helping people.”
“You’re contorting so wildly to pretend you’re on the good side, you’re like a fucking sideshow act. Reality check, sister. We’re the bad guys. We work for a power-hungry megalomaniac. Otto’s a megalomaniac.”

Justine grows a lot in this book. We saw a lot of her tender-heart in ‘Mind Games’, when she felt awful for ‘zinging’ people with her paranoia. But in ‘Double Cross’ she really takes a guilt trip and pushes herself to reform. I love Justine; she’s hands-down one of the best female protagonists out there. I love the fact that she lives a lot of her life in fear, but doesn’t want to take the easy way out and unload her problems onto other people. I read Justine as being a very strong character, but utterly oblivious to her own capabilities. Half the fun (/frustration) of reading this series is waiting and hoping that Justine realizes her own brilliance.

There is a HUGE cliff-hanger at the end of ‘Double Cross’. We’re talking Grand Canyon-sized, ‘who shot J.R.?’, will those Chilean miners survive type of cliff-hanger! And really, I would be angry with Carolyn Crane for such an ENORMOUS gaping-hole of an ending. . . if it weren’t so brilliant. I mean, this is one heck of a Chekhov’s gun ending – that rifle went off with a BANG and I can’t wait to see what happens when the smoke clears in the third and final book. . .

5/5

'Mind Games' by Carolyn CRANE

From the BLURB:

JUSTINE KNOWS SHE'S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.

Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she's convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine's soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It's a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard's hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity's worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she's always craved. End of problem.

Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine's first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye. Soon, while battling her attraction to two very different men, Justine is plunging deeper into a world of wizardry, eroticism, and cosmic secrets. With Packard's help, Justine has freed herself from her madness - only to discover a reality more frightening than anyone's worst fears.

‘Mind Games’ is, hands down, one of the best books I've read all year.
I know Carolyn Crane is friend to many on the book blogosphere, but I've never visited her blog and I have no blogger camaraderie with her... so this review is wholly unbiased, based purely on the merit of the work. And with that in mind... this is *definitely* one of the best books I've read all year.

Justine Jones is going to die. She can feel it. It starts with a tingling in her cranium and builds to a pinpoint of pulsing pain. Justine has vein star syndrome – and a deadly attack can come on unexpectedly, just as it did to Justine’s mother who died from the syndrome when Justine was a girl. The threat of vein star is heightened by anxiety – which is a guarantee considering Justine is a hypochondriac.

Justine’s life seems to be all about waiting for vein star to kill her. She’s dating a guy named Cubby, but he’s at the end of his tether with Justine and her trips to the ER and constant worry – she knows it’s only a matter of time before Cubby leaves her. But that’s okay; she’s going to die anyway....
And then she meets Sterling Packard who promises Justine a cure. Packard is a ‘highcap’ – a citizen of Midcity who has higher mental capacity. Highcaps can take the form of telekinesis, telepathy or in Packard’s case; he can see a person’s psychological structure. In Justine he has a clear visual of her hypochondria and knows that in a few years her fear will see her institutionalized. So Packard offers Justine an out – in joining his ‘psychological hit squad’. Packard has gathered a group of neurotic individuals – those who specialize in ennui, self-doubt etc. Packard’s ‘squad’ push their fears into other people, called a ‘zing’. When they zing they lose their neuroses and give them to other people, bad people and criminals who deserve self-doubt and a lack of confidence to become disillusioned by the abundance of negativity. From disillusionment these criminals are able to be re-built and reformed and made to see the error of their ways;

I have the brief sense of us as supervillains from a B-rate thriller. Except we’re more like crime fighters – if there were crime fighters who got their superpowers from being really neurotic, and used them as part of a bizarre and marginally ethical program of criminal rehabilitation.

I was sucked into this book from page one. Justine is an endearing and fascinating protagonist, and her first-person narrative is a wonderful peek into the world of a hypochondriac. Her mind and inner workings make for truly disturbing reading, but like a car crash you can’t look away. Justine lives in constant fear of the most miniscule, unsubstantiated things. It’s hard to understand, but Crane makes it easy to sympathize. Especially because Justine is very aware of her neuroses, she’s even embarrassed by it. But like an addiction she can’t stop; she can hear herself annoying those around her with incessant worries, but she can’t stop articulating her fears. I really felt for Justine, but as much as I was given to empathy for her it was her wry sense of humour that really endeared me;

Fashion magazine disease articles. My personal kryptonite.

Everything about ‘Mind Games’ worked for me. The plot is an especial joy ride. I loved the concept of neurotic superheroes – it gave me visions of Superman using his X-ray vision to check for fissures and busted hips. And the idea of rehabilitating criminals with disillusionment is inspired. This is also quite a dark Urban Fantasy – a nittier-grittier fare than the genre is used to. But Crane works well to keep things dark and reader’s a little bit squeamish. A grimmer tone is expected for a book about fatalist superheroes and reformed criminals; for instance, Carolyn Crane has totally put me off ants forever - *forever*!
But at the end of the day ‘Mind Games’ is so good because Crane has woven together a thrilling story. Her plot takes so many twists and turns, especially toward the end when I was thrown for several loops and knocked off balance. I loved every second of this book because it kept me on my feet and I was constantly trying to figure out the mystery. I really didn’t know how the book would end, but I trusted in Crane and she delivered on a fulfilling ending ten-fold.

This book also has a tricky romance. Justine is drawn to Packard, as her saviour and teacher and they have real chemistry and heat. But toward the end a second romance enters and a triangle is created. I think the romantic entanglements of ‘Mind Games’ are mysteries unto themselves, so I don’t want to give anything away. Only to say that I was very conflicted by book’s end – I was all set to be smitten with Packard, but then I found myself rooting for the second romance. Urgh! Even now, having finished the book, I still don’t know who I want for Justine. I only hope Crane has lots more books in store for Ms. Justine Jones so that all these questions can be explored and resolved in depth (and with many more smutty scenes).

I adored this book. I've got to thank Mandi of Smexy for putting me onto ‘Mind Games’, which is hands-down one of my favourite 2010 reads.

5/5

'Justine Jones' book #2 September 28th 2010