5 stars for Clean (Mindspace Investigations book 1) by Alex Hughes.
As a heavy reader of fantasy novels, I highly applaud storyline that sets a book apart from its peers. In my opinion, it is easy for authors to fall into the trap of spinning stories using ideas that are already floating around in the preternatural world with little or minimal fresh input. Authors that managed to impress me are those who set themselves apart by crafting refreshing ideas and inspirations, even to the extent of inventing new words. Alex Hughes is one such author.
Clean is a novel about telepathy, teleportation and telekinesis. While the idea of these 3Ts is not new, the notion of mindspace where only the gifted few in precognition are granted entry is a refreshing concept. It is in this mindspace that our hero, a high Level Eight telepath, carves out a reputation for himself as the golden boy. Inopportunely, it is also a double edged sword as the precog does not cooperate at all times and our hero as consultant to the cops, is under enormous pressure to deliver results; as so coined by our protagonist as pushing the rabbit out of the hat in his meek attempt to measure up to a magician producing magic at a flick of the hand.
As with most, our hero is not one without baggage and he has his moments of ups and downs. The ups mostly in his glorious days long gone with only remnants as memories; the downs being his handling of guilt, shame and desperation as these feelings all closed in on him against his constant battle for satin cravings. As the story progresses, more is revealed to enlighten readers as to what makes our hero who he is in present day. For a debut novel, it is impressive that the author accomplishes the feat of spacing out the story proficiently well and not giving up all the secrets at one go.
For a book title, Clean is a rather unusual name. Though I realise reason for this choice title when I am a quarter into the book, it is only upon flipping to the last page and wrapping up my reading that I deeply appreciate the full extent of the book title's meaning and marvel at the ingenuity of the author. Equally matching in its title originality is the gifting of name to the female lead character. With a unique family name that ticks, Cherabino is assumed by our heroine and used mostly throughout the book with first name Isabella surfacing only occasionally. It is with this striking name that imprints on my memory that I will continue to remember this character long after I finish the book. Perhaps most remarkably is the way the author chooses to deliver the name of our hero, to whom the story is centered on and narrated from. And to think that that is done so subtly throughout the story that I have not noticed at all, that is until the last sentence in the last paragraph on the very last page.
Just when I am pondering over the adept way of presenting our hero, I am in for yet another surprise. All through my reading of Clean, I assume I am reading a book written by a male author who projects the voice of our hero, the hero who brings me on a joyride journey of his precog ability. There is not a hint of feminine touch, not even where there may be possibility of romance in the air as the narration and thoughts processes are just very manly. Yes, Alex the female author has me thoroughly taken in. That is how well written the scripts are.
At three quarters past reading, I am ready to give the book a 4.5-star rating. But the book continues to astound me with its heart gripping non stop actions which keep building upon itself that I have a hard time tearing my eyes away from the story to rest them even for a second. I finish reading the last 25% of the book in a single sitting with a contented sigh and decide that this definitely qualifies for a 5-star rating. Yes, 5 stars, no doubt about it.
Publisher: Roc; Original edition
Publication date: 4 Sep 2012
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I used to work for the Telepath’s Guild before they kicked me out for a drug habit that wasn’t entirely my fault. Now I work for the cops, helping Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino put killers behind bars.
My ability to get inside the twisted minds of suspects makes me the best interrogator in the department. But the normals keep me on a short leash. When the Tech Wars ripped the world apart, the Guild stepped up to save it. But they had to get scary to do it—real scary.
Now the cops don’t trust the telepaths, the Guild doesn’t trust me, a serial killer is stalking the city—and I’m aching for a fix. But I need to solve this case. Fast. I’ve just had a vision of the future: I’m the next to die.
*Blurb from author's website*
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