Scan barcode
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
I got just about 2 hours left of the audiobook but it's have been waiting for me to finish it for a few days and I just don't have an interest picking it back up. It has an intresting premise. An detective that has injured is head so that is completely unable to tell lies or keep silent. He says whatever comes up in his head. I didn't think it was terrible, decent but didn't evoke any strong feelings or a need to finish it either. So I decided not to rate this.
annieb123's review against another edition
5.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Trouble in Mind is the promising first book in a new series by Michael Wiley. Due out 7th Jan 2020 from Severn House, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (ebook available now).
This is a nice PI procedural with an appealing protagonist who is a good investigator despite a traumatic brain injury which left him missing a significant portion of his brain and disinhibition, so he always blurts out what's on his mind and is incapable of filtering or lying. This unsurprisingly causes him a lot of problems. There's a lot of humor here and not all dark or ironic. His relationship with his 11 year old daughter is priceless and sweet (she enjoys quizzing him about ALL kinds of things because she knows precisely what his brain injury did to his ability to obfuscate).
There is a fair amount of rough language and mature themes (used in context). There is a fair bit of violence and murder, as expected, but the descriptions aren't overly graphic.
In some ways, the book reminded me in a good way of one of my favorite series, Lansdale's Hap & Leonard, in its over-the-top violence and maverick good guy against the forces of nastiness as well as wonky, lolloping humor. I love love love his daughter. I'm looking forward to more in this series.
Five stars. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Trouble in Mind is the promising first book in a new series by Michael Wiley. Due out 7th Jan 2020 from Severn House, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats (ebook available now).
This is a nice PI procedural with an appealing protagonist who is a good investigator despite a traumatic brain injury which left him missing a significant portion of his brain and disinhibition, so he always blurts out what's on his mind and is incapable of filtering or lying. This unsurprisingly causes him a lot of problems. There's a lot of humor here and not all dark or ironic. His relationship with his 11 year old daughter is priceless and sweet (she enjoys quizzing him about ALL kinds of things because she knows precisely what his brain injury did to his ability to obfuscate).
There is a fair amount of rough language and mature themes (used in context). There is a fair bit of violence and murder, as expected, but the descriptions aren't overly graphic.
In some ways, the book reminded me in a good way of one of my favorite series, Lansdale's Hap & Leonard, in its over-the-top violence and maverick good guy against the forces of nastiness as well as wonky, lolloping humor. I love love love his daughter. I'm looking forward to more in this series.
Five stars. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
kbranfield's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
The first installment in the Sam Kelson Mystery series, Trouble in Mind by Michael Wiley is an intriguing mystery.
Private Investigator Sam Kelson is a former narcotics officer whose career ended after taking a bullet to head. He continues to suffer from headaches from the injury and a condition known as disinhibition which leaves him unable to tell a lie or keep a secret. The condition also causes Sam to blurt out whatever he is thinking no matter how inappropriate his thoughts might be. Now divorced, he is a devoted dad to his eleven year old daughter Sue Ellen, who finds his disinhibition quite amusing.
Sam's life takes a troubling turn when his newest client, Trina, hires him to convince her brother, pharmacist Christian Felbanks, to stop dealing the drugs he is filching from his employer. Sam discovers Christian's lifeless body and homicide Detective Dan Peters arrests him for murder. Sam knows Trina has set him up, but will he found out who is behind the plot before it is too late?
Sam is a quirky character whose disinhibition manages to irritate just about everyone he meets. He also has a tendency to talk a lot which people tend to find distracting and downright annoying. Despite his propensity for rambling, Sam is a likable man who is a little clueless but quite tenacious as he tries to figure out who Trina is working for.
There are a surprising number of suspects who might have it in for Sam. First in line is the family of the teenager who died in the same shoot out in which Sam was shot. Next is a surprising connection between a real estate mogul and someone from Sam's past. As the bodies begin to pile up, Sam remains Peters and his partner Venus Johnson's main suspect. In order to get out from underneath the cloud of suspicion, Sam turns to a former police academy friend DeMarcus Rodman to help him uncover the truth about who is behind the deadly plot.
Trouble in Mind is a clever mystery with an eccentric cast of colorful characters. The storyline is engaging but the pacing is a little slow. With a few predictable twists, Michael Wiley brings this fascinating mystery to an over the top, slightly improbable conclusion.
Despite a bit of a bumpy beginning, I am looking forward to reading the next novel Sam Kelson Mystery series.
The first installment in the Sam Kelson Mystery series, Trouble in Mind by Michael Wiley is an intriguing mystery.
Private Investigator Sam Kelson is a former narcotics officer whose career ended after taking a bullet to head. He continues to suffer from headaches from the injury and a condition known as disinhibition which leaves him unable to tell a lie or keep a secret. The condition also causes Sam to blurt out whatever he is thinking no matter how inappropriate his thoughts might be. Now divorced, he is a devoted dad to his eleven year old daughter Sue Ellen, who finds his disinhibition quite amusing.
Sam's life takes a troubling turn when his newest client, Trina, hires him to convince her brother, pharmacist Christian Felbanks, to stop dealing the drugs he is filching from his employer. Sam discovers Christian's lifeless body and homicide Detective Dan Peters arrests him for murder. Sam knows Trina has set him up, but will he found out who is behind the plot before it is too late?
Sam is a quirky character whose disinhibition manages to irritate just about everyone he meets. He also has a tendency to talk a lot which people tend to find distracting and downright annoying. Despite his propensity for rambling, Sam is a likable man who is a little clueless but quite tenacious as he tries to figure out who Trina is working for.
There are a surprising number of suspects who might have it in for Sam. First in line is the family of the teenager who died in the same shoot out in which Sam was shot. Next is a surprising connection between a real estate mogul and someone from Sam's past. As the bodies begin to pile up, Sam remains Peters and his partner Venus Johnson's main suspect. In order to get out from underneath the cloud of suspicion, Sam turns to a former police academy friend DeMarcus Rodman to help him uncover the truth about who is behind the deadly plot.
Trouble in Mind is a clever mystery with an eccentric cast of colorful characters. The storyline is engaging but the pacing is a little slow. With a few predictable twists, Michael Wiley brings this fascinating mystery to an over the top, slightly improbable conclusion.
Despite a bit of a bumpy beginning, I am looking forward to reading the next novel Sam Kelson Mystery series.
vnesting's review against another edition
4.0
Sam Kelson is a PI with a problem: since he was shot in the head during a drug bust gone wrong in his previous career as a cop, he suffers from disinhibition — blurting out the truth (or whatever is on his mind), often at very inconvenient times.
This is a very violent mystery novel, but Kelson’s personality and the group of friends and family around him make it an enjoyable and quick read. I listened to this on audio, and thought the narrator handled the quirky nature of the characters well. I look forward to reading or listening to the next book in the series.
This is a very violent mystery novel, but Kelson’s personality and the group of friends and family around him make it an enjoyable and quick read. I listened to this on audio, and thought the narrator handled the quirky nature of the characters well. I look forward to reading or listening to the next book in the series.
emileereadsbooks's review
3.0
Thank you to LibraryThing, HighBridge Audio , and Severn House Pub for the free disc set of this audio book.
This book has such an interesting premise. A cop is shot in the head on a bust and therefore can no longer be a cop. He opens his own PI office, but is perhaps not the best PI because his brain injury leads him to always tell the truth, even when it’s not helpful or asked for. I was never sure where the plot was going to go. There were some good moments of levity amidst the heaviness of murder and drugs. I am unsure if I would pick up another book in this series, but this one did keep me entertained.
This book has such an interesting premise. A cop is shot in the head on a bust and therefore can no longer be a cop. He opens his own PI office, but is perhaps not the best PI because his brain injury leads him to always tell the truth, even when it’s not helpful or asked for. I was never sure where the plot was going to go. There were some good moments of levity amidst the heaviness of murder and drugs. I am unsure if I would pick up another book in this series, but this one did keep me entertained.
More...