Shattered Minds by Laura Lam

Synopsis:

She can uncover the truth, if she defeats her demons

Ex-neuroscientist Carina struggles with a drug problem, her conscience, and urges to kill. She satisfies her cravings in dreams, fuelled by the addictive drug ‘Zeal’. Now she’s heading for self-destruction – until she has a vision of a dead girl.

Sudice Inc. damaged Carina when she worked on their sinister brain-mapping project, causing her violent compulsions. And this girl was a similar experiment. When Carina realizes the vision was planted by her old colleague Mark, desperate for help to expose the company, she knows he’s probably dead. Her only hope is to unmask her nemesis – or she’s next.

To unlock the secrets Mark hid in her mind, she’ll need a group of specialist hackers. Dax is one of them, a doctor who can help Carina fight her addictions. If she holds on to her humanity, they might even have a future together. But first she must destroy her adversary – before it changes us and our society, forever. 

My review:

This is my first dip into the world of Pacifica, brain implants, brainloading etc. and what an introduction this is.

Shattered Minds continues in the world of Pacifica where I believe Laura’s novel False Hearts is based, but this is a standalone novel and I had no trouble getting accustomed to this science fiction world or technology that really is quite realistic when we think of the progress we are making in this field.

Fabulous novel that is fast paced with great characters and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end. I couldn’t ask for more.

Three characters I loved the most:

• Carina – messed up, with lots of issues and made to face her past, present and future by going after the company that has altered her mind and therefore set her on a dangerous path of self-destruction.
• Roz – the ruthless neuro-scientist responsible for unethical human trials she uses to reach her goal of altering people’s minds and she is also Carina’s arch-enemy.
• Dax – member of the Trust, a group of hackers fighting for justice and the ultimate fall of Sudice, the company behind the Roz’s trials.

I very much enjoyed the relationships between Carina and Roz, especially as Carina starts accessing her supressed memories and we read the flashbacks into hers and Roz’s past. Dax is the first person in Carina’s life that manages to get close to her and helps her wake up from the nightmare of Zeal addiction she has let herself to enter through a belief that she is an evil, murderous individual.

I’ve said this about most of the books I have read lately, but this is another cracker and I loved it. Different genre for me to try and realise I really enjoy. This book has introduced me to Laura Lam and I will be seeking out her other novels.

Thank you to the author and TBConFB for access to this book in return for this honest review.

My rating: 5/5

Author’s Website: www.lauralam.co.uk

Available to purchase from:

AmazonUK

AmazonUS