Author: Susan Kaye Quinn
Genre: Science Fiction
Published on: May 14, 2012, self-published
When you control minds, only your heart can be used against you.
Eight months ago, Kira Moore revealed to the mindreading world that mindjackers like herself were hidden in their midst. Now she wonders if telling the truth was the right choice. As wild rumors spread, a powerful anti-jacker politician capitalizes on mindreaders’ fears and strips jackers of their rights. While some jackers flee to Jackertown—a slum rife with jackworkers who trade mind control favors for cash—Kira and her family hide from the readers who fear her and jackers who hate her. But when a jacker Clan member makes Kira’s boyfriend Raf collapse in her arms, Kira is forced to save the people she loves by facing the thing she fears most: FBI agent Kestrel and his experimental torture chamber for jackers.
Things amp up in Susan Kaye Quinn’s follow-up to Open Minds. This book, Closed Hearts, takes place eight months after protagonist Kira Moore revealed herself and her kind to the world. Kira is one of a minority of mindjackers, people who can control minds. They live in a 22nd-century society where mindreaders have been around for decades. Mindreaders are afraid of jackers and what they can do, creating fear and conflict.
Since there's no need for world-building anymore, Closed Hearts starts at a faster pace. Kira and her father, Patrick, now work as mindguards (anti-jacker security) for a man named Mr. Trullite. Kira is referred to as “Lucy” now to protect her identity. After outing the jackers to the world, few of them were happy. The government is after her as well, particularly an Agent Kestrel. He’s an FBI agent/mindjacker who heads a clandestine project doing unethical tests on his own kind.
Kira has also been working in secret at a diner in the suburbs. One day there, she meets with her best friend and lover, Raf. To their utter surprise, a mindjacker who isn't Kira's biggest fan kidnaps them. This jacker, Mr. Molloy, takes Kira and her “pet” to a secret group of mindjackers led by a guy named Julian. Unlike Molloy, Julian doesn’t want to harm Kira. He wants to use her help to take down Agent Kestrel and save the jackers he’s holding captive. After Kira’s last encounter with Kestrel, she has no intention of getting anywhere near him again. Kira tries to escape with Raf. They find themselves in a section of Chicago New Metro called Jackertown. As it’s populated by mindjackers, it’s extremely dangerous for readers to be there. It makes escape all but impossible.
Julian later tells Kira that he and his group are a band of jackers calling themselves “mages”. Mages are mindjackers with abilities beyond the norm. Kira thought she was the only special mindjacker in the world, with her impenetrable mind and extra jacking range. Julian calls Kira a “keeper” because she can jack others but no one can jack her. Julian himself is known as a “handler”. He can manipulate people’s emotions. Another character, Sasha, can “scribe” people. It means to do a complete, permanent rewrite of their minds.
A new enemy debuts in Closed Hearts. He’s Senator Vellus, the most outspoken anti-jacker politician in the country. His introduction means Agent Kestrel isn’t the only major villain Kira and her group have to fight now. Vellus orders an attack on the mindjackers' base. The authorities subdue several jackers, but Julian and Kira manage to escape. They learn their group was taken to a specialized detention center recently built by Vellus.
There were a few things I disliked about the book. For one thing, I didn’t like the way Raf kept being used to blackmail Kira. In Open Minds, Raf was Kira’s best friend and romantic interest. Now, he’s simply a glorified dude in distress. Raf is no match for a jacker (no mindreader is), but surely the author didn’t have to use him as insurance. I think Raf could have had a more significant role. Just because Raf’s “harmless” didn’t mean he had to get the short end of the stick. Another issue I didn’t like is that X-Ray isn’t enabled on Kindle. This is a very minor disappointment, though. At least the author doesn’t make the mistake of forgetting details about her own story. That happens sometimes, especially in sci-fi books.
Closed Hearts is an excellent sequel in the Mindjack: Kira Trilogy. We get to learn more about Kira and her father, as well as get to meet new characters. If you enjoy books like Divergent by Veronica Roth or Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand, you’ll find the Mindjacker trilogy truly enjoyable. I like the world that the author has built. Now I look forward to reading the third and final book.
My rating: ★★★★
4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!
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