Mind Games Paperback – October 3, 2019

I couldn't out this down. Full of twists & turns. Absolutely terrifying in spots & hard to comorehend motivations. Grab a tall drink, a snack & jump into this complex book. Can't wait to read her next one!!!

Kept me reading this as it got more intriguing. I was not expecting it to end like it did. Great

*I received a free ARC of this book, with thanks to the author, Transworld Books – Random House UK and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*I was completely hooked from the very beginning of this chilling thriller!The concept of a sinister Game, designed for and played by some of the most dangerous individuals in society, for unknown stakes and goal… the whole thing is equally terrifying and fascinating.Aside from the thrill of the danger and puzzling out the mysteries, I really enjoyed the psychological exploration of psychopathy: its root cause, traits and potential for treatment. The story explores this from more than one viewpoint, as we follow Dr Augusta Bloom on the clinician side of the fence and get glimpses into various Game players, as well as an interesting parallel view via Seraphine – a teenage girl with some distinctive thought patterns and disturbing behaviours.With such insights, the monsters are humanised, and yet somehow that does not make the situation any less scary!The plot is easy to follow, but not so easy to guess ahead, and builds to a satisfyingly dramatic climax, which involves brains and strength from our main characters, but also psychological dexterity and deep friendship. Finally, the ending leaves us on something of a cliffhanger which left me NEEDING more.Definitely a nail-biter for fans of psychological thrillers!She doesn’t believe me, Seraphine thought. Dropping her gaze and hunching her shoulders, she sank down in her chair and picked at the skin around her fingernails. I’m a fourteen-year-old girl and I’m scared. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I was just trying to help my friend and now I’m being interrogated.For a moment she worried she’d failed to pull it off. Maybe her posture was wrong or her expression not quite right. Police officers were trained to spot a fraud.But then Watkins folded up her paperwork. ‘OK, that’s enough for now. We’ll take a break and PC Felix here will show you where the canteen is.’ Watkins looked at Seraphine’s mother. ‘Something to eat will help with the shock.’ Then she looked back at Seraphine, her smile warm, ‘And then we’ll speak again.’Seraphine nodded. I’m a vulnerable teenager in shock. I’m a vulnerable teenager in shock. She found it helped to repeat the words in her head.Watkins stood and turned away. Seraphine relaxed. This was going to be a breeze.– Leona Deakin, GoneReview by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

Gone by Leona Deakin a five-star read that you won’t want gone. This was my first read by this author, but it won’t be the last, this just rang so true to me, it was such a great read I felt like I was being spoken to directly and that’s a rare treat for this reader. Dr Augusta Bloom was a compelling character, she added the thrill to thriller, and also make me think what would you do if you got a dare on your birthday? The one thing this story will have you doing is looking at everyone in your life like the characters in the story and trying to guess who the psychopaths are, as this story shows us that not all psychopaths are what you imagine. As you get into the story you will start to see the underlying story as well as the story that you can see on the surface, much like Bloom and her partner you will be digging into things that maybe you shouldn’t be.

Gone by Leona Deakin is a brilliant debut novel highlighting the number and level of functional psychopaths in our society. It’s a thrilling read and will certainly keep you guessing until the finale!The plot is unique and the character development is superb! There are numerous characters that are pivotal to the story, and each one of them has been created with deep insight, empathy and love.I also loved how Ms. Deakin educated the reader about functioning psychopaths by weaving the information into the dialogues of the characters. The insights and surmises are so interesting and I have added some of her references to my TBR list for further insight – this is how interesting she made it!I really enjoyed this novel and Ms. Deakin is now added to my list of authors to follow – I look forward to reading more of her work and hope that this is the start of a series covering a fascinating topic.#netgalley #gone #leonadeakin #randomhouse

I was recommended this book by a friend and I’m so glad he did. The book is extremely well written, has a great plot and expertly paced; unusual for many first novels. I’ve read other psychological books but the majority have not been convincing, raising too many questions about the credibility of the story lines. In Gone, Leona Deakin has combined an exciting plot with plausible, yet alarming, characters. It’s a truly cracking read and I’m really looking forward to the other Dr Bloom books.

Ein spannender, ungewöhlicher Thriller mit einem überraschenden Ende.

Gone is a brilliant and a very immersive debut by Leona Deakin which takes the reader on a scary but fascinating journey into the mind of a psychopath. It has a really chilling premise, what if the missing are the people you should be afraid of? Once I read the blurb for this book, I knew it was one I had to read as soon as possible. And you can definitely label me a fan of Leona’s writing.Four people across the country have disappeared. The one thing that seems to connect them all is a card found where they went missing from, inviting them to play a game. There is also a message on the card wishing them a happy first birthday. Something is going on here behind the scenes, and it is clear that these cases aren’t going to be an easy task for the police to solve. After Dr Augusta Bloom and her colleague, Marcus Jameson, are contacted by a concerned relative of one of the missing, they begin an investigation. What they discover as they peer into the lives of the disappeared is something far more chilling than they ever thought possible.The opening of Gone was so gripping. We witness an attack on a school caretaker, after a student, Seraphine, stabs him in the neck with a pencil. She claims she acted under self-defence to protect herself and her friend. Now Seraphine was such an intriguing character to explore, and I think she is going to fascinate a lot of readers. I could never be sure if she was telling the truth when she talks about why she committed the act at the school. I also found her to be such an unpredictable character. This is what made her so fascinating. We are also then introduced to Dr Augusta Bloom. Augusta is a psychologist who is trying to get to the bottom of Seraphine’s behaviour and work out why she did what she did. But what develops on from here is something which I never expected at the start of the novel. After I read more and more of the book, I wanted to know if Seraphine’s story was somehow going to connect with those of the missing people.I really engaged with Dr Augusta Bloom. I could see that she really connected with the cases of the missing people. I liked her determination to get to the bottom of what was going on, even though she wasn’t a police officer. Augusta is such an intriguing individual, and I don’t think that Leona Deakin has revealed everything about her yet. She is a character who I would definitely like to see Leona return to.There is also Augusta’s friendship with her partner Marcus which I also really liked. Marcus is ex MI6, which makes him another compelling character. Although Marcus is Augusta’s business partner, he is also very much a comfort to her and a friend. She admits in the book that she relies on his company and humour.Gone is a fascinating, but a very chilling read which will make you think about the people you know a little more carefully. This did feel very fresh and different to recent psychological thrillers I have read, which made it a real winner for me. A top read from Leona Deakin, I’m definitely intrigued to read more.

Interesting idea for a storyline and characters; reminiscent of the Frieda Klein series by a Nicki French. Starts well but unfortunately, dips a bit into daftness towards the rather ‘ker ching’ ending. However, this ending indicates a series (confirmed in the afterwords).Dr Augusta Bloom is a criminal psychologist and has set up a partnership with Marcus Jameson, ex MI6. As well as assisting police with the profiling of criminals and giving seminars, Augusta also works with Marcus helping families find lost relatives. When the mother of a neighbour goes missing, Marcus persuades Augusta to help investigate. Without giving stuff away, this leads the partnership into the dark world of psychopaths and dubious criminal activity.Quite a good debut. Makes a refreshing change to have a different slant on investigation and detective work- the police are vaguely in the background. Dr Bloom is more interesting than Jameson- he’s a bit dopey at times. There’s room to develop the characters in future books.

Gone is a truly twisted, high-octane mystery thriller that starts with a bang and which I raced through in a few hours.The story is highly original, both in terms of plot and in the set up of Bloom and Jameson’s work, and manages successfully to combine modern methods with motives as old as the hills to produce a terrifyingly plausible narrative.The book gives you several strands to grasp, but each is distinctly written and moves along at a great pace. The chapters jump back and forth between the different areas which increases the sense of urgency and you always want to know the next thing, the next thing.Gone is full of great characters, fabulous twists and really, really scary ideas!Leona Deakin does a great job of keeping all the different balls in the air and each plate spinning at the right speed. I cannot wait to read more about Dr Bloom and am pleased to see book 2, Lost, will be out next year.