John Marrs delivers another fast-paced thriller with a compelling science fiction twist that stretches our imagination into a high tech and biotech future. In a world where governments are being hacked and held to ransom for their secrets and information by a group of cyber terrorists called the Hacking Collective, the UK has had to change its strategy yet again. The story starts with the Hacking Collective destroying the UK’s latest security defences and leaving their sensitive information prone to exposure. To give them time to rebuild their cybersecurity infrastructure, they have a bold plan to recruit individuals where the nation's secrets can be stored by implanting coded information into their brains. The ideal individuals required for this unique project are men and women who live with a condition called synaesthesia, which exhibits multisensory capabilities that significantly overlap with the incredible benefits of advanced recall and learning – perfect hosts for storing the country’s top secrets in implantable DNA.

The individuals are called “Minders” and they commit to five years of service, leaving their past behind and taking new identities. The obvious reward is an opportunity to be millionaires when they finish the programme, but they are also people running away from dire, abusive, and depressing lives. The story cycles through the POV of five individuals selected for the programme, each with a fascinating background. What was excellent is that everyone in the group is equally compelling with a range of fascinating situations that added superbly to the story. The impact of implantable information on the individual’s conscious and subconscious mental state is another element of the story that contributes to its appeal.

After significant physical and mental training, they are transferred to new locations around the UK where they have to integrate into communities but never getting close to anyone. They need to stay vigilant, inconspicuous, and always advised against forming real friendships. Such a difficult proposition for human beings, and John Marrs is brilliant at crafting and using this desire to keep the suspense of always wondering if the new person in your life is a friend or foe. This aspect of the story already had me hooked, but when their only handler is brutally murdered, and the Minders realise that someone is now hunting them, the thriller kicks into top gear and keeps going to the last page.

The plot is full of intrigue and suspense and had a few ways to go regarding who the murderer was and what their motivation was. All the options I considered felt valid and yet surprises still caught me off-guard. I am hugely impressed with this thriller, perhaps because it added to my enjoyment of realistic science fiction. However, maybe it’s not too far off nowadays, with autonomous vehicles and DNA manipulation.

I would highly recommend this book, and I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.

John Marrs has done it again, his books are ALL so very exciting and I never know how it's going to end. You should read The One and The Passengers before reading this one, The Minders references those books and would give away spoilers if you read this one first.

Wow. John Marrs is truly a master at sci-fi, advanced-technology-but-feel-real stories. The government chooses 5 unique people to carry the country’s most valuable secrets, because human brains can’t be hacked. But the hacking collective is back and won’t stop until they see justice. This was a fast-paced, twisty, sci-fi thriller with multiple points of view, and a fabulous twist ending. I recommend reading The One and The Passengers to better understand some of the context and references in The Minders, but it’s not necessary.

The Minders is a whirlwind of a book! If you enjoy multiple POVs and chapters skipping around from person to person, this may be the perfect one for you! The style of this book is such that you're constantly wanting to read more to see what happens to each different character. Most chapters leave you on a biggggg cliffhanger. There are definitely storylines that are more interesting than others, but overall, I enjoyed reading about each one of the chosen agents.

Synesthesia: it's a condition of the brain that takes stimuli and evokes sensation in multiple senses. In addition to it being a rare neurological condition, it just so happens that the British government is looking to utilize people with synesthesia as devices to combat terrorism. They give up the lives they led before in order to store top-secret information in their minds and carry out missions that even they don't completely understand.

This book has such an interesting premise---you have to give credit to Marrs for the creativity and thought that went into constructing this plot. If you're ready to read something unlike you've delved in before & enjoy sci-fi, mysteries, and thrillers, consider The Minders for your next read. You'll be shocked and amazed over and over again!

Having read most of John Marrs collection of works, I was excited for this new one. I have to admit I was slightly disappointed. It took me some time to straighten out all the different storylines and characters. And I found that I wasn’t invested in any of them. Still it finished stronger than it I expected.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced copy. The Minders is an original futuristic thriller that kept me enthralled. I loved The One and couldn’t wait to read this creative, well crafted story. John Marrs proves again that his imagination is amazing. The interwoven storylines were fast paced with twists throughout. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In The Minders, five ordinary citizens were selected by the government to carry classified information by implanting inside their brain through a genetic code. Included in that responsibility is to completely start over a new life and identity. The concept sounds very interesting but sadly, the execution was weak.

I have previously read John Marrs’ popular books such as The One and The Passengers. Both of these books were 5 stars for me. I loved the beginning of this book. The selection process and implanting the classified information inside the Minders kept me invested. I normally take a day or two to finish a thriller but this book took me a whole month to finish. I forgot everything that happened and that says a lot about this book. All of the characters were unlikable and I didn’t care for any single one of them. Moreover, the book wasn’t as fast paced as his previous books. Be warned that if u haven’t read The One and The Passengers, there may be some spoilers for you. Overall, this book wasn’t worth keeping on the shelf and it was one of the forgettable books I have read this year.

I typically love a John Marrs novel but this one fell a bit short for me. I loved his previous books The One and The Passengers so much, but the writing in this one fell a bit flat for me. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit too simplistic and tidy for me. The story was a great continuation of his previous two books, however. I just feel that this one could have greatly benefited from some more editing or revision.

I've read one 5 star book so far in 2021 and this is it! The mind of John Marrs is a brilliant and possibly terrifying place -- he comes up with stories and ideas that my pea brain couldn't think up in a million years of trying. In The Minders, after a cyber terrorist attack, the government selects five regular people and implants them with secret information. Only they know the truth. But, what happens when someone figures out who they are? Well, we get a wild ride full of twists I couldn't dream up. Honestly, I can't rave enough about John Marrs and all of his books. Do not pick this up unless you have an entire day to spend reading. You will not put it down.

This is such a classic John Marrs sci-fi thriller. I loves The One and this book reminded me so much of it. I think this was such an interesting concept with a lot of scientific elements involved. I really liked the different characters and all the different perspectives we followed in this book. I liked how they were related and I really liked how it ended because I really had no theories. Some aspects were a little confusing for me, but that could just be my unfamiliarity with the genre.

THE MINDERS is the latest mind blower from one of my favorite authors, John Marrs. The British government is under attack. Terrorists are trying to override their systems to obtain classified information. After an thwarted attack on a transportation vehicle housing said information, the government changes tack. After careful selection, they choose four volunteers, implant chips in their brains, where the governments secrets will be locked away. Except these four individuals now have access to all of Britain’s biggest secrets. They’re sent to far flung reaches of the continent, where they try to assume normal lives. That is, until one of them dies. Someone is after the Minders and will stop at nothing to get their hands on these chips.

I love the way that John Marrs takes scenarios like autonomous vehicles (from THE PASSENGERS) and DNA testing to find one’s true soulmate in THE ONE and weaves it into THE MINDERS. Each chapter focused on a minder, as they dodge questions about their past (they don’t have one) and how they go about their day to day activities. With a unlimited bank account, they can go anywhere, they can be anyone. They form friendships, some relationships, yet they always keep everyone at a distance, with the ultimate goal in mind: keep the government’s secrets safe, no matter the expense.

I really enjoyed The One and the Passengers from this author, so I was excited to get back into this world! These are some of the only Techy Sci-Fi thrillers I will read. I thought this one did a good job at the beginning but fell a little short on the follow through. I would still read it but start with the others first. John Marrs is a fantastic author!

Another great John Mars thriller! It would be best if readers read his previous novels The One and The Passengers, but this can also be a standalone.

I've quite enjoyed John Marrs' other books that I've read (The One and The Passengers) but I'm just gonna say it...I didn't enjoy this one as much.

I'm not into traditional sci-fi but thought I had found an author that was borderline - I enjoy more dystopian type sci fi. Unfortunately for me, it didn't hit the mark. I could see how it would be enjoyable to traditional science fiction followers, but it just didn't grab me and pull me in like his others did.

Mr. Marrs' writing style is easy to read yet not juvenile and I'll definitely be checking out his other books in hopes of finding one similar to The One or The Passengers.

I was not a fan of this book. I had heard that The One was good so I decided to try this but could not really get into it.

I was not as engaged with this book as most of Marrs other books.

I had big expectations and this one just fell flat for me.

This one was a struggle for me. I didn't love the characters, and I struggled to stay connected to the story. I don't know if I should have read a different book before this one? I'm not sure what happened here, but I just felt lost and a bit bored. This was my first John Marrs book, and I felt let down. I'm going to try again though!

Thank You so much to @berkleypub and @netgalley for this read!

So John Marrs is definitely an auto buy author for me now.

The Minders is an intense Sci-fi thriller that isn’t exactly a sequel to ‘The Passengers’ but is a novel set in the same world after the events of The Passengers.

I’ve got to say, I had no idea where this book was going from page one. I thought I knew but it was full of twists and turns.

Excuse me while I go read all the rest of his books!

2.5 ⭐️‘s
After reading John Marr’s book The One, I was excited for his next novel. With another unique plot, it was a compelling read until hitting the 25% mark. At that point it turned quite violent and I became less invested in the story. There were still points that were intriguing, but I continued only because I wanted to see how it would all end, which I did like. I also enjoyed revisiting parts of The One in this book, but overall, it was a disappointment.

These books are often far fetched, but really enjoyable! This one had a few plot holes for me that bugged. Still didn't keep me from devouring it with a racing heart!