I really enjoyed John Marrs' The One and The Passengers, so I was excited to read The Minders...and it did not disappoint! I liked that the book referred to things that happened in the previous Marrs novels I've read, and just like those, The Minders was incredibly hard to put down. Marrs has a knack for writing books that are like nothing I've read before, and that's something I really appreciate. You don't have to read The One and The Passengers to enjoy this book, but I'm glad I did because it made The Minders even more enjoyable for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read and review a new book by an amazing author. : )

"Fast paced and shocking, The Minders is a book you won’t be able to put down!"

My full review can be found on FreshFiction.com by clicking on the link below. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title!

The Minders by John Marrs is a mind tripping science fiction adventure. It takes five strangers implants them with all of Britain's secrets, they are provided with unlimited resources and must stay away from all family and friends for five years, and also their is a secret organization called the Hacking Collective that would kill for the information in their heads. The twist and turns are steady through out. The writing is not mind blowing, but clever and creative. We get the POV of all five minders, and we get redacted notes from the government. This novel is very engaging and hard to put down. This is my third John Marrs book, and I've enjoyed every one so far. Marrs is a writer who constantly thinks out side of the box to create unique stories and worlds. The Minders is loosely connected to previous novels The One and The Passengers, with a couple plot lines form those books discussed lightly and the same villain the Hacking Collective are in each. I don't know why the books are not called the Hacking Collective (trilogy/series). John Marrs wrote my second favorite book of last year, What Lies Between Us. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing group for letting read the ARC of the Minders. The Minders was published last year in England, but published on February 16th in America.

The Plot: Five people have all passed a test or so they, think one guys autistic son took it, which causes problems down the line, designed to determine brain mapping and have been chosen to be minders, having a DNA chip with all of Britains secrets implanted in your brain. The minders are Flick, Charlie, Sinead, Emilia and Bruno, with each person having a reason to turn their brain into a computer and be away from family and friends for five years. One individual we don't get a background as the program has wiped them clean. Their lives are going okay but the system starts failing for some with powerful glitches and the Hacking Collective get involved determined to steal the data.

What I Liked: The rotating POV's of the minders is a really good way of telling the story, it was hard to remember everyone's background at first, but it didn't take too long. The program glitches are the real enemy of this story. I appreciated being rewarded by reading The Passengers with all the extra insight I had going into this story. The twist are good and are layered through out. I was given enough hints to figure out the main twist a little early, but the twist was layered with a lot of little stuff that I didn't know, and it didn't hurt my enjoyment. I liked the scene where a character almost revealed the huge top secrets that they now have access during a game of trivia. The Hacking Collective is a good bad guy that could literally be anyone, which adds to the paranoia.

What I Disliked: I had a little problem with the main plot, the minders are supposed to have the chip in for 5 years and have all the data, they make reference to it but then a new team of minders is brought in before the original group is done, I thought they needed to get the data back, so i was a little confused by that. Flick was my least favorite of the minders and she was sort of the lead in terms of reading time Sinead was my favorite, and had the most interesting background.

Recommendations: I recommend you check out The Minders by John Marrs, it is a good clever science fiction story that is totally original. The novel is very hard to put down, and a good escape. I rated The Minders by John Marrs 4 out of 5 stars. Out of the three John Marrs book that I have read this was my least favorite, which is hardly a knock, he's one of those authors that I can always count on to be entertained. I look forward to my next John Marrs book, already.

Thanks to netgalley and BerkleyPub for my review copy. What a book. The Minders is connected The One and The Passengers but with some background on those books I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. This science fiction/ thriller futuristic book was very very interesting.
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Driverless cars are now a new normal and you find your soulmate through DNA matches. Now with The Minders countries are being attacked by a terrorist group called the Hacking Collective. Countries have been dealing with ransomware attacks. The UK took all of its high value information and national secrets offline but after dealing with an attack they decide to go a different route. Using a series of puzzles designed to test the brain and easily solved by people who have synaesthesia, they choose 5 people who will safe keep this information in their brains. Yup, their brains. They undergo training and procedures so they cannot feel pain if tortured.
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Told in the POV of the 5 people who are picked we see how their lives are changed after they go live their new lives and how they deal with the secrets in their brains. They were all eager to start a new life but they discover that it’s not as easy as it seems. Each one has a different internal struggle going on. Then The Minders are slowly being killed off to get hold of the info they possess. I definitely enjoyed some POV’s better than others so some parts of the book were more interesting to me than others. I’m not sure I enjoyed the reveal at the end but overall I still very invested. Definitely a book that has you thinking ‘what if?’. The Minders is out now.

I don’t even know where to begin but John Marrs did it AGAIN!

This books follows 5 regular people who have the countries most secretive information implanted in their heads so the information cannot be hacked.

Obviously nothing goes as planned. My heart was in my throat page after page of this book, never knowing who I could trust. I absolutely love how the events of The One and The Passengers are woven into this story, even the most minuscule detail of Sofia Bradbury’s mansion.

This is an absolute must read. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC of this story. All opinions in this review are my own

In the very near future, major nations are being terrorized by an organization called the Hacking Collective. They've already claimed responsibility for one catastrophic event in the UK, and now the country is desperate to avoid becoming the latest victim of a plot that would find them risking every state secret unless they're willing to pay the Hacking Collective's ransom.

Some of the best scientific minds in the nation have come up with a plan. It involves using humans to carry the information in question. These people are called Minders and each one has a very unique genetic makeup that makes them ideal for the experiment. And the use of the Minders will give the nation enough time to figure out a longer solution to protecting the data in question.

Five have been chosen. Their locations are top secret and known only to one person. Unfortunately, the enemy is quick and vigilant and finding the Minders has become the ultimate goal.

John Marrs's latest is set in the same world as his previous two novels, The One and The Passengers. You do not have to have read those two, but there are spoilers in The Minders.

So this near future that Marrs has created is one in which technology is a necessary part of everyone's lives. Physical money has gone away, so even the most staunch protestors are forced to use tech for payment, at minimum.

There are also autonomous cars (The Passengers) and a new innovation that allows you to meet your DNA soulmate (The One).

Flick, Sinéad, Charlie, and Bruno are each, for their own reasons, looking to start anew. And that's exactly what they're promised as Minders.

For a maximum of five years, they'll hold dangerous information inside their own heads. This means they have to leave their current lives and connections behind. They're trained in self defense and sent somewhere of their choosing—outside of London—to create new lives for themselves.

And then there's Emilia.

Emilia doesn't know anything about the Minders. She doesn't even know anything about herself.

I really enjoy the world Marrs has created in these books. I must admit, though, that I hadn't yet read The One at the time of this review (it's at the top of my TBR considering the Netflix series based on it airs mid-March).

The Minders is the kind of cross-genre book that I truly enjoy. It's a thriller set in a sci fi setting (don't worry, if you think you're not a fan of sci fi, it's actually pretty light in that regard). Definite Black Mirror territory!

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of this one - all opinions are my own.

I am a MASSIVE fan of John Mars and his highly futuristic sci-fi like thrillers that both blow my mind with the central plots AND have me hanging from every word to see how the story is going to play out.

The Minders the perfect new installment of this genre - while I'll say that pre-reading The One and The Passengers will certainly increase the richness of this book, you can totally read this as a stand alone and not be lost in the story (I however will tell you, if you haven't, you should be reading ALL THREE, THEY ARE SO GOOD).

I don't want to give anything away - but let me tell you I have no idea how John dreams these scenarios up. The idea of uploading all of a countries secrets into the minds of several human keepers (The Minders, if you will) is utterly fascinating and horrifying all at once.

I loved the multiple POV from each minder, which had be ripping through chapters to see what would happen with each of them next. This story moves at a fast clip, and I honestly couldn't set it down.

Brilliantly crafted, intensely addictive and wildly satisfying, this is a MUST for 2021!!

This is the third book in a semi-series (The One, The Passengers, The Minders). You don't have to read them in order but each refers back to the others so it makes for a more meaningful sequence of reading if you do.

That said, this was probably my least favorite of the three (although still really good! Totally worth reading!). It is a bit more convoluted than the others and although there are a couple of good twists that I didn't see coming, overall the concept was a little more esoteric than I hope for in a thriller. There are a few too many character arcs and while this can work, I don't feel like it quite clicked as well in this one as it did in the other two.

That said, this is a great thrill ride overall and I cannot wait to see what John Marrs' mind comes up with next.

Review of uncorrected ebook file

Information may be king in the twenty-first century, but there will always be hackers determined to find a way to retrieve the information for themselves. And so it is that a government program has identified five ordinary citizens to help them thwart the threat of cyberterrorism.

Turning the nation’s most vital secrets into genetic code allowed scientists to place these secrets into the brains of the five citizens. In five years, they’ll have a fool-proof, hacker-proof way to store the information and the five citizens will be able to go about their lives.

But someone has uncovered the truth; someone knows the identity of The Minders . . . and someone is hunting them down.

Will The Minders fall to the hackers? Will they find a way to keep the nation’s secrets secure? And what happens if the hackers reveal The Minders’ identities before the five years are up?

Although “The Minders” is a stand-alone book, it holds some connections to two of the author’s previous books. The first, “The One,” is a story about finding the perfect partner meant for you, your perfect Match, through DNA. The second, “The Passengers,” is a story about autonomous driverless cars that focuses on what happens when the cars are hacked. Although it is not necessary to read either of these books before reading “The Minders,” readers will appreciate the background provided by each of the previous stories.

Strong, well-defined characters populate this intriguing tale. Told alternately by Flick, Charlie, Sinéad, Emilia, and Bruno, the unfolding story places readers in the middle of uncertainty and ever-building suspense. The multiple points of view and the intriguing plot help to keep the story exciting and unpredictable.

A highlight of the story is discovering the ways each of the people involved deal with their lives before and after receiving the secrets. How will they adjust to their new situations? How will they start their new lives? Will they be safe in the small towns where they’ve chosen to settle? The backstories for each of the characters are interesting, diverse, and compelling.

Plot twists move the story in unexpected directions; an unforeseen twist late in the telling of the tale may surprise readers. This chilling look at the dark side of technology makes the story truly unnerving. Readers are sure to find it difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
#TheMinders #NetGalley

So, you’ve read ‘The One’ and ‘The Passengers’, it’s time to finish up the saga and see how the British government is experimenting with storing all of their secrets and data to protect the country from the ever present Hackers! We follow five ‘Minders’ as they keep these secrets in genetic code 🧬 in their brains. We watch the story unfold from all of their POVs as they work to lead ‘normal’ lives while keeping their guard up against hackers who will take their lives for the info in their brains 🧠

As always with Marrs, we get multiple looks at fully formed characters with lives and inner turmoil and relationships who, by the book’s end, I felt I knew and was invested in. There was a lot of action in this one but in contrast to the previous books, it was more government espionage and had more of a cat and mouse agent and operative theme. I enjoy that vibe so went along for the ride! There were a few plot points with the DNA that made me think 🤔 but still a really enjoyable read overall!

You’ll want to read the books in order as the previous books are discussed multiple times throughout this one and they are both well worth your read!

It is so scary to think this isn’t the leap of imagination that it would have been when I was young, a world where our online secrets and assets are waiting to be hacked and that may have been the most chilling message of all!

I +++ recommend that you read this and think about how well our secrets and assets are being minded? 🧬 🧠

Thank-you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I am unsure how to write my thoughts without spoiling the book, but I will try my hardest. The book is told in five POVs: Flick, Bruno, Sinead, Charlie, and Emilia. They are all a part of a program called The Minders, and it is like what the security and technology people came up with to prevent their systems from being hack. A program where the participant's brain was conditioned to handle enormous amounts of classified information and in return, participants can all go on with their lives and start over. However, not everyone has the time of their lives in their new "identity or self." But, as always, there will be those who are not particularly fond of the program and want to eliminate the participants.

This book combines science fiction, suspense, and thriller. If you read John Marrs's other books like The Passengers and The One, you will also see a few incorporations between the three books, but it doesn't mean that you will not understand this book without reading the other two. John gave us well-developed characters, dynamic and attention-grabbing story, and of course, the unexpected ending. He never disappoints! Grab yourself a copy!

3.5 of 5 stars

If you enjoyed John Marr’s The Passengers, then you should be no stranger to the exhilarating mood and over-the-top thrills of The Minders, his latest novel set in that same high-tech futuristic world of action.

Once more, our story sets out to explore the possible ramifications of cutting-edge technology on a population not quite ready for the potential dangers and pitfalls. Even as the internet continues to expand its reach and impact, cyber security is a never-ending arms race. After all, any computer can be hacked and sensitive information stolen, so the British government has developed a new and radical system to ensure that state secrets will always remain safe.

Subsequently, five citizens selected for a neurological condition which allows their brains to integrate and process massive amounts of information are recruited into this highly classified program. Designated “the Minders”, these men and women are put through a strict training regimen, then implanted with a tiny DNA bead containing the nation’s top secrets. Next, they are told to cut ties with everyone in their lives and move far away to random remote locations around the country known only to a single handler, essentially making them untraceable and presumably unhackable. In return for their services and sacrifice, in five years’ time the Minders will be released from their contract and rewarded with a sizeable paycheck, while any action to compromise the program or betray its secrets will be punished with legal action, jail time, or even execution.

These Minders are: Flick, a former restaurant owner who has lost all direction in her life and is questioning her own sanity after finding out from a DNA matchmaking service that her soulmate was a deranged serial killer (more on this later); Charlie, a 20-something who is feeling increasingly isolated and abandoned by his friends since he alone is the last among them to find a partner through DNA matching; Sinead, who is tired of being ground down by her controlling and emotionally abusive husband; and Bruno, whose wife had been killed in a self-driving car accident, leaving him to raise their autistic son alone. While these characters may come from disparate backgrounds, all of them are ready for a change and have nothing to lose—making them perfect for the Minders program.

But like I said, there are five Minders, and our final character is Emilia, who is the lynchpin to the entire plot. Suffering from amnesia, she wakes up one day to a man claiming to be her husband, but of course, she can’t remember him or anything at all. As the other Minders settle into their new lives, not all of them are adjusting well to the implant in their brain. Worse, despite all the safeguards put in place to preserve the program’s secrecy, somehow their identities have gotten out and now someone is hunting them down one by one.

It’s no exaggeration when I say there is a ton to unpack here. While The Minders can be read as a standalone, it is also the third novel set in the same world as two other John Marrs books, and the story frequently references certain events from both. For example, the self-driving car accident that claimed the life of Bruno’s wife was the result of the fallout from The Passengers, while the DNA matching system that had been causing Flick and Charlie so much misery was actually the premise of The One. Now, it’s okay if you haven’t the previous books, since I think for the most part Marrs does a pretty good job at catching you up. Still, moments of confusion are still possible. Case in point, I haven’t read The One and thought the DNA matchmaking system was just about the most absurd thing ever, though to be fair, I might not have, if I had gotten the full context.

That said, so much more about the book was far out there and completely bonkers. Take how the government “selected” the Minders, for instance, by putting out a brainteaser puzzle through a clickbaity ad on the internet which could only be solved by the kind of people they were looking for (a bit like that old Bruce Willis movie called Mercury Rising, and the fact that it was Bruno’s autistic son who actually solved the puzzle for him was also kind of reminiscent of that plot). And from there, it just gets weirder and wilder, not least of all the idea that the smartest and most highly qualified of Britain’s national defense and security experts were called together to come up with an impregnable and ultra-secure system to guard the nation’s top secrets, and the best they could come up with was to put all of it into the hands of five total basketcases who I wouldn’t even trust to walk my dogs.

In sum, it’s probably not worth the effort or energy picking apart everything in the story that doesn’t make sense, because let’s face it, your head will probably explode. If you’ve read The One or The Passengers, then you already know what to expect, and if not, the first handful of pages are enough to give you a good idea if this is the kind of book for you. Not going to lie, the story gets stupidly ridiculous and over-the-top at times, but if you can handle the tone, it can also be fantastic escapism and incredibly fun.

I always enjoy John Marrs's writing. I loved the way he incorporated the story behind The Passengers and The One into this book. He did this in a way that was special to those that had read those books but didn't ruin the experience for those who might pick those up in the future. He also used plot lines from those books without this being a trilogy or series in the traditional form.
The was the story is told in The Minders felt like a psychological, deep dive into how and why humans act or make decisions like they do. It is told from multiple POVs and each bring a unique aspect to the story as a whole. The intertwining of science fiction and thriller is brilliant. I am definitely a fan.
My one critique is the conclusion. It felt too easy. There wasn't the heightened degree of suspense that is often the case and overall it felt like a let down compared to the remainder of the book. I still adored the book as a whole and would recommend it.
Once I finished the book and then read the author's comments, I can completely understand the ending falling a bit short. Sometimes real life intrudes on fiction and that is understandable.
Well done Mr. Marrs.
#TheMinders #Netgalley #BerkleyPublishing Group

And there he does it again! Another fantastic book I couldn't put down once I picked it up to read! This is such a relevant story, especially with today's news of hacking happening minute by minute. The characters and plot are complex in the best way possible. There are a lot of different point of views, but that's what makes this story completely put-together. If you haven't read his previous books, I recommend doing so because it definitely ties characters into this book, but is not necessarily required to read this one. A Highly recommended read!

The Minders was a complex and futuristic story. It was part of a series of stories written by Marrs. I love John Marrs writing style but this book did nothing for me. I found that I could not relate to any of the characters. I wanted to get into the story but it just never got there for me. I was hoping for so much more for this story but it completely fell flat for me. The characters were dull and boring, The storyline could have been something but it did pull me in.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley for my advanced copy. I will still seek out this author as I love his writing style but this one did not work for me.

Hmm, hard to review this one as my feelings about it changed so much as I went along reading.

First off, it was hard to keep track of who is who in beginning. Then you start thinking, ok wait..,when are these characters going to collide? Where’s the intersection? Kept me intrigued but does feel a bit Jason Bourne-ish in some spots. So the set up takes a bit too long.

After the groundwork is laid, about halfway through it gets really suspenseful. Then you want to read, read, read. Awesome.

Some great scenes sprinkled in. The scene with Gail and the baby...grr....infuriating! Some of the transitions between chapters/characters seem a bit cheesy. (Except for Milos scene with Charlie....ummm, wow.)

But then.....spoiler alert.....everything goes off the rails and everyone keeps getting picked off. One by one. It’s like there’s no one left to care about. Boooooo. Just leaving Flick and Elijah didn’t cut it for me. Nope. Left me cold.

So I give it a 3 because it did have me for some spots. But overall, just average.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Let's start off with the disclaimers: this is not part of a series; however, I would suggest you read The One and The Passengers first. Just because once you've read this one, they will probably be ruined for you. Thankfully I have read The Passengers so the backstories referenced during The Minders were familiar to me. However, you do NOT have to have read them to really really enjoy this book!

As the UK (post-Brexit but not too far future) is trying to fight off ransomware attacks on their national secrets and coverups, five people have been picked for their unique mental abilities to hold this information offline. Can't hack someone's head, right? The story follows these individuals as they try and leave their old lives behind, grapple with the secrets they now have access to, and keep themselves from being hunted down. Seriously good stuff here! I would love a peek into Mr. Marrs' writing process. I lovingly imagine lots and lots of excel spreadsheets and flow charts! Because his writing is taut. The book is long but it is stuffed full, no lag time for your brain to get comfortable. I only wonder: where do we go from here?

After reading and loving Marrs’ previous two novels I was thrilled to get an invite for this blog tour. And I was not disappointed! Meet 5 ordinary people – Flick, Charlie, Sinead, Emilia and Bruno. Each have made mistakes and decisions in their lives that have affected them all in one way or another. Some have little to no friends or family, some are grieving or going through something that has severed all ties with those they love. After getting an ad invite to take part in a test where they see if they can solve a puzzle that apparently only 1% of the population can solve, they are intrigued and try the puzzle, passing with flying colours.

Each of them are then invited to be part of a government operation. Secret and sensitive government information will be uploaded onto little beads that are then injected into sections of these “minders” brains where the information will be safely stored and can only be retrieved through a specific medical procedure. They would have to walk away from their loved ones and walks away from their lives.

I loved the back-story of all 5 of these characters. The book had great character development and talked about their past as well as their present situations that led each of these 5 people to agree to leave their lives behind as they knew it and to walk away and become “minders” for the government. Each had their own personal reasons for why they wanted to walk away from their lives for good. I also enjoyed how this novel was told from varying character POV’s. It was interested to read the various chapters from each of their POV’s, and also reading parts of the government officials as they had their meetings when planning and talking about this new operation regarding the “minders”.

Edge of your seat, nail biting entertainment that will have you flipping through the pages of this futuristic world, and you will not be able to put this book down until the very end. A book that I highly recommend if you haven’t added it yet to your TBR list.

I’m looking forward to Marrs’ next novel. Well done!

John Marrs has done it again . My only regret is that I didn’t read The Passengers before this.

When five civilians are chosen to be the keepers of the government’s secrets from hackers, how will they deal with all the new found information and being torn from their families and friends... especially when they are being hunted by a powerful group of international hackers.

What I liked:
✔️ such a unique concept
✔️ I honestly couldn’t have foreseen all that happened
✔️ I love this world that John Marrs has created in The One and has continued with The Minders ( and the Passengers I guess 🤦🏼‍♀️ ) . I can’t wait to watch The One on Netflix and hope this makes it there too !


What I didn’t like
✖️ I was a little confused at times with the technology 🤷‍♀️

4.5 stars

My endless thanks go out to Berkley Books and Penguin Random House for the Netgalley copy of The Minders. This book is out tomorrow 2/16!

I’m a big fan of John Marrs and have loved how The One, The Passengers and The Minders have all been the same universe. They don’t market this as a series but I strongly feel if you don’t read them in the right order you will regret it.

I really enjoyed this book. John Marrs has quickly become an auto buy author for me. The world he has created is so believable and the horrors of what could likely be our future kept me up late at night. The Minders is an excellent psychological thriller that left it’s mark inside my brain and may never leave.