Mind Games by Nora Roberts absolutely blew me away. I always look forward to her books, but this one exceeded every expectation—I devoured it with my heart in my throat and tears in my eyes. Roberts once again proves she’s a master of emotional, layered storytelling, effortlessly weaving suspense, family bonds, heartbreak, healing, and yes—mind games—into one unforgettable novel.

The story follows siblings Thea and Rem Fox, who spend idyllic summers at their grandmother Lucy’s house in the Appalachian mountains. It's a place filled with love, freedom, fresh bread, handmade candles, and the simple joy of childhood. But one summer, everything changes. After Thea and Lucy share a chilling, identical vision, it becomes clear that something terrible has happened—and the lives of these children are forever altered. Thanks to Thea’s rare gift, justice is served, but their grief is just beginning.

What follows is a story about resilience, growing up in the aftermath of tragedy, and the deep, unshakeable bond between siblings. I fell in love with Rem and Thea—watching them grow up together, tease one another, and always have each other’s backs. And Grandma Lucy? She stole my heart. Fiercely loving, a little sassy, and the kind of grandparent everyone wishes they had. Her animals, with their adorable names and quirky personalities, were the cherry on top of an already emotional and immersive story.

Mind Games is dark, twisty, deeply emotional, and unexpectedly beautiful. It made me laugh, broke my heart, and reminded me of the strength of family and the power of love. Nora Roberts has created something truly special with this story—these characters will stay with me for a long time. If you haven’t added this to your TBR yet, do it now. Just be warned: you’ll need tissues.

Nora Roberts does it again! Mind Games is masterful in that it combines a mystery, a serial killer, telepathy, family dynamics, and a romance in one book. On occasion, it felt like extra information was given when the story could have been a little tighter, but overall, well written and paced. Fans will appreciate this stand alone mystery and for those who choose this book as their first Nora Roberts will be impressed by the plot’s complexity, as long as they are comfortable with the idea of mind reading and ESP.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and have written an objective review.

Whenever I need a story I will love, I know I can go to NR 🫶🏻 and her romantic suspense are some of my absolute favourites!!!

And this one was no different 👏🏻👏🏻 the characters, the story, everything was spot on & kept me engaged from page 1!! So so good!!

Thea was strong, proud of herself, & willing to help anyone. She had her self conscious times, but that only made her more relatable. And the strong family bonds she had, and craved, felt very real to me. I loved her interactions with her brother, Grammie, Ty, and Bray 💕💕💕

If you’re looking for a romantic suspense that’s bingeable, gripping, centred in a small town, and sprinkled with some psychic abilities, then maybe check this one out!!

Thank you so much @netgalley @stmartinspress for the gifted copy!

I will preface this review with the fact that I love Nora Roberts book. Her romance book specifically, she jut has a great way with pulling the reader in. This one isn't a "romance" per se but really intrigued me so I read it. It was really good. There i heartache and romance but there is also growth, understanding, strength and a strong ability to make a life worth living despite the trials and intrusion. Watching Thea struggle to live a normal life while accepting her gifts and fighting against Riggs evil was fascinating. Going through this book, seeing people with the same gift use it in different ways and really feel like what's going on in the mind is "real" was great writing. Definitely check it out.

I really enjoyed this. Solid romantic suspense from queen Nora. I felt like the suspense was well done, not too much time with the villain. Loved the relationships, as always.

I really enjoy Roberts's standalone. This one was good. The mystical aspect of "knowing things" wasn't my favorite, but seeing how certain scenes played out was interesting. Mind Games wasn't as suspense/thriller as I wanted, but I enjoyed the relationships, romance, and growth between characters.

Nora Roberts is an oldy but a goody. Until Mind Games, I had only read her romance novels. This was a whole new world for me! I always enjoy reading books with a little bit of mysticism. Thea's gift of mind/soul reading was so interesting to read. I felt so terrible for her as a child witnessing her parents murder in her dreams, but was happy that she uses her gift to help solve the murder-AND the police believe her! The suspense of Thea and the killer entering each others minds kept me wanting to read more. I read this one really quickly and enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Was this my favorite Nora Roberts book ever? Probably not. But it was okay. I'm not so into spirits and ghosts and this book had a bit more of that than I might have liked. It still flowed in that way all of Roberts' books do and it certainly wasn't bad....just not my favorite.

This is a little different from the normal Nora Roberts in that you know who the bad guy is from the beginning but that in no way takes away from the intrigue of the book.

I love the characters and their family bonds after terrible tragedy. The chemistry between the hero and heroine is perfect even with his little boy added in. Getting to meet the teenage heartthrob and falling in love makes it a little sweeter.

I highly recommend this book. Very entertaining and I've already read it twice and know I will read it again.

Thea and her brother have stayed with their grandma for two weeks every SUmmer. THis year is different. Thea learns she has a special ability passed down from her Grandmother. With this ability her and her Grandmother see the same thing. As Thea deals with this she learns alot more about herself.


This was a fast paced book. It was definitely different for a Nora Roberts book, which I loved. I would love to see more books like this from Nora.

I love Nora Roberts' work and this one doesn't disappoint. This is another of her combined romance and thriller/mystery stories, and I didn't want to put it down. It is a little spooky, but I liked it! Many thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

In Mind Games, 12 year old Thea “sees” her parents get killed and she and her brother go to live with her grandmother in Kentucky. Magically? Metaphysically? Thea remains connected to her parents’ killer.

I thought this was a really good book. Fast paced in parts, great imagery. I liked that Thea was a strong FMC. This book also features family and connection; both within family, but with self and community as well.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of Nora Roberts, fans of her previous book Legacy, of those that enjoy mystery/suspense.

I read Mind Games twice in 2024 and once (already) in 2025, which tells you something about how good it is. Written with Roberts’s usual skill, Mind Games pits Thea Fox, a young woman with the sight, against the psychopath who killed her parents. The suspense in this romantic suspense novel is unusual, because the murderer, whom 12-year-old Thea’s visions helped capture, is held in a maximum-security prison for well over half of the novel; he cannot threaten her physically. But the tie connecting them is on the mental rather than the physical plane, and on that level, neither bars nor distance can protect Thea. She must find a way to defeat him totally, on the playing field of their two gifted minds.

I loved how real Roberts makes this psychic battle, but even more than that, I love the way she brings Thea, her grammie and brother, and their Appalachian neighbors to life. Thea’s best friend, Maddie, is a doctor, the daughter of the sheriff and of one of Grammie’s best friends. Grammie is probably around my own age: a wise, lively, and vibrant woman, who began her family much earlier than I did. Thea’s brother Rem is equally well-drawn; he is protective of Thea when it comes to their parents’ killer, but teases her about other topics just as any brother would.

Thea is a talented video game designer, whose first game sounds reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda (not that I’ve ever played it, but now I want to.) I always enjoy how Roberts’s female characters are strong, passionate, talented women, independent but fiercely devoted to family and friends—much like Roberts herself, as far as I can tell. Thea is simultaneously very much in this mold and clearly distinct from any of Roberts’s other recent heroines.

Thea’s eventual love interest, Ty, is a musician, a single father—and her adolescent crush. And unlike the children in so many romance novels, his 4-year-old son Braydon (or Bray) is both realistic and adorable. Watching Thea fall in love with them, and them with her, was one of the joys of this book.

Mind Games has joined the ranks of my favorite non-fantasy Nora Roberts novels, along with The Liar, Whiskey Beach, and Tribute. (I’m counting it among Roberts’ “real-world” romantic suspense novels as despite the psychic aspects, it really feels more realistic than magical.) As I said, I have already read it three times, and it will remain one I turn to whenever I need a Nora Roberts fix.

NOTE: Although I originally received Mind Games as a Kindle ARC, I liked it so much that I bought a copy.

Another really solid romantic suspense from Nora! The suspense in this one was definitely unlike anything I've read from her before. I think because it was so isolated just to the heroine's mind, I didn't feel the suspense as I have from her other books because I didn't ever believe anyone else was ever really in any danger. But I think the whole psychic ability thing was so cool in this one. I would have loved the heroine using it more to help out the police, but I got why it was so emotionally taxing on her.

The romance was a bit of a slower burn, but I loved the hero and how he was a single dad! His son was so cute and I loved how they both slowly started to fall in love with the small town they moved to.

The ending was a bit anti-climactic to me, but I was still really into these characters and their story! The heroine's job was really cool and I think the first part of the book was definitely my favorite when it was all in the past and you have to figure out what they were going to do after her parents' murder. It definitely hooked me!

I have to admit, I'm one of the worst mood readers out there. This one took me a lot longer to get into than most of Nora Roberts stories. But once you're in, you're hooked. I truly enjoyed the twists the turns. Nora is one of my favorite writers and knows just how to grab you!

I love Nora Roberts' work and this one doesn't disappoint. This is another of her combined romance and thriller/mystery stories, and I didn't want to put it down.
The main character, Thea, has inherited her grandmother's gift of foreseeing, which leads to their terrible prediction of Thea's parent's murder when she is 12 and at her Grammie Lucy's for their annual summer visit. The book jumps forward to Thea's return to live with Grammie as an adult, since she can work remotely as a game devoloper and Redbud Hollow, her grandmother's town, feels like home. While there, Thea realizes that their mysterious neighbor is her childhood crush.
The secondary characters including Grammie, Thea's younger brother Rem, and the murder himself, are beautifully developed, leading to a thrilling story with, of course, a good resolution at the end for both the terrifying mind games and the relationship between Thea and the man next door.

Thea and her brother are dropped for vacation with their Grammie when she and Grammie are awoken in the night by a nightmare when her parents are murdered. Grammie calls it the gift of sight, Thea just knows she is able to see things and she is able to give the police enough information they are able to find her parents killer. The scary thing is the killer also has this sight and he can see her too while he is in prison. This is part romantic suspense and part paranormal and part thriller and all GREAT!

This book had me in tears. Nora Robert’s knows how to tug at heart strings and wish for a love that she writes on these pages. I recommend this book to anyone that loves a good romance novel with no darkness.

Sometimes you just want to revisit the rhythms of an old favorite for nostalgia purposes, and MIND GAMES by Nora Roberts served just that purpose for me. Despite some novel features (a vague telepathic/supernatural bent to the main character)--is she breaking any molds? No. Is she treading into any new writing spaces or story beats? Also no! But the setting was sweet, and secondary cast of characters well-fleshed out, and I got what I knew I was gonna get going in. Read for the famous guy/regular(ish) girl trope, the pop-star/mega-fan trope, or if you like your romance with a light true-crime edge.

I love Nora’s writing and this novel was no different.

I would describe this as a wild ride — so many ups and downs. Like her other works the characters are authentic and the relationships and romance feel honest and real which I have grown to know and love from Nora.

The touch of paranormal was refreshing and I honestly hope she works that into future works as well. It just fit in well and just, well, worked!