I"m so lost I can't enjoy this one. I think I should have read the first book before this one.
I'm truly sorry.
It also seems like it is for a younger audience than me.

Thank you for the ARC.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Recorded Books Media for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Mindy Mejia, with the audiobook wonderfully narrated by Justis Bolding and Brian Hutchison. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Kara Johnson is grieving the loss of her girlfriend, who sacrificed her life to save Kara's. Kara has a unique disability that allows her to feel so physical pain, and she's lived accordingly. The DEA offers Kara a choice to go to prison or to become an informant to find the last of the drug trafficking ring that killed her girlfriend. Max Summerlin is a cop who struggles with chronic pain after being shot twice. He becomes part of the DEA task force, which puts him in the job of working with Kara. The cop and the criminal have to find a way to work together.

While this is a follow-up to Mejia's, To Catch a Storm, which I thoroughly enjoyed, this is easily read as a stand alone, although I loved catching up with some great characters. It's an action-packed story and police procedural, even including once again the psychic visions of Jonah. Plus, it's set in the time of Covid and that plot element was very well done. It also included police protests and BLM as relevant themes for a book involving law enforcement. I hope this continues to be a series and we get more stories from this ensemble!

A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia is a recommended thriller and the sequel to her novel To Catch a Storm.

Kara Johnson is a former dealer who turned to an DEA informant to end a drug trafficking empire. Kara is still grieving and wants revenge since her girlfriend Celina died protecting her. Max Summerlin is a cop who accepts an invitation to work with the DEA task force. He’ll be the liaison for Kara Johnson as they try to take down drug kingpin Sam Olson. The two aren't thrilled with their partnership but in their situation they are forced to rely on each other.

I would recommend reading To Catch a Storm before A World of Hurt as it will provide you with a whole lot more background information and insight into the characters. I could feel the lack of important background information as I scrambled to pick up some of the essential knowledge. Also it is set during the pandemic so there are all sorts of references to social distancing, masks, and lock downs. Generally I avoid any and all novels set during this time. Moving the timeline out of 2020 could have easily been done and would have been preferable.

The narrative alternates between the point-of-view of Kara and Max. The two are fully realized characters but are very different people, which is clearly shown in the insight into their private lives. The plot moves at a fast pace and will hold your attention. There is plenty of action, drama, and a few twists along the way in this suspenseful crime thriller. Thanks to Grove/Atlantic for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

4.5 stars

A World of Hurt is a great crime thriller that keeps you on your toes throughout most of the book. By the time you are halfway through, you realize that you have no idea who has good motives or who the real villains are.

It follows a local police detective who joins a task force and is ultimately given the job of keeping an eye on an untrustworthy informant who has her own motives for signing up for the job. Soon he sees she may be the only person he can actually trust.

When I started reading this, I wasn't aware that this was a follow up book to To Catch a Storm. While, I would have liked to have read it first, A World of Hurt stands on its own just fine. The main characters from the first book only play bit parts in this one so it isn't essential to know their backstory.

Overall, if you haven't read any of Mindy Mejia's books, I'd start with To Catch a Storm and immediately follow it with A World of Hurt. I read this in one sitting and if I had the opportunity, would have binge read them both back to back.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Release date August 6, 2024

I cannot put into words how much i loved this book! I couldnt put it down! good will always come to those who wait and this book is exactly that! cannot wait to read more by this author!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Aug. 6, 2024
“A World of Hurt” is the sequel to Mindy Mejia’s novel, “To Catch a Storm”. It follows Iowa Police officer Max Summerlin, who is paired up with young, tattooed, Kara Johnson in order to take down a drug ring, or so they both think.
It has been quite awhile since I read, “To Catch a Storm”, and that story focused mostly on Eve and her psychic partner, Jonah. However, they do make more than a casual appearance in “Hurt”, and I was pleased to see them! Unlike most other novels of this genre, “Hurt” should be read by those who enjoyed, “Storm”, as reading out of order will lead to confusion and less enjoyment than Mejia deserves.
Kara and Max alternate narrating the novel. Kara is young, tattooed and caught up in a circle of drug traffickers that she can’t seem to shake. It’s only with the promise she makes to her girlfriend that she decides to turn a new leaf and work with the police, instead of against them. Max is a long-time police officer with a wife and teenage son and is reluctantly paired up with Kara as part of a covert operation. Both are the exact opposite of each other in every way, yet both are likable and human. Once they learn to trust each other, both Kara and Max make one heck of a team and I loved working the case alongside them!
Although it had been some time since I read “Storm”, Mejia’s creative and skillful writing brought it all back. The seamless flow and character development made her newest novel easy to read, and even harder to put down.
“Hurt” is action-packed and dramatic, with twists and turns on nearly every page. Dead bodies, gun fights and secret identities, “Hurt” has it all. Those who have been waiting for this eagerly anticipated second instalment will not be disappointed- Mejia delivers!

This was a quick read that kept me interested and turning pages. I found the main characters likeable and could absolutely visualize this being an action movie. I did sort out the twist, but I wasn’t disappointed when I realized I was right. And that’s a good thing!

Kara is a former drug trafficker, who lost her girlfriend when the operation goes wrong. Now, she wants redemption; for herself and Celina. Max is an agent charged with keeping an eye on Kara during the investigation. It was a good ride :)

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I got off to a rough start with this one and it didn't get any easier.

I hadn't realised this was a sequel, which meant I was very disoriented at the start and it took a good 10% for me establish who the characters were and more or less what had taken place in the past.

However, the biggest problem for me was I found the characters to be unrelatable, unrealistic and clichéd. It wasn't even clear to me in the beginning which I should be rooting for. I love thrillers and crime novels but it's harder and harder to find one that feels fresh and surprising. I'm always looking for more but I think I've exhausted the supply.

I should mention that there are elements of supernatural and psychic powers in this story, which may be the X factor other readers are looking for but I found it to be an odd mix that didn't blend well.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the chance to read this ARC, unfortunately it wasn't for me.

This book is the sequel to a book I read and very much enjoyed last summer, “To Catch A Storm”. This has a similar plot line and format, but instead of Eve, we have Kara. She’s one of the many characters who were in the first book, though she had a much smaller role in that one.

This starts off with Kara waking up in a Des Moines hospital, which is odd, because her regular doctor is a discreet veterinarian named Jillian. Kara is different when it comes to medical things; she has CIP Disorder, a condition that affects the nerves that signal pain. Yes, she’s one of those people who constantly have to make sure they aren’t injured, because she could break a bone and not even feel it. I thought this was a really cool thing to put in the story, as the condition has always fascinated me!

Then, without giving away too much of the first book or this one, this turns into another action-packed mystery/thriller, once again involving police in Iowa, the DEA, and the opioid epidemic. We also have the story of Celina, the niece of Jonah, the psychic private investigator from the first book. Celina was Kara’s girlfriend before her death, and the hole in Kara’s heart is big.

I’m not sure if this was as much of a page-turner as the first book, but it was still a good story and I liked “seeing” many of the old characters again. I definitely recommend reading the first book before this one; you’ll have a better appreciation for the characters. Not only a thriller, this is a story of friendship, love, trust and an issue that is plaguing the world right now. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Atlantic Monthly Press, Mindy Mejia and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on August 6, 2024.)

I might have given higher then 3 stars if I had read the first book. There were quite a few aspects to kinda get you up to speed I guess but I still would have preferred to read it in sequence. If you like the typical cop drama story this might be a book for you. But if you don’t want to relive Covid you might choose not to pick this one up. A few good twists and turns tho.

Filled with twists and turns, duplicity and miscalculations, A World of Hurt is a dark tale with emotional depth that will keep you guessing to the end. Heart pumping, anxiety inducing and thought provoking stuff from Mindy Mejia.

Kara Johnson is on the run from law enforcement when a DEA agent catches up to her and offers her a deal – become an informant or go to prison for her role in an illegal drug operation. Max Summerlin, the cop who made the biggest drug bust in Iowa history, joins a DEA task force set up to root out the remaining elements of the drug empire he disrupted. But everyone involved has their secrets and their true agendas are unknown. Now criminal and cop must work together to figure out the end game before they become the next victims of those lurking in the shadows who will do anything to come out on top.

The most compelling aspects of A World of Hurt both have to do with the characters actions in the story. First, they all have an agenda and seem to be keeping secrets that once exposed have the potential to dramatically change events. So trying to figure out each character’s agenda injects intrigue throughout the story. Second, there’s a great bit of soul searching that occurs. Especially with Kara and Max, who are both trying to figure out who they are and how to live their lives. Kara is trying to reconcile how her dark past led to the death of her true love and whether she’s worthy of love again. Max has prioritized work ahead of his family and friends and it’s putting a strain on his relationships that he must reckon with. These are thoughts that are highly relatable and humanize characters with whom we may not have a ton in common with. Then throw in car chases, gun battles, physical confrontations and a tad bit of poison and you’ve got a thriller with both action and depth that will keep you entertained to the end.

One last note – while A World of Hurt can be read as a standalone, it’s a better reading experience if you read To Catch a Storm first. This second book in the series picks up right where the first one ends, so knowing what took place previously will allow you to seamlessly dive headfirst into this one.

My goodness. First time reading this Author and will not be the last. Run....don't walk....to get this amazing book!!!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing this digital copy in exchange for a review.

A World of Hurt is the sequel to To Catch A Storm, and the story is picked right up from the conclusion of the previous book. This story focuses almost solely on Iowa City Detective Max Summerlin and trafficker turned informant Kara Johnson (both secondary characters in the first book). Summerlin has joined a DEA Task Force, searching for a hidden cache of drugs, and the task force enlists Kara to assist them. There’s a lot of introspection in the private lives of Max and Kara, while central to the characters’ actions here, it slows down the flow of the book and becomes repetitive. But Kara’s character saves the day, with her brash, take-no-prisoners badassery carrying the plot. While you could read this as a standalone, it would be beneficial to read the first book (although there are enough references to get new readers up to speed and refresh the memories of those who read the earlier book). I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the second installment of Mindy Mejia's characters (new series alert? yes please!) in "A World of Hurt". I liked the happy ending of her characters from "To Catch A Storm" and the continued plot of a massive drug ring in the midwest. 5 starts

I was given the opportunity to read and review an ARC via NetGalley by Atlantic Monthly Press New York.

I really enjoyed To Catch a Storm and was very excited to learn there’d be a sequel, hoping to read more from the characters I’d gotten to know. Finding that this featured other characters made me a little nervous but I dove in and enjoyed the ride.

It’s only been a few years since the pandemic, so novels either brush past it, time skip it, or pretend it didn’t happen and I understand that. There was a lot of depth of emotion to explore and if it’s not relevant to your story, it’s too much to get into. Mindy chose to face it head on. From the varying viewpoints on policies to the fears of parents to the chaos of the unknowns in hospitals and prisons, I felt she handled it with care. She captured both the fears and the small pieces of community hope that people clung to. Then this is a book featuring a police officer and she also faced the George Floyd protests, BLM movement and answering Blue Lives movement. She didn’t shy from it and utilizing it pushed this story forward in a sensitive way.

Too often police procedurals feel like “copaganda” and they’re infallible, perfect investigators, but all of the officers involved were flawed and real people. The criminals were doing bad things but had sympathetic back stories. We did get to see characters from the first book, but new characters were featured and I enjoyed the new “odd couple.” The twists at the end were excellent, I didn’t see it all coming together like that but it all fit with the theme of the book. I really hope this series continues!

It’s December 2019 & our story picks up right where it left off at the end of To Catch A Storm, focusing this time on Max & Kara instead of Eve & Jonah. Max is still at the snowy scene of the interstate pileup & an injured Kara finds her way to a veterinarian she trusts to fix her up on the downlow. A few other shocking reveals are made in the aftermath of the drug trafficking ring’s demise (I won’t spoil it for you) & then we go through a major time jump to August of 2020.

Not even a full year later, we all know that the world changed pretty fast in those few months: the Covid-19 pandemic & everything that came with it was fully dealt with in the midst of this story, & I really respect the way the author incorporated it into the plot.

After reading the first book in this series I wanted more Eve & Jonah (& Earl!) - even though this second one wasn’t about them I did appreciate a peek into how they were doing, & found myself enjoying Max & Kara much more than I thought I would. These two characters have some very interesting attributes & once I picked up this book I didn’t read anything else until I’d finished (which is saying something, because I normally have multiple books going at once & tend to jump around). It was bittersweet learning about the origin story of Kara & Celina, & the new character of Jillian was a perfect addition. Also love that this book, like the first one, was largely set in my home state of Iowa.

I would love to read a third book in this series! Hopefully more to come in the future. Thank you to NetGalley & Atlantic for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A World of Hurt is a bit of a strange one - in the first few pages I was ready to be very critical as it seemed like a bit of a try-hard bad-ass cop procedural, however there were some strange twists and turns along the way and I found myself easing into and enjoying the book a lot!

To elaborate - World of Hurt follows "Kara" a former drug mule with a medical condition where she feels no pain, and Max, a local detective, who, well. Truth be told Max is a bit of a dud character as I'll explain later, but he's a relatively morally staunch lawman which does make the pairing a little interesting.

So some of the weird stuff...

There's psychic powers?? Kara's love interest is a sort of pain-taker/healer, and Max's former partner is a prophetic dreamer! The tone of the book doesn't really prepare us for these supernatural elements, and oddly they aren't particularly major parts of the plot either, its just a bit of flavour to the action which is somewhat run-of-the-mill drug bust type plot.

It's not necessarily negative, but I have to say its rather unusual to have elements like this as a very minor detail in an otherwise quite 'gritty' story - the physic stuff doesn't really affect any major plot points so it really was just for flavour which I simultaneously liked as something a bit oddball but also had a strange sense of I think the author believes in this stuff?

Anyway other odd additions - a LOT of Covid-19 references, this presents a strange conundrum. It's certainly was presented realistically - social distancing, masks etc etc but again didn't have really anything to do with the story. It could have been set in 2019 and had no bearing, or set NOW and had no bearing. The drug plotline as far as I could tell didn't have any metaphorical link to Covid-19 so it was weird to have so much grounding in pandemic prevention measures.

A final weird is just a comment on our MC Max. He seemed to lack anything resembling a personality and for some reason this story deep dived into his home-life which oscillated between idyllic and cutesy to borderline criminal but also somehow shallow and weirdly token. As I write this I realize that both MC's are given quite a bit of page-time to their more personal endeavours, but where Kara's story is interwoven smoothly and 'fits' Max's scenes of family life just seem almost seem like afterthoughts - 'oh btw this is what Max's life is like at home'

It does feel like I'm being overly negative but it's important to note that the drug-bust type crime plot is actually a good romp, its more the subplots that can be a bit distracting in their oddness, I really enjoyed World of Hurt!

This was an interesting book about a crime where a criminal and cop work together in Iowa to solve a crime which features all the banes of our life like Covid and cryptocurrency.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

I felt immediately intrigued by Kara and her disorder (the inability to feel pain), but Max's chapters took more time to catch my attention. Overall, this was a smartly plotted book with several twists and reveals that I didn't see coming and that kept my eyes glued to the pages to see how everything would play out. I'm not sure if Mejia is intending to write another book in this world and with some of these characters, but I would've liked a little more of Jonah's story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this amazingly enjoyable and clever eARC.

A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia is a gripping thriller that explores the complex dynamics between a cop and a criminal, both haunted by their pasts and driven by their quests for justice.

This story follows Kara Johnson, a former drug trafficker who agrees to go undercover for the DEA after her girlfriend is killed by a rival gang, and Max Summerlin, an Iowa City police officer who joins the task force to find the elusive kingpin behind the drug empire. The two must overcome their mutual distrust to work together and infiltrate the dangerous underworld of drugs and violence, while also dealing with their own personal demons and secrets.

Mejia's writing is fast-paced and engaging, with vivid descriptions and realistic dialogue. The characters are well-developed and flawed, making them easy to empathize with and root for. This is one of my favorite modern writers.

This novel tackles relevant and timely issues, including addiction, trauma, corruption, and redemption, without being preachy or moralistic. A World of Hurt is a compelling and satisfying read that will appeal to fans of thrillers, crime fiction, and character-driven stories.

Personally, I DELIGHT when this author writes a new book, I am CRAZY about her writing!

She is incredibly talented, unique and imaginative (and I love when her books are set in Iowa).

If you haven't read her yet, make this the year you do (betcha you too will become a rabid fan).