The Minders By John Marrs

‘The Minders’ is the latest book by John Marrs and just like his previous novels, ‘The One’ and ‘Passengers’ it’s another fast paced, futuristic thriller.

In the 21st century, information is king. But computers can be hacked and files can be broken into – so a unique government initiative has been born. Five ordinary people have been selected to become Minders – the latest weapon in thwarting cyberterrorism. Transformed by a revolutionary medical procedure, the country’s most classified information has been taken offline and turned into genetic code implanted inside their heads. Together, the five know every secret – the truth behind every government lie, conspiracy theory and cover up. In return, they’re given the chance to leave their problems behind and a blank slate to start their lives anew. But not everyone should be trusted, especially when they each have secrets of their own they’ll do anything to protect.

The story is seen through the perspective of the 5 minders, all who feel that they have given a second go at life. Bruno is a single father to a disabled son who’s mother was tragically killed when the autonomous cars were hacked, Flick has lost her drive for life after discovering that her love match was a serial killer who was murdered, Sinead is stuck in an unhappy marriage with a controlling and manipulative husband, whilst Charlie had registered on Match Your DNA app but his counterpart had not done the same. So while Charlie’s friends were all settling down and after finding the one, he was alone and waiting whilst life passed him by. Finally, there’s Emilia who’s woke up in hospital with no memory but with a man claiming to be husband. All 5 of them find themselves guarding the government most contraversional and shocking secrets and setting up a new life for themselves, but 1 by 1 they are being killed off and are having to run for their lives.

I love John Marrs and every time that he announces a new book, I always look forward to reading it. I really enjoyed ‘The Minders’ which is another great spin and insightful look into how technology is changing the way of the world. One thing that I liked about this book was the references back to his previous novels ‘The One’ and ‘The Passengers’ and this latest book almost felt like the latest instalment in the series, even though each book is a standalone novel. Excitedly, my favourite book by John called ‘The One’ is now being adapted for a Netflix series.

The characters are a great mix of personalities with their own flaws and secrets that make for fascinating reading as they all eagerly accept this second chance at life and escape the ones that they left behind. Another thing that is quite interesting is even though the book is set in the present time, it has almost dystopian feel to the story.

An uniquely plotted story that makes for scarily realistic reading, this cyber crime thriller is perfect for fans of conspiracy theories and science fiction. Pulling you right in from the first page, ‘The Minders’ is another fast paced and meticulously crafted story with gore, suspense and tension riddled throughout.

If you’d like to know more about John Marrs and where he gets his ideas from, check out my interview with the author.

You can buy ‘The Minders’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.