Deceiver of Minds by Jordan L. Hawk #LGBT #Review #Paranormal #Mystery #NewRelease

Dana reviews Deceiver of Minds (SPECTR Series 3 Book 5) by Jordan L.Hawk. (Published June 24, 2022, 105 pages.) An ebook copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

To read the audiobook review of SPECTR Series 1 click here.

To read the audiobook review of SPECTR Series 2 Books 1-3 click here.

To read the ebook review of Breaker of Chains (SPECTR Series 2 Book 4) click here.

To read the ebook review of Shaker of Earth (SPECTR Series 2 Book 5) click here.

To read the ebook review of Stalker of Shadows (SPECTR Series 3 Book 1) click here.

To read the review for Bringer of Night (SPECTR Series 3 Book 2) c lick here.

To read the review for Seeker of Truth (SPECTR Series 3 Book 3) click here.

To read the review for Harvester of Bones (SPECTR Series 3 Book 4) click here.

Blurb:

Federal exorcist John Starkweather is consumed by the search for the truth about his past. A new lead takes him away from New Orleans, to confront the twisted man who experimented on him as a teen.

Left behind yet again, Caleb and Gray throw themselves into the hunt for a murderous demon lurking deep in the swamp. But they can’t shake their growing fear that the more John’s memories return, the further he pulls away from them.

As John digs deeper into the secrets surrounding the Center where he was held captive, the danger around him grows. Because someone wants the truth buried—and they’re willing to kill to keep it that way.

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If you are new to this series, we really recommend starting at the beginning!

We can strongly recommend The Complete Series One (6 books) and Two (5 books) as eBook or Audiobook Collection!

SPECTR: The Complete First Series | eBook | Audiobook

SPECTR: The Complete Second Series | eBook | Audiobook

I was so excited to be offered this book for review, because it has been a year and a half since the last book, and I couldn’t wait! Though the author has released other books in that time, I needed to find out what would happen with John and Caleb and Gray.

At the end of the fourth book in this series John was given the answers to many of the questions he had about his past. His real name is revealed, but he still goes by John. He learns more about the facility he was held in and the name of his fellow patients/lab rats. As he learns more, memories of his own start to emerge. There is still so much to discover, though. Like, how much involvement there was on the part of the people he trusted when he first started the SPECTR organization? And where are the other versions of John Starkweather that left the facility they were held in as teens? He definitely wants to find them, because most of the people who knew about the secret place are turning up dead.

When John decides to go find these people, I was once again frustrated that he didn’t want to take his boyfriends, Caleb and Gray. Even though they share the same body, Caleb and Gray have really come into their own with their wants and desires. And both of them are as frustrated as me. It seems like John is pulling away, and they fear that John resents Gray’s possession of Caleb, but they also know they could be of help. Still, John decides to take Ryan, who is the real John’s cousin. John feels that Ryan deserves to know the truth just as much as he does.

Well. I have had my suspicions of Ryan from the beginning, since he was so nice when the rest of John’s “family” was terrible. I didn’t begin to suspect the real truth, though, until this book, shortly before it was revealed. Things go quite crazy, and John is turned against Gray and Caleb. It’s brief, but damage is done, and though Gray and Caleb are forgiving, I’m not sure John can forgive himself. I have to mention Night at this point. Night is another drakul in possession of a dead body. He had been following Gray because he didn’t understand why Gray would be involved in “mortal nonsense.” A drakul’s purpose is to hunt demons, and that’s it. I was wondering if Night would come to care for others with so much time spent with Gray and happily, he does because pulls through for Gray and Caleb in the nick of time. It was a happy moment for me, so I had to bring it up.

Each series has had a big bad to conquer in the last book. In this book, it seems like the big bad is revealed, but it’s not the same as I thought it would be in the beginning. I thought that John and Caleb and Gray were going to deal with the agency that caused this all in the beginning, but there is a more immediate threat. I am just not sure if both will be taken care of in the next book, which feels like it will be the last in this series, or if it will follow them into a series four. Of course I am just being hopeful about the continuation of the series, because I love these characters and I will never get enough.

9/10 Pots of Gold (90% Recommended) – Compares to 4.5/5 stars

Jordan L. Hawk is a trans author from North Carolina. Childhood tales of mountain ghosts and mysterious creatures gave him a life-long love of things that go bump in the night. When he isn’t writing, he brews his own beer and tries to keep the cats from destroying the house. His best-selling Whyborne & Griffin series (beginning with Widdershins) can be found in print, ebook, and audiobook.