Mind Tryst

by Robyn Carr

Still reeling from her young son's death, Jackie Sheppard retreats to a small town in the Colorado Rockies. Comforted that no one knows of her tragic past, she's thrilled to take a job at family law firm, where she meets Tom, the local carpenter. Jackie's distrust of others hinders their relationship, but they slowly build a budding romance.

However, as she begins to settle into her new life, disturbing things start happening to Jackie--objects are moved around her house, an indentation of a body appears on her freshly made bed, and a bouquet of wildflowers are inexplicably left by her door. With eccentric residents in the town, Jackie dismisses the oddities, but as Tom's checkered background reveals that his wife and child were murdered, Jackie believes she may be the next target of a sadistic killer.

Acclaimed for its strong characters and thrilling plot, MIND TRYST is Robyn Carr's only psychological suspense novel. Delighting fans of suspense since 1993, it will continue to leave readers looking over their shoulders long after they've turned the last page.

Genres: Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Romance, Crime, Fiction

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Robyn Carr is a RITA® Award-winning, eleven-time #1 New York Times bestselling author of over sixty novels, including the critically acclaimed Virgin River series and Sullivan's Crossing series. Robyn's new women's fiction novel, THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB, will be released in January 2024. The new hit Sullivan's Crossing TV series (season 1) inspired by Robyn's book series was released in the USA in the fall of 2023! Plus, season 5 of the worldwide fan-favorite Virgin River TV Series is now streaming on Netflix (July 2023) with two holiday episodes coming November 30, 2023. Both TV series have been renewed for another season!
Robyn is a recipient of the Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award 2016, and in 2017, VIRGIN RIVER was named one of the HarperCollins 200 Iconic Books of the past 200 years. Robyn currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can visit Robyn Carr's website at https://www.robyncarr.com/.

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I wasn't afraid of my past; I was haunted. There's a difference."

Robyn Carr-Mind Tryst

All the stars for this great literary mystery!

Mind Tryst is a mystery with soul. It's poignant and intense with an amazing cast of characters and a story that will haunt the reader every bit as the people in this book.

So this is among my favorites. But it is not just the mystery that makes it so. I've read hundreds of mysteries. I may even have read thousands.

It is the characters and atmosphere every bit as much as the plot.

Mind Tryst is scary and eerie but it also a story of survival. Jackie Shepard is an independent and fiery woman, an attorney, who has tragically lost her son. She is also tough and strong. She has come to the mountains to make a new life for herself.

Jackie is about as strong as it gets and it was a joy to read about her. But as she explains as she narrates, one can still be strong..and run into a nightmare.

This is what happens to Jackie. It happens in such a subtle manner. But it does happen and how she chooses to deal with the situation at hand will have you rooting for her as much as shivering as you read about the slowly engulfing menace in the sleepy mountain town she now dwells in.

This book also takes place in Colorado. The author actually makes the state of Colorado one of the characters. The vivid descriptions of the stirringly beautiful mountain town made feel like I was there. (I have visited Colorado and it is every bit as stunning as it is portrayed in the book).

Then there are the characters. What a wonderful wacky awesome group of supporting characters! They were all so interesting. Very rarely do I read about characters, even a few that are only in a few scenes, whose names I remember and who I am hungry to read more about. They could have their own book or television series!

This book is about strength and loss and terror and survival. It really is one of the best mysteries I have ever read.

SPOILERS:(Just a few)

The twists I did not see and it was a pretty terrifying story overall. I was always hoping the author would write a part two as I was eager to know where Jackie wound up.

Five stars.

[Theresa (mysteries.and.mayhem) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sitting on my Audible account when I was looking for something to replace my previous commute audiobook. I believe I saw somewhere that Mind Tryst was Robyn Carr's only suspense novel. I think that was in reference to this book. If that's true, this was a decent book for a one-off shot at thrillers.

It has the small town romance feel that a lot of people are looking for these days. But there is a twist. You know the saying, if it's too good to be true, then it probably is? Yeah. The main character is wondering that about her on again, off again love interest. We have gaslighting. We have things going bump in the night. We have a lot of stubborn decisions that I would have personally given up on long before the main character did and just went back to my friends in California. But then we wouldn't have this story, would we?

Mind Tryst did its job. It kept my mind occupied while I was driving to and from work. I won't remember it years from now. I barely remember it now. But it was a decent story. A solid 3 stars from me.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind Tryst is an audiobook I’ve had on TBR for several years. I loved Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series but kept putting off reading this mystery/thriller. I’m glad I finally did as it was a good book with lots of unusual aspects. The main character moves to a small town to leave her grief behind, meets a seemingly nice man, but soon decides he isn’t what he seems. From there, all kinds of weird, dark, and creepy things happen. This is not the best thriller I have ever read, but I think if Carr wanted to switch directions in her career, she could make a go of it. I thought this was recently written and was surprised to find that it was written in 1992, probably before any of her popular romance books. The narrator of the book was Christina Traister, whose voice was a little monotone. Otherwise, she did an okay job. I gave this 3 ½ stars rounded down to 3.

[Stuart Aken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling: it must be, because I read Robyn Carr’s ‘Mind Tryst’ under rather trying circumstances. In a nutshell, I was doing a read-aloud edit of the last two books of my fantasy trilogy, spending a great deal of time in deep reading. That meant my energy, interest in and time for other reading was pretty minimal. But this book, which I had started before I commenced with my own work, wouldn’t let me go. I had to know. I had to get to the end.

The narrative character, Jackie, a lawyer from LA who moves to a small town to escape the grief that follows the death of her child, finds herself caught up in a mystery that is at first only odd and disconcerting but slowly builds to become menacing and life-threatening. The relationships in this novel, good and bad, are very well written. The characters all come alive on the page. The reader is introduced to a wide gathering of city slickers and small town folk, and given enough information to permit empathy with all.

This is a psychological thriller with real bite. It’s a page-turner; an involving read. I found myself compelled to discover the secrets hidden in the twists and turns. Sympathy and suspicion vie with each other for the two main characters as Carr skilfully weaves a complex and changing, but ultimately credible story leading to a high-tension ending. There are touches of lightness and even humour to ease the reader through the story.

Women readers in particular should beware of reading this if alone in the house, unless they wish to spend the night awake.

If you enjoy your thrillers with real characters, believable scenarios and accurate, well-researched settings, you’ll enjoy this story. I thoroughly recommend it.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book at a thrift store and thought "wonder if the author is the one that wrote the Virgin River series". I am glad I knew of Robyn's other books before I read this one. For I would have missed out on one of the best series out there.
It is a good idea for a story, but there was too much filler and details that didn't matter. I actually skipped pages and chapters to get to the end. I figured out the real identity of Tom before it was revealed, so it got boring. The twist and turns at the end were interesting, but not really believable. I love Robyn's other books, but this one is not even worth reading if you are fan let alone not one. To see the true ability of Robyn Carr, turn to her Virgin River or Thunder Point series.

[KathyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this audiobook, but it's definitely not your typical Robyn Carr novel. It's mostly suspense/mystery with no romance. The heroine is dealing with the death of her son (not a spoiler, this is stated at the beginning) and is trying to rebuild her life. Since I was expecting something like a Virgin River novel I was a little disappointed. Thankfully the novel has a well developed plot, and fleshed out characters. I wasn't sure what to expect, I had no idea what was going to happen, which was a nice change from my normal HEA novels. I was intrigued throughout, even with the flawed cast of characters.

Overall this was a winner for me, it was interesting to see one of Robyn Carr's earlier works. While this isn't a favorite, it was entertaining. For a book which is almost 30 years old, this story holds up. It won't appeal to everyone but I liked it.

** Great narration by Christina Traister.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how this one will end, but 80 pages in, this is the sort of thriller that can keep me up nights. If you are a woman who has ever been in a bad relationship or dated a "damaged" person when you are "damaged" as well, I think this one will speak to you. It is creeping me out so far. The writing is also good.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Wish she had written more like this one. Her writing is like music, it has a rhythm.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUTHOR Carr, Robyn
TITLE Mind Tryst
DATE READ 01/10/21
RATING 4.5/B+
FIRST SENTENCE The truth matters. To my mind the first symptom of evil or derangement exists in the lie. How eveil, how deranged depends on the magnitude of the lies.
GENRE/ PUB DATE/FORMAT/LENGTH Thriller/1992/hardback/277 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE SA
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2020 Reading Goal 6/120
GROUP READ Reading Cove Buddy Read/Monica
TIME/PLACE 1990's/ Colorado
CHARACTERS Jackie Sheppard/lawyer
COMMENTS This book has been on my shelves for awhile and so glad it finally got the attention it deserves. What to say -- firstly how could the opening lines not grab you in light of current events! And like many readers know and enjoy the romance/women's fiction books of Robyn Carr. After reading this one, I wish she would write more in the psychological thriller genre. I found this very engaging and emotional. I loved the nostalgic feel of low-to-no tech aspect of this book and gave me that warm feeling of all the wonderful women mystery writers I read in the 80's and early 90's (Marcia Muller, Sue Dunlap, Sue Grafton to name but a few). As for the puzzle aspect … I did have my feelings and even if correct this did not deter me in enjoying this book.

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

He escuchado el audiolibro.

Lo que es el libro me ha gustado. Aunque para mí ha resultado ser un poco predecible, creo que la escritora es muy valiente tratando ciertos temas. Para los aficionados del género (y a la criminología), puede convertirse en un juego el ir pillando las pistas a lo largo de la lectura. No quiero escribir demasiado por si a alguien le fastidio la sorpresa del final. Lo dudo, pero bueno.

En mi opinión, sobraba las explicación que se intenta dar a la conducta del asesino. El psicoanálisis que se hace de él. Sigue una corriente que suele encontrarse bastante en la literatura y el cine con la que no termino nunca de estar de acuerdo. Pero en fin. Corramos un estúpido velo.

La narración ha sido un poco castaña. Muchas veces no sabía si el personaje estaba diciendo algo en voz alta o estábamos siguiendo su diálogo interno. Por eso, creo que la narradora no supo adaptar este libro al formato audiolibro. Sé que se puede hacer. Otros profesionales cambian el tono de voz ligeramente en los diálogos en contraste con todo lo demás. Esta narradora tenía un tono tan monótono todo el rato que, a veces, me sacaba de los nervios y, claro, se hacía difícil diferenciar ciertas partes.

[Suzanne Mack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robyn Carr? Really? It only began to feel like a Robyn Carr novel toward the end. The style of writing in the beginning of the book was very different. I have to say there was a part in the story that was suspenseful enough to cause difficulty while sleeping… thus, my rating. Then, at a certain point, you knew where it was going.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit predictable but still one of the better suspense thrillers I've read recently.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind Tryst
This is a story of a woman, Jackie who leaves the big city and makes her new home in a small town, Coleman in Colorado. She works at the local lawyers office as she has training in that field.
Upon returning one weekend from the city she realizes someone has been in her house and she alerts not only the police but others. She takes precautions against another invasion.
Jason Valian, the handyman she had also asked her friend in the big city to check out and she confronts him as to why he had changed his name upon relocating to CO. He had prison time...
There are others she discards as being the intruder but she doesn't know them well but they are helpful around the property.
Jason also is a self taught carpenter. Love how her best friend who's married her ex husband has sent him to help her out-he's also a cop.
Brutal and so deceiving as they all learn new clues as to who is doing the killings...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

borrowed this book from denise. it was good, one of the few i guessed who did it! it was the carpenter who really was teh killer who escaped. the real dr was in another state. the lady is a lawyer with a x husband who she is friends with and his new wife who is her friend. the son they shared died in a bike vs car accident. she moved to a small town to start over and found this carpenter guy who was evil. he got caught, escaped and she almost killed him, but he was ok and in prision when the book finished.

[Lois Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind Tryst

Having only read Robin's romance series previously, this book Mind Tryst was not what I expected. It was an interesting and great read. Tom's character was well developed and his true character was as well. The relationship with Jackie was a good play on a woman who was dealing with crisis in her life and the need for a change and her inquisitive nature. Very interesting development with her ex and his family. Fully enjoyed this read.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this book at the beginning and then I feel like the author just lost what she had going. The story became very preditable and became repetitive. The main character, who I felt started off brave, became weak and annoying. I read the book until the end but I almost gave up on it, and that doesn't happen often to me. Especially with mysteries.

[carol hjerpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this one down!

Couldn't put this one down!

Robin Carr really knows how to connect the reader with her characters. But this story was unlike any she's written recently. Really good read that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read quite a few Robyn Carr books over the years and find her to be a consistently good author of contemporary romance. As often happens I discovered her in an Christmas romance anthology and liked her writing so much that I sought out more of her books and then shared them with my mom. We have enjoyed many of her romances and I'm always happy to return to her books when I am in the mood for a well-written story.

What I didn't know was that Ms. Carr had written a suspense novel, Mind Tryst, released in 1992. I don't remember buying this book, but it showed up in my Audible library so I must have done so. I have been trying to catch up on my older Audible purchases so I grabbed this one as a quick stand-alone while I decide on what I want to listen to next.

It was challenging at first, mostly because I never looked at the book's summary before listening to it, so I was expecting a romance and not a psychological thriller. I kept thinking, I don't like these people very much and this isn't very romantic. I especially disliked Tom and thought poor Jackie's background was awfully depressing for a romance, too. Finally, I looked at the summary and got on board with the genre. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good thriller or suspense novel, the problem was, this wasn't a good one.

The book was slow to build and then topped out and dropped down into a long slide. I checked and the book was barely halfway through. It kind of muddled around for quite a long time without any contact between Jackie and Tom. There are endless pages of investigation but no real mystery. There is only one suspect for the villain in this book and he's not very engaging or excessively scary.

Things finally come to a close, but the pacing was bizarre and the ending came on with a long-drawn-out sigh rather than a bang. I got the impression the author was as bored with the story as I was and couldn't figure out how to end it. It just kept rolling on and on and on without any momentum. I remember when I was a college student I was waiting for a drive in movie to open so I was killing time. I pulled onto a deserted street and pointed my car down the road and took my foot off the gas. I wanted to see how long it would take for the car to come to a stop. Turns out, it doesn't. Unless you aim it uphill or put on the brake, the car gets just enough gas to keep it creeping forward. That's how this book felt. It just wouldn't die.

I don't like writing tough reviews for authors I admire, but this isn't a good book. It's barely a mediocre book. I wouldn't recommend it and I gave it three generous stars.

[Lisbeth Zabihi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeg er ret så begejstret for Robyn Carrs kærlighedsromaner. Jeg mener, alle kan vel lide serien om Virgin River? Mere romantisk kan det da næsten ikke blive. Så jeg var sunket godt ned i stolen, med kaffen lige ved hånden og klar til en sød og romantisk fortælling. Men hold da op - det var ikke lige det jeg fik.

Mind Tryst er en psykologisk spændingsroman og jeg indrømmer, at jeg som oftest går udenom netop denne genre. Jeg får for meget myrekryb, når jeg læser genren. Men nu havde jeg jo startet bogen, så den skulle naturligvis læses. Og det er jo en af mine favoritforfattere, og ovenikøbet oplæst af Therese Plummer (som er min favoritoplæser). Og nu hvor jeg er færdig med romanen, er jeg da glad for at jeg holdt ud. For romanen er virkelig god.

Historien handler om Jackie. En nytilflytter der arbejder som advokat og som er flygtet fra sin fortid. Hun har mistet et barn i et uheldigt trafikuheld og kan ikke bære at tale om ulykken og bryder sig ikke om at blive genstand for opmærksomhed. Så hun holder sin sorg for sig selv. Så dukker Tom op. En flot mand. Alle taler pænt om ham. Og han er dygtig til sit arbejde som handyman. Og Jackie lader ham komme tæt på sine følelser. Men der er noget, som ikke stemmer.......

Romanen starter roligt og jeg var tæt på at syntes at den var lidt små-kedelig. Men så tog tingene alligevel fart. Og det endte med at blive en uhyggelig og ret så spændende roman.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a mixed review. Robyn Carr’s super talent is character development. And she doesn’t disappoint in this thriller. However, the MC, Jackie, is confusing. Sometimes she’s smart and sometimes she’s just plain stupid, and that doesn’t fit in with Carr’s usual solid character development. I realize that the MC’s stupid moments actually move the plot along and divulge character flaws in the villain, but her MC’s inconsistency took away from the storyline. All other characters were true. While there were definitely thrilling moments in the story where I was actually yelling at the MC to quit being stupid, I guessed the plot twist very early on in the story. She had good thrilling details, and scary plot points, but divulged her plot twist by giving too much information throughout the story. I think Ms. Carr could really write a scary thriller. But the difference between romance and thriller is the amount of information divulged. In romance, we want ALL the info. In a thriller, we need a little room to try and guess what’s going on and how the plot is going to be played out. Also, I always give a foul language warning, so here it is.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This book had me on edge from the very beginning, when Tom is introduced he makes my skin crawl. Even though I thought I had the whole thing pretty well figured out about half way through it still kept me interested as there were many questions I couldn't just figure out the answer to. Despite my anticipation of what would come I still about jumped out of my skin a couple times.

There were times in the book where I got a little frustrated as I was getting all this day to day life stuff and I just wanted to know if I was right and find out how it ended. These moments weren't for nothing though, it helped make the story what it was and build on the characters. I really loved the way it all ended, it wasn't clean and tidy and still left me feeling like I was on the edge of my seat.

[Claire A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tough book to review as it was a tough audiobook to listen to. It’s one of those stories that will take time to absorb & process. It started slow but hooked me quickly, weaving a weird twisted web as it went. I was off balance throughout, alternately sure I’d figured it out then convinced I was wrong. This mirrored the constantly shifting landscape for the heroine. Creepy, brilliant, scary & disturbing kept showing up & skittering away making it impossible to get a grip on everything going on. It ended without really ending, leaving me to wonder how & when it will really end. Whether it will ever end. This was not a dissatisfying conclusion to the story however. All necessary questions were answered. But it lingers.

[Vickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an odd read! While I am not so much into psychological thrillers, I must confess that this one did not keep me awake at night. Perhaps it's having a retired Marine living in the house. Quick run down on the plot:

Jackie is a former LA attorney, divorced, and looking for a small community to move to after the death of her 11-year-old son. So, Coleman, CO it is. She meets Tom Wahl, a local carpenter who comes into her life and helps her with small projects around the house. Then, weird things occur around her house: items out of place, outline of someone who had lay down on her bed, etc. Tom is a weird character; many of the secondary characters are odd. Again, this was more of an odd read and less of a psychological thriller!

Go Cards! L1C4!!

[Elizabeth Greer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being familiar with her romance series, I was intrigued to come across a thriller by Robyn Carr which received such high ratings. It wasn't until finished that I learned it was published in 1993. Other than a reference to "new things- cell phones" (I took to be sarcasm!) this book was timeless and the plot stands the test of time. I enjoyed the character development. I wish half stars were possible. This is a 3.5 star read for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it but could also put it down for long periods of time without being drawn to complete it. The ending felt rushed.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

First Robyn Carr book. I've said before, one gets spoiled by certain favorite writers, and that may color my so-so take on this author. Writing is crisp and clean--characters easy to picture--the story is ok. We know half way through what/who the problem is, but have what becomes a weary trek with "Jackie" to pull her research together and prove her intuition and ability to read a personality is right. ..The audio reader is decent, and frankly saves the story for me. Ms Carr has plenty of fans and doesn't need kudos from me, but I can't give a better rating than 2 stars.

[Brooke Ison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Robyn Carr!!!! I have read and re-read her books like the Virgin River series, the Sullivan's Crossing series, etc....

However....this was a disappointment for sure. I guess there's a reason why she has only written this one suspense/thriller. I had a hard time with the way she made the blue-collar workers seem uneducated with the type of language they used. This book was cringe for me, and I'm glad I read most of her other work before this one, or I might not have picked up another book by her.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warning - if any of things below bother you don’t read.
•••This book was written in 1992/1993 - stated at the end of the audiobook. This helped make sense of why certain things played out as they did.(see google- this is her only psychological suspense book).

Graphic sex scene, to the point of forced
Psychological mind games by the main male character

I gave it 4 stars for strong characters, suspense worthy plot, and creepy ending that reminds you of silence of the lambs.

[Rahat Mall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed reading this Novel! It kept me hooked throughout! The author so beautifully describes the Protagonists pain of dealing with such a loss, her depression and how she tries to cope with it. Although she’s been through such Heartache, the protagonists Mental strength, Trust in her intuition and level headedness despite having vulnerabilities is what was the high point for me.

[Anita Rheinhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the normal kind of story I am used to reading from Robyn. I love it though. It makes you stop and think. You don't know whether he is a good guy or bad. You start to think he is a real creep, then you think it is just because of the past. What a twist at the end. I love this. Have read a lot of Robyns books and this one, I definitely didn't want to put down.

[Mary Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Mind Tryst" started out like a bad Hallmark romance - a woman loses her son and moves to a small town to pick up the pieces, where she meets a rugged handyman. Yawn. It soon took a bit of a creepy turn, which was intriguing enough to keep me going. But, alas, eventually it became unnecessarily prurient, and worse - predictable.