At First Thought

by Ken Pence

Robert Thales, an otherwise unremarkable cop in a mid-sized city, is developing an ability to read minds. This ability gets him promoted from a report writing car to a solo car in a high crime area. His work in the high crime area gets him noticed – not in a good way. Reading minds helps in his love life -- with reservations. The economy of the city teeters along everywhere except where illicit drug sales and adult businesses are concerned. Criminals can’t launder their illicit monies fast enough and the business leaders can’t get the loans they need. Financing the new convention center requires billions in municipal bonds and this need is the root of a political takeover. The formerly unremarkable cop is thrown into the middle of the scheme. Everyone is trying to get Thales out of the picture. How can he get the Feds to prosecute a case that nobody wants -- and do something in only one month? Injured, out-of-work, and hounded by hired guns; he may not live long enough to perfect his talent. The reader plunges into the mind of a young street cop who is faced with current and developing criminal conspiracies. The criminal leader becomes obsessed with removing this threat. Business leaders are drawn into a criminal web of murder and extortion through their quest for good investments. Reading minds may help in sexual encounters but its not living up to its potential anywhere else. Now he can find the girl of his dreams if he can keep her alive. A fun read.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2011

About the author

Ken R Pence, Ph.D. is a professor of engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is a retired captain from the Metro Nashville Police Department where he served 31 years (16 on SWAT) and has taught police and military in the US and Europe (England, Germany, France, and Northern Ireland) in confrontation management skills. He has researched sniper shot location for DARPA, acoustic sensors to protect African elephant herds and inexpensive magnetic levitation. He lives in Nashville with his wife and his large - drooling - black lab (Drools Verne).

ken.pence@vanderbilt.edu

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good!

[Ken Illingworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be mindful of what you think.

I binge read the LUX series and decided to consider reading his other books.
The hero is not the top of the class police officer but when he gets caught up in local politics everyone’s out to get him and some don’t want to talk.
Hope that there is more to come.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice stand-alone

Been following Ken Pence, and this stand alone book is up to his usual quality. It does have an ending that opens up a possibility for a series, but it is quite good as stand alone

[Donald Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most excellent read and possible the best on the topic of mind reading ever. I hope there is a follow on in progress.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story line of this book. I thought that it was well written and an interesting story. I read through this fairly quickly and highly enjoyed it.

[James P. Melton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not always a gift.

Interesting insight on what could happen to a person if they could read minds. It would not always be a gift.

[Steven Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun, fast read!

Loved the fast paced approach. Fun characters and plot. Mind reading as a skillset that turns an everyman into a hero. Highly recommended.