A Prison Of The Mind: A crime mystery novella from London

Valentine Investigations #2.5

by Joe Talon

When the police offer you a deal to escape prison, you take it. Right?

Dale Valentine, understands the system, he once wore the uniform, carried the warrant card.

Now, he’s just a tool for the police as they hunt the worst criminal gang that London has seen in a long time. It’s Dale’s job to infiltrate, manipulate, and report back to his handler, Lauren Kennedy.

Only this job might just end up with him dead, and sixteen girls sold into slavery if he can’t figure out how to save them.

Impossible odds become normal as Dale earns his freedom and the future he craves away from the dark streets of London.

This is a novella that takes place before the first novel, For Whom The Willow Weeps. It takes place in London, the novels are set in Somerset, UK. Check out Joe Talon's 5* Amazon best-selling series!

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"I’ve just finished this book... it was absolutely riveting! The story was so gripping I couldn’t stop reading!" - from C Thompson

"If you enjoy detective stories with characters who are eternally flawed but whose actions are based on principled belief, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of this book and settle in for a very rewarding reading experience." - from D Taylor

"This is an intense, immersing read complete with a variety of crimes, characters and story lines. It was hard to put down once started and the pace kept the pages turning." - from M Pds

103 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2023

Reviews

[Jjean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well written story of an x cop - good characters - easy to follow - interesting to the end

[David Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Prison of the Mind introduces Dale Valentine, a very unlikely hero – a disgraced Detective Inspector in prison for being on the take gets the offer of a lifetime. Along with Dale, this story introduces Detective Sargent Kennedy and Ringo, Dale’s closest friend from his childhood. While A Prison of the Mind is a novella, it does an excellent job of delving into Dale’s motivations and capabilities, as well as getting into the operations of a human smuggling ring. While I would have liked a different ending, after reading For Whom the Willow Weeps, I understand why this story ended the way it did and now believe the ending is appropriate for Dale’s story. I received this book as a free offering from the author through StoryOrigin and chose to provide this review.

[Texas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Prison of the Mind, Novella - This quicky read introduction to the Valentine Investigations series is better than I expected. Interesting story lines and characters held my interest until the end. Easy on the vulgar language considering the crime genre. While not a cliffhanger, this continues in For Whom The Willow Weeps. 4*

For Whom The Willow Weeps, #1 - This story picks up three years after A Prison of the Mind ends. Life has changed in many ways for Valentine. This is an intense, immersing read complete with a variety of crimes, characters and story lines. It was hard to put down once started and the pace kept the pages turning. Source: StoryOrigin. 5*

[L.a.l · Rating 5 out of 5]

It started out confusing, but ended unbelievable.
How does a disgraced former copper make good instead of remain in prison where he will probably be killed?
This novella makes a great prologue to what will be another one of Joe's fantastic series.
From human trafficing to deceit everything is there.
I loved how the main character is always doubting himself and even at the end is not sure he did right.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Prison of The Mind is the introduction to the Dale Valentine character. A disgraced police officer and newly released felon, Dale Valentine is trying to earn his freedom by going undercover in an Albanian crime family. I love the characters and the storyline in this well-written book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this prequel, seems like a great start to Dale's story. Also I'm glad that the author didn't feel it necessary to pepper his work with cursing like so many current authors in this genre. My only complaint is that Dale's infiltration happened a little too quickly otherwise I'm looking forward to this series.

[MGB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dale is caught between a rock and a hard place -it's his fault and he knows it. No way does he want to spend more time in prison, but his option to get out is really difficult. He doesn't know if he can survive any longer in prison - cops are always targets, but an inside informant in the most dangerous gang?

This crime mystery will truly have you on the edge of your seat.

[karin whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this novel/short story on another authors promo. This is my review. Dale Valentine ex-cop is undercover inside prison to hunt down the gang members inside of a human traffic sting. Not the most ideal place to be when you're a cop even an ex one. A fast paced, good characters, and a plausible story-line. A quick, tense read.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to a new series of books by one of my very favorite authors! A peek inside a bit of what makes Dale Valentine interesting, and flawed and who some of the other players are in the upcoming stories. I hope to see many more adventures from DV.

[Iler Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dale will always get his gangs. He knows how they think and operate how they do things. I'm team Dale 100. Investigation mind wants the truth. My suspects list is ready to go. I will be adding this to my book collection of favorites. Iler

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good science fiction has a twist. Take a concept and explore it . take a scientific concept, xenobiology, add slavers, bit of backstabbing, and make it extragalactic. I have no idea where this is going. Was it fun? Yes. Intriguing, yup. As far as xenobiology, the sky's the limit. Short too.

[Thompson615 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning.

This novella is the story of how Dale was released from prison. It was excellent! Gripped me from page one and wouldn’t let go. I couldn’t put this book down! I can’t wait for the next Dale Valentine book!

[Cheryl(In Mourning) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 🌟 read rounded ⬆️ to 4 🌟.

[Norman Hirschman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dale Valentine made a deal to get out of prison. All he has to do is go undercover and try to an Albanian criminal gang exposed. A dangerous mission. Will he able to do it? Well worth reading.

[Constance M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's an OK story, and introduction to the characters (likely)