Keeper

Mindjack: Kira #7

by Susan Kaye Quinn

He’s responsible for her boyfriend’s shattered mind…
Kira’s boyfriend has holes in his mind where she used to be—and FBI Agent Kestrel is squarely to blame. She’s determined to break into Kestrel's secret prison and take him out, but Julian Navarro—Jacker Freedom Alliance leader and guy in charge—thinks she's too valuable to risk in the operation. No matter how she feels about Julian and how he’s inspiring more jackers by the day, Kira’s certain of one thing—he’d better not try to stop her from bringing Kestrel the justice he deserves.

The Keeper is a missing-moment story that takes place between Closed Hearts and Free Souls.

MINDJACK: KIRA
Open Minds (Mindjack: Kira Book One)
Closed Hearts (Mindjack: Kira Book Two)
Free Souls (Mindjack: Kira Book Three)

MINDJACK: ZEPH
Locked Tight (Mindjack: Zeph Book One)
Cracked Open (Mindjack: Zeph Book Two)
Broken Wide (Mindjack: Zeph Book Three)

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Young Adult, Ebooks, Futuristic, Dystopia

40 pages, ebook

First published February 14, 2014

About the author

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Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and researched global warming, but now she uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Her works range from hopeful climate fiction to gritty cyberpunk. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.

SOLARPUNK
collections
Bright Green Futures: 2024 (edited by SKQ)
Halfway to Better

novels
Nothing is Promised series
When You Had Power
You Knew The Price
Of Kindness and Kilowatts
Yet You Cry When It Hurts

short stories
A Moon Goddess to Watch Over Me (Luna Station Quarterly) (hopepunk)
It's in the Blood (Reckoning 8)
Once and Future Kilowatts (Solarpunk Magazine)
Rewilding Indiana (Little Blue Marble)
Seven Sisters (Grist)
The Joy Fund (DreamForge Magazine)

SCI-FI
Singularity Novel Series
The Legacy Human
The Duality Bridge
The Illusory Prophet
The Last Mystic

Stories of Singularity
Restore
Containment
Augment
Awakening
Harvest
Defiance
Resistance

YA SF
Mindjack Series
Open Minds
Closed Hearts
Free Souls
Locked Tight
Cracked Open
Broken Wide
Mindjack Short Story Collection

WATCH the award-winning live-action Mindjack Book Trailer!

STEAMPUNK ROMANCE
Royals of Dharia
Third Daughter
Second Daughter
First Daughter

CYBERPUNK
Debt Collector
LIRIUM (Season One)
WRAITH (Season Two)

WATCH the Debt Collector Book Trailer

ANTHOLOGIES
Synchronic
Telepath Chronicles
AI Chronicles
Dark Beyond The Stars
Future Chronicles
Cyborg Chronicles
CLONES: The Anthology

MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY
Faery Swap

WATCH the Faery Swap Book Trailer

CONTACT SUSAN
Susan's Website | Sue on Bluesky | Sue on Mastodon
Susan's Email: sue@twistedspacepub.com

Reviews

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

"make no mistake: we are a threat."

ha! I love reading Kira and Julian again. And Sasha. it was great to read more stories of them.

[Eccentric Editions · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story between Closed Hearts and Free Soul. It is from Kira's point of view. The four months that is mentioned in Free Souls of Kira joining JFA. This is when Kira finds new ability about fast running. Lol it was on accident that was funny.

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love each one

I have lived learning the bank stories, to go with the series of these magnificent characters. Can't wait to start the new series.

[rosana · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have recieved a copy of the keeper novella in return for an honest review.
the first thing that pops into my mind whenever someone asks of this stroy is that I COMPLETELY LOVED IT!!!!!1
the thing about short novella is that they usuaLly do not fully satisfy the readers expectation after them reading the books.WELL NOT THIS ONE!! this short story is a thrilling and exciting read. it's occurence is between the 2nd the 3rd mindjack bookS. on one hand it handles the JFA's preparation to bring down kestrel and his facilities,kira's kombat training and strategic plans.. on the other hand it gives us a peek about the beautiful love story that was kind of implied to in the second book and clearly elaborated between Julien, the dashing,bright,revolutionary and Kira the broken hearted little girl who tries to escape her agony after loosing Raf, by endulging herself in gun training and the determinaion to bring kestrel down.... Through the entire novella we see julien and kira fighting over julien's need to protect her from unnescessary danger(especially since she has no consideration for her safety whatso over -totally understable btw).on the other hand, kira has her mind set on going on this extremely dangerous and important mission to neutralize kestrel and she goes all the way to showing to Julien that she's ready -Well maybe a bit out of her way that it nearly Killed her.. I loved this story as much as i loved the other mindjack books and i am looking forward to reading more and more of every letter suzan kaye quinn writes, because between all the books I've read i can honestly say that nothing has set my mind racing more that the mindjack triology and its novella's..0

[Veronica of V's Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I love the Mindjack Trilogy. I read it in its infancy and looked forward to each new book.

Now, we get a little peek into the space between the books. In KEEPER, a novella, we get the origins of Kira's extraordinary speed and strength--reactions she is able to trigger by "jacking" or manipulating her own brain.

Kira was able to "jack" herself to some extent in Open Minds and Closed Hearts, but for Free Souls she has the unique skill to trigger adrenaline release in her body enabling her to travel at superhuman speeds and act with superhuman strength. It's a valuable skill to have.

Also, we get to see Julian, leader of the Jacker Freedom Alliance, up close and personal. It's clear that Kira struggles with her attraction to Julian--not sure if it's real or a memeory remnant from the time he jacked her mind. Well, I'm sure it's real; no man is so possessive of a woman without having some emotional bond to her.

In KEEPER, Kira's obsessed with being on the strike force for the next JFA mission: attacking Kestrel's stronghold and rescuing trapped jackers from experiments and torture. Julian won't let her go knowing that Kira's secondary objective is to kill Kestrel--and it's clear Julian doesn't want Kira in harm's way. So, Kira develops her new talent in secret, hoping to make herself invaluable as a strike force member.

It doesn't all go down so well, but maybe Julian will learn to relax.... Yeah. Right.

KEEPER's a quick read and a little bite of Mindjack goodness for fans everywhere. Novellas are great for an at-lunch/pre-bed read, and this one will not disappoint.

[Sandy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars


KEEPER is the latest novella from Susan Kaye Quinn focusing on the urban fantasy world of the Mindjack Series. In a futuristic world where global pollution has left much of the population with psychic abilities and abnormalities, the ‘Jackers’ have revealed themselves to the world and opened up to a potential war.

The storyline premise follows Kira Moore, a powerful Jacker whose skills and abilities are growing. Hoping to be included in the next mission, Kira sets into motion a series of training sessions where she experiments with her ever increasing powers. Julian remains determined to keep Kira out of harm’s way but finds it difficult when Kira points out that she has certain abilities that no one else has.

KEEPER is a short novella that looks at Kira and Julian’s mindset following their recent encounter with Kestral and Kira’s ex boyfriend. Kira is determined to prove she is able to hold her own in the coming war and Julian is certain that Kira will be the principle target in the upcoming battle.

Susan Kaye Quinn pulls the reader into a world of have and have nots: betrayal and trust; discrimination and fear. If you know someone could read your mind or erase your memory, what would you do?

Copy supplied by the author.


www.thereadingcafe.com

[Peter DeHaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Mindjack Trilogy Box Set

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, I love being back in Kira's head. It was nice to get another glimpse of her, especially since I know that the last book in the trilogy is all I have waiting for me to complete.

This short story delves into Kira's ability to manipulate her own mind and get some insane speed bursts. She also hints at the fact that she might be able to do this for others if needed (and if she had enough practice). She ultimately uses this as an attempt to get on the mission to kill Kestrel. In typically Kira style, though, everything goes horribly wrong, scaring Julian to death in the process. We also get to watch Kira and Julian try to figure out their relationship. They are friends, but it is clear that Julian wants to be more than that (I think).

This was a very short read, but gave me a happy little glimpse into this world I love so much.

[Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I just finished the 3 main books in this series, i decided to read the novella's as well. I thought it was nessecary to read Free Souls before this one, but Keeper actually takes place between Closed Hearts and Free Souls. It's a nice addition to the series and I liked seeing how Kira found out about her new power. In Free Souls it isn't explained when she learned it, so it was nice to actualy find out more about that. Beside that there are some hints to the character development in Free Souls and actually I liked the surprise, but if you read Keeper first it's much more obvious where things are heading.

To conclude: Keeper is a nice short addition to the Mindjakc series. I would recommend this short story for fans of this series. It gives some extra background and depth to Kira and her new powers.

[Carol-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another episode in the Mindjack series. Some of the events are really frightening to think of. What if someone could make you do something against your will with only the power of their mind, much less some of the other Jacker skills that are covered in the series. It is almost, but not quite outside the realms of possibility. Is this a trait humans bp will one day develop? Maybe, maybe not. That in itself us frightening. Well paced novels, lots of thrills and spills, decrepit and friendships, hope and anger, to mention just a few. Take the time to read the trilogy. It is certainly going to set your mind racing.i

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really can't get enough of this series.

Susan Kaye Quinn has created a truly fascinating world and this story is a great continuation of it.

This can be read as a standalone or as part of the series. The story includes enough detail that someone could go into it without having any background knowledge of the Mindjack universe.

Good story. I like the continued development of Kira's character. Very good read.

[Concetta Phillipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pleasant read, though I wish I had read it during the series. Having it afterward helped explain Kira's actions in book 3, so that we know more about where she gets this particular power. Fun story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kira's story...novella