Inside His Mind

by Kate Bold

“This is an excellent book… When you start reading, be sure you don’t have to wake up early!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dr. Lucy Crimson, criminal psychology professor, former BAU agent, has unmatched brilliance and expertise into the mind of serial killers, and is the one person the FBI turns to when they need help. But when a new killer targets her, matching her brilliance, the race is on to solve the cryptic clues before she may end up as the next victim….

When Lucy’s brightest student uncovers a pivotal clue in a cold case, the line between classroom and crime scene blurs dangerously, and only Lucy can follow the trail. Can Lucy outsmart a cunning killer who has already made his next move? Or will her lecture on criminal minds become a real-life lesson in survival?

INSIDE HIS MIND is BOOK #1 in a new series by #1 bestselling mystery and suspense author Kate Bold, whose bestseller NOT ME (a free download) has received over 3,00 five star ratings and reviews.

The LUCY CRIMSON series is a heart-pounding page turner, packed with action, suspense and mystery that will compel you late into the night as you try to unravel the clues. Fans of Kendra Elliot, Teresa Driscoll, and Lee Child are sure to fall in love.

Future books in the series are also available!

“This book moved very fast and every page was exciting. Plenty of dialogue, you absolutely love the characters, and you were rooting for the good guy throughout the whole story… I look forward to reading the next in the series.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Kate did an amazing job on this book and I was hooked from the first chapter!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“I really enjoyed this book. The characters were authentic, and I see the bad guys as something we hear about daily on the news... Looking forward to book 2.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“This was a really good book. The main characters were real, flawed and human. The story went along quickly and wasn't mired in too many unnecessary details. I really enjoyed it.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Alexa Chase is headstrong, impatient, but most of all brave with a capital B. She never, repeat never, backs down until the bad guys are put where they belong. Clearly five stars!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Captivating and riveting serial murder with a twist of the macabre… Very well done.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“WOW what a great read! Talk about a diabolical killer! Really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading others by this author as well.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Page turner for sure. Great characters and relationships. I got into the middle of this story and couldn’t put it down. Looking forward to more from Kate Bold.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Hard to put down. It has an excellent plot and has the right amount of suspense. I really enjoyed this book.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Audiobook, Fiction, Ebooks

150 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2025

About the author

Bestselling author Kate Bold is author of the ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); of the ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); of the CAMILLE GRACE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising eight books (and counting); of the HARLEY COLE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising ten books (and counting); of the KAYLIE BROOKS SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and of the EVE HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting). Kate loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.kateboldauthor.com to join the mailing list, receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.

BOOKS BY KATE BOLD

EVE HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER

IN HIS BLOOD (Book #1)

IN HIS SIGHTS (Book #2)

IN HIS REACH (Book #3)

IN HIS MIND (Book #4)

IN HIS WAY (Book #5)

(and counting)

KAYLIE BROOKS SUSPENSE THRILLER

LAST BREATH (Book #1)

LAST CHANCE (Book #2)

LAST WISH (Book #3)

LAST SHOT (Book #4)

LAST MISTAKE (Book #5)

(and counting)

HARLEY COLE SUSPENSE THRILLER

NOWHERE SAFE (Book #1)

NOWHERE LEFT (Book #2)

NOWHERE TO RUN (Book #3)

NOWHERE LIKE THIS (Book #4)

NOWHERE GIRL (Book #5)

NOWHERE TO HIDE (Book #6)

NOWHERE CERTAIN (Book #7)

NOWHERE PURE (Book #8)

NOWHERE SOUND (Book #9)

NOWHERE SANE (Book #10)

(and counting)

CAMILLE GRACE SUSPENSE THRILLER

NOT ME (Book #1)

NOT NOW (Book #2)

NOT WELL (Book #3)

NOT HER (Book #4)

NOT NORMAL (Book #5)

NOT AGAIN (Book #6)

NOT SAFE (Book #7)

NOT TODAY (Book #8)

(and counting)

ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER

THE KILLING GAME (Book #1)

THE KILLING TIDE (Book #2)

THE KILLING HOUR (Book #3)

THE KILLING POINT (Book #4)

THE KILLING FOG (Book #5)

THE KILLING PLACE (Book #6)

(and counting)

ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER

LET ME GO (Book #1)

LET ME OUT (Book #2)

LET ME LIVE (Book #3)

LET ME BREATHE (Book #4)

LET ME FORGET (Book #5)

LET ME ESCAPE (Book #6)

(and counting)

Reviews

[iain (im a adult that reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Bold has delivered again for me.. a great suspense thriller.. this one is about a criminal psychologist ex BAU, now teaches..
She passes on a cold case to a pupil who is top of her class as an assignment..
The pupil finds a link to the 3 cases of the murder of women that were strangled to death in there living quarters.. each woman has gone through Domestic violence .
The clever student wants to solve this case.. but is it getting her too close to the murderer???
Lucy the tutor is worried about Madison and with the help of FBI agent Sam Spears they both go in search of Madison and all get closer to the serial killer..
Can they catch the killer before the killer catches them!!
My views

[Antigone Walsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateur Hour

I am mixed on this book. It has a satisfying villain but the premise is ridiculous. A college professor gives her presumably gifted student a real cold case to review to see if she can find anything the cops missed. Of course she locates a rather obvious connection. The professor sees a link to support groups and refers it to the super hot FBI agent. He is a potential love interest and a way to aggravate the professor's skeevy ex husband. The student is assured she will receive "credit" for her help. Not college credit but acclaim. Of course the student who has no police experience decides to solve the case by conducting her own clumsy investigation. This involves swiping files, disobeying her teacher's directives and ultimately leading her unwittingly to the lair of the killer. All for "credit". Obviously she has no understanding of government, law enforcement and politics. They don't appreciate bring shown up and humiliated publicly. This was preposterous and compromised the enjoyment of the story. Otherwise the book isn't bad.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

This audiobook was a fun quick listen, that served that purpose. Overall the book was formulaic and predictable which seems to be the trend on these kinds of mysteries. But as I said it served it's purpose and is great if you want something smaller and digestible.

[Sharon Leff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series Starter Sizzles and ssssss….

Okay, a series starter must have a series star, someone readers connect with or are impressed by…someone, flawed or vulnerable, but capable and unique. And as much as I want to admire a criminology professor instructing a small group of elite students, the distraction of her petty internal conversations and rants about her divorcee, ex-husband, a professor in her building, limit and misdirect any connection or admiration. Instead of seeming confident and capable as her students seem to perceive her, she seems low self-esteemed, distracted, and foolish investing too much thought into strategies to rattle her ex-husband.

She also seems careless with procedures and with her students. The cases seem off putting too because cases are presented from perspectives of those victims, who are encountered before and during murder. The plot construct or purpose seems misunderstood, misdirected, and ineffective.

If the relationship between Lucy and FBI agent was intended to show chemistry, it falls flat too. No sparks. Not an effective series starter.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inside His Mind is a fast-paced suspense thriller with a compelling lead in Lucy Crimson, who uses her criminal psychology expertise to track a killer who might just be as clever as she is. The tension is strong, and there are some gripping moments, especially when the clues pile up and the danger feels real.

However, it occasionally relies on familiar thriller tropes and the villain's cleverness edges into predictability. Some character relationships feel a bit underdeveloped, and the pacing, while brisk, sometimes jumps around. AIl in all, a solid read if you like psychological crime stories, though it doesn't quite break new ground.

[Alexis (Unpopular Opinions) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5⭐️. I debated bumping it up to a three, but I felt I was moreso frustrated by the premise than entertained. I will be checking out the second book in the series (mostly because I already own it) in the hopes that what infuriated me in this book won't be an issue.

As a series starter this one had some growing pains. As for all series, we come in to Lucy's life after she has already lived it. And so we need to be introduced to her and given a background. This was done through clunky conversations with people who already had the information, so the conversations came off as random and only in service of exposition. For example, early on Lucy has a conversation with her father regarding the deaths of her mother and sister: how those deaths affected her, the course of her life, and her decision to pursue her career. But he was there for that. That was information he already had. If she had had the same conversation with Sam, the hunky FBI SA who she is getting to know in a professional (and maybe personal) manner, it would not only have served the purpose of giving the reader insight into her character, but also as a way for her and Sam to have a conversation where they learned more about each other. The same can be said for most of her interactions with her ex. With her ex, she comes off as a jealous try hard, and even though she has legitimate reasons for her anger and hurt, it comes off very grade school when she tears into him in front of the univerity building. All the moreso since he isn't bothered by it in the slightest and just tells her to basically get over it. With Sam she would be imparting information and her emotional state after the dissolution of her marriage. As it is, by the end of the book they have not had a single conversation that doesn't revolve around the case. So while they seem to be heading towards friendship and maybe more by the end of the book, I'm left feeling like all we know about Sam is that he is a hunky ex-SEAL FBI Agent, who may or may not be a good handyman.

The mystery was pretty generic, as was the profiling. Overall the cases were pretty straightforward and there were no real red herrings. The flashbacks to the crimes were interesting, but once one of the victims recognized their attacker, the killer's gender was pretty much confirmed by the author trying not to be specific. I thought that maybe these cases would end up connected to the very first case we hear about at the start of the book, since the MOs are similar, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Or at least it is never brought up. The idea that criminology students look over cold cases to have fresh eyes and maybe get new perspectives is interesting and I wish more had been done on that end.

Any issues mentioned above weren't really detrimental to reading the story and it would easily have been 3 stars for a fun time. But the Madison subplot, which basically became the main plot was so infuriating it completely tanked my enjoyment.

Needless to say Mild Spoilers Ahead


The fact that a student comes in with fresh eyes and finds something that seasoned detectives missed, I'm OK with. It could happen. Thinking outside the box, split focus, big picture... many factors could allow this to happen. Lucy singles out her top student Madison to study a specific set of cold cases and after a few days she comes back with a possible new lead. Lucy confirms it, praises Madison, tells her she will get credit (as in acclaim) and passes the case to Sam. Therein endeth their involvement. And then it all goes to shit. Lucy warns Madison that even with this new lead, the case might not be solved, to which Madison says she won't let that happen. Is she worried that there is still a killer out there? Does she want justice for the victims? Nope, it's all about ego. She wants to be sure to get the credit. And how better to get the credit than to find the killer herself! Was she warned off the case since she is in no way trained, has no jurisdiction and might end up making any evidence inadmissible (if not die)? Sure! But she knows better. So she goes AWOL and blunders around town trying to find clues. And super-profiler saw none of this coming. No red flags at all.

Lucy and Sam now are more worried about finding Madison than the killer. Sure they need to investigate the cases to get an idea on what Madison is doing, but mostly they are just following whatever she left behind in her room. Sam doesn't even seem to be bothered by the fact that she is interfering in an investigation and possibly screwing the pooch. And Lucy makes excuses for her the whole time. Not only that, but she makes some pretty bonehead moves too such as inserting herself in interviews when Sam specifically told her not to speak, antagonizing the suspects. Once again Sam seems cool with it. He's basically a doormat the entire book, with no real character.

At first I thought that Madison would tragically die when she found the killer (accidentally). But after all the excuses and justifications for Madison's actions made it seem like the author wanted us to root for her and see her as an enterprising badass girl boss, I thought surely they would arrest her for obstruction (if only to scare her) or maybe even kick her out of school/the program since she deliberately went against her professor's directives and the law!. But no. At one point, when Lucy and Sam are catching up to her, Madison thinks to herself that she knows she's not in trouble but if they catch her they end her investigation. Pardon my French, but how the fuck would she not be in trouble?!?!

In the end, even after she is caught, drugged and almost murdered by the killer, Lucy bends over backwards to tell her how proud she should be of all the work she did and assure her she will get the credit for the arrest. And once again that seems to be all Madison cares about. She is in the hospital, weak, hooked up to machines and barely able to stay conscious, but that's what she's worried about. Last we hear of her, Madison is fully recovered from her ordeal and basking in her newfound celebrity status. So no lessons were learned.

I don't know what Madison plans on doing with her degree, but if it is a career in law enforcement, she's not passing the psych eval.

[Cidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr Lucy Crimson is a criminal psychology professor and she is tutoring a group on cold cases and her star pupil Madison gets a case where 3 women have been strangled in two ways and each doesn't appear to have anything to do with each other. Aha this is where they are wrong, because Madison is a deep thinker and likes graphs and through those discovers that each of them was free from 7-9pm on Wednesday. Hang on it might have been Thursdays. No matter it was one day of the week anyway. She begins to cover a lot of ground in trying to track down where they were which would give her a clue as to who killed the 3 women. The only problem is that she is getting too close to the killer. Who is expecting her.

Dr Crimson meanwhile still has problems with her ex husband the obnoxious James Mitchell who is still preying on young girls and who is still in the same department as her, actually am not sure of that now and have already deleted the book from my kindle. No matter, a handsome FBI agent turns up called Sam Spears who has been to the university and spoken to the students and wonders if he would be able to do it again. I suspect from the look she's giving him I think he will. Then her prize student Madison is thrilled that she has made these connections between the 3 women and is now seriously tracking their killer down. Dr Crimson is fearful for her student, they weren't supposed to go looking for the killer just find what they think leads to the killer, then Madison disappears...

[Aja Cyran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been my first book I’ve gotten into that could keep my focus (ADHD) in a while. That being said, I personally am a sucker for any criminal psychology/ psychological thriller media and so this book scratched the itch I needed scratched. In saying this, some of the writing seemed a bit juvenile and I had found typos/misspellings, or simply incorrect words in place of the proper grammar/word that should’ve been used.

This aside, I would say overall that I enjoyed the characters in the story (though I feel they strained too far with echoing Madison’s immaturity level which tended to overshadow her wits). Overall I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to checking out the rest of the series. If you like psychological thrillers, this may be the book/series for you.

[Maryann Hornbaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’re going to love it.

I couldn’t put it down. A professor has a talented student who shows a hidden talent for profiling. When the FBI comes to her with a cold case that has them stumped, she gives it to this student to research. Little does she realize this student is going to find a lead and take it upon herself to follow through on it. The lead takes her on a dangerous path.

The characters were believable.. The storyline was coherent. And the flow of the story kept moving and kept me reading. The solution was unexpected yet somewhat believable. I think you love it.

[Deedra Dail-whitley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent series starter!! Lucy Crimson is definitely one of a kind & we'll on her way to becoming one of my favorite crime solvers!! The book has a great plot, interesting characters & it moves swiftly enough to keep you up late reading well past bedtime!! I flew through this book, it was so very good. It kept me interested & on the edge of my seat. I definitely recommend this book. It's a great series starter, I believe this series is going to be a fantastic one. There is some places where the editing is kind of rough. But it's still a fantastic read!!

[Kaylin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for an easy, short, but intriguing read, and Inside His Mind delivered. The story follows a criminology professor who passes on a cold case to a student, only to later find herself having to save that same student from the serial killer. The student was incredibly annoying, and I think the book would have worked just as well, if not better, as a more realistic investigative thriller without the student storyline altogether. However, I appreciated the pacing and I was entertained throughout.

[Avid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short murder mystery. Lucy, a professor, gives her smartest student, Madison, a cold case to work on. Madison goes way too far beyond the scope of what a student should do and begins to basically take on the role of a full-blown detective and is making the life of Sam, an FBI agent, very difficult.

It's not bad, but very unrealistic. If you can accept it's just a book and the author is allowed this leeway, then... go for it. 👍

📚📚📚

[Constance Norgaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inside His Mind (A Lucy Crimson Suspense Thriller Book One) Kate Bold

An intense Thriller with a student and her Professor tracking an old case that leads to interesting people to interview. The student takes off because you wants to be sure she gets credit for the cold case. An ex-husband gets in the way and she gets helps from a Detective. Some surprises occur but the profiler is good.

[SaturNalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy is a criminal psychology professor, she helps the authorities build profiles on murders. One of her students, Maddy, finds a lead in a cold case. Lucy involves Sam to help reopen the case. This was interesting and fast paced. Kept me engaged and I wanted to know who the killer was. I liked the step by step process, so there weren't leaps in logic or magical gut instincts that solved the case.

[Melissa O'rourke · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a miss for me. The plot was fundamentally ridiculous and unrealistic, which was my main annoyance. The characters were paper-thin; in fact, I was actively hoping one of the most annoying ones would get taken out just to shake things up. Thankfully, I got the audiobook for free—had I actually paid for this, I'd be demanding a refund.

[Bill Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

serial killer is caught

Exciting action. A student from the university gets in volved searching for clues. Her
Determined searching leads her to the killer. Tense moments and a rescue by her teacher and a policeman resolves the encounter.

[diannscollins]

Control

The book was entertaining to a point, but I was frustrated by the ego and stupidity of one character. She should have been punished, not glorified. Also the strength of the killer was not explained.

[Paula Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF after a few paragraphs of the first chapter, though I had read the prologue as well. All tell, no show. If there is any promise to the story or characters, I couldn’t get far enough to find it. Probably would have benefited from an editor.

[Josephine Pizzimenti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Bold does it again

Well written with good characters and great storyline. So good not to be too involved in the private lives of lead characters, concentrating on the actual story. Recommend

[Pete Ffrench · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is good and the main characters are well written but the idea of the obviously young immature girl finding new evidence then going on a self financed solo quest for the kudos of catching a killer does stretch the bounds of plausibility a bit.

[Charles E. Kochan Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent novel

This is a profiler professor, A bright student in her class and a series of cold cases. As the student goes out of her way to seek fame for solving case, she winds up in extreme danger. Can she be saved or will she be another victim? Enjoy.

[Joyce Anne Garbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ssssssooooooo Goooooood!

It takes a talented author to lead you through cold cases and allow you to think of various potential murderers. You think you figured out who the murderer is. And it is not!!!!
Really a great story. I could not put the book down. It was so good!

[Neil Carolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to be so brutal but the whole thing was so predictable to me and it was absolutely full of cliché and stereotypes. I will say the first half is good but it really let me down in a lot of different ways.

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

good enjoyable book

I enjoyed reading this book and will continue to read the next in the series. The only remark I have is that the Lutheran Church is used as the location but Lutheran's don't have priests nor do they have holy water at the front of the church.

[Christine Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this one while cleaning a house. it was the first book I've listened to all the way through because it was good. I liked this one. I was not expecting it to end the way it did. I like books that throw me 😜

[Melissa Pease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing

This book was very intriguing and kept you wanting to read more. I thought of so many different people who could have been the killer, but I was wrong until the end when it was given up.

[Marcie Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally don't listen to audiobooks, but omg this man knows how to get you into the audiobook. couldn't stop listening. Kate Bold did an amazing job writing this thriller. From the beginning to the end it's been amazing. it's a must listen or read. now I have to buy the actual paperback book.

[BLOOPY! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair story with a little intrigue. Deja vue on some parts. Maybe read a preview? The suspense was good but mostly predictable.
Caught a couple errors: Lucy called Lucky; Marcus Sullivan called Marcus Spears

[Heather Knarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in less than 24 hours. It was so good I couldn’t put it down.

[Mrs MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read will try next one in series