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Mind Games
Some monsters wear suits. Some carry briefcases. And some sit across from you in a sterile interview room, answering your questions with a smile that never quite reaches their eyes.
Mind Games is the first installment in Kathryn Slaught's Dark Heroes duet - a psychologically charged dark romance that blurs the line between predator and prey, obsession and devotion, justice and madness. This is not a book that lets you keep a safe distance. It pulls you in, studies you, and refuses to let go.
Dr. Aera McCai has built her career on understanding the criminal mind. As a forensic psychologist, she evaluates convicted criminals and determines whether they're fit to return to society. She is methodical, composed, and brilliant - someone who has sat across from murderers and manipulators and never once flinched. By every professional measure, she is someone who cannot be fooled.
She has no idea she's already being watched.
Dominik Hale is charming, intelligent, meticulous, and deeply, dangerously obsessed. When his file lands on Aera's desk, she approaches him the way she approaches every case - clinically, carefully, professionally. What she doesn't realize is that Dominik has already been studying her for weeks, learning every detail of the woman he has decided belongs to him.
What unfolds between them is a slow-burn psychological chess match where neither player is entirely sure who is winning. Aera is sharp enough to sense that something is wrong. Dominik is skilled enough to make sure she can never quite prove it. And somewhere in the space between their sessions, something neither of them planned begins to take root.
Dark, consuming, and relentlessly tense, Mind Games weaponizes psychology not just as a plot device but as an experience - manipulating the reader with the same precision its villain uses on his prey.
This is not a book for the faint of heart. It is, however, a book that is almost impossible to put down.
Mind Games is the first installment in Kathryn Slaught's Dark Heroes duet - a psychologically charged dark romance that blurs the line between predator and prey, obsession and devotion, justice and madness. This is not a book that lets you keep a safe distance. It pulls you in, studies you, and refuses to let go.
Dr. Aera McCai has built her career on understanding the criminal mind. As a forensic psychologist, she evaluates convicted criminals and determines whether they're fit to return to society. She is methodical, composed, and brilliant - someone who has sat across from murderers and manipulators and never once flinched. By every professional measure, she is someone who cannot be fooled.
She has no idea she's already being watched.
Dominik Hale is charming, intelligent, meticulous, and deeply, dangerously obsessed. When his file lands on Aera's desk, she approaches him the way she approaches every case - clinically, carefully, professionally. What she doesn't realize is that Dominik has already been studying her for weeks, learning every detail of the woman he has decided belongs to him.
What unfolds between them is a slow-burn psychological chess match where neither player is entirely sure who is winning. Aera is sharp enough to sense that something is wrong. Dominik is skilled enough to make sure she can never quite prove it. And somewhere in the space between their sessions, something neither of them planned begins to take root.
Dark, consuming, and relentlessly tense, Mind Games weaponizes psychology not just as a plot device but as an experience - manipulating the reader with the same precision its villain uses on his prey.
This is not a book for the faint of heart. It is, however, a book that is almost impossible to put down.
545 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Mind Games is one hell of a psychological dark romance that continually draws your attention. I can’t even tell you the amount of times I about yelled “FUCK THE SLOW BURN AND FUCK HIM ALREADY!”
If you’re like me and you LOVE to self torture yourself with a SLOW BURN that grabs you by the throat and call you his Little Lion! Then this man is for you.
If you start reading good luck cause you’ll need it. But if a specific character screams ‘come here!’ to you follow that voice. Don’t fight it, just follow that voice!
NOW TOO GOD!!
WHY THE FUCK DID YOU TORTURE US ALL WITH THE LONGES SLOW BURN!!!!!? I SWEAR IF THE NEXT BOOK HAS ANY SLOW-BURN IN IT IM GONNA BE COMING FOR U!
With lots of love,
A loyal LITTLE VIPER!
If you’re like me and you LOVE to self torture yourself with a SLOW BURN that grabs you by the throat and call you his Little Lion! Then this man is for you.
If you start reading good luck cause you’ll need it. But if a specific character screams ‘come here!’ to you follow that voice. Don’t fight it, just follow that voice!
NOW TOO GOD!!
WHY THE FUCK DID YOU TORTURE US ALL WITH THE LONGES SLOW BURN!!!!!? I SWEAR IF THE NEXT BOOK HAS ANY SLOW-BURN IN IT IM GONNA BE COMING FOR U!
With lots of love,
A loyal LITTLE VIPER!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Mind Games is a gripping psychological dark romance that balances obsession, power, and emotional vulnerability with remarkable precision. Dominik Hale is a chillingly compelling anti-hero - calculating, dangerous, and impossible to look away from. Watching Aera challenge his control and awaken something human in him creates a relationship that is intense, intimate, and deeply addictive. The tension is relentless, the mind games are brilliant, and the emotional payoff is unforgettable.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews