Mind Games

by William Deverell

Arthur Ellis award–winning William Deverell’s 2003 bestseller


In Mind Games, William Deverell returns to the intriguing territory of the law and lawyers and of human psychology and motivation, and he does so in familiar Deverell sur­ the streets, courtrooms, and waters of Vancouver.


Dr. Tim Dare is a forensic psychiatrist whose life is in a his wife has just left him to find herself; his mother is being sued for libel by a small-town mayor over a mystery novel; he’s been made the monitor of a man just out of psychiatric hospital, a man he considers a psychopathic murderer; he’s being hauled before a disciplinary committee for “misplacing” a file; one of his patients is “transferring” feelings to him rather too romantically; and now someone’s threatening to kill him. He can’t even get into an elevator without falling apart. No wonder he thinks he needs to see a shrink himself. Under the guidance of fellow psychiatrist Dr. Allison Epstein, Dare gradually learns how to face the demons within — and those in the real world that are really out to get him.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Psychological Thriller

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

William Deverell was born in 1937 in Regina, Saskatchewan. He put himself through law school by working as a journalist for the Canadian Press, Vancouver Sun, and Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Deverell served as counsel for over a thousand criminal cases and is a founding director and former president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. He created the television series, Street Legal, and has written screenplays and radio plays. Deverell lives on Pender Island, British Columbia.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
* 1998 – Trial of Passion – Winner
* 2006 – April Fool – Winner

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outstanding psychological drama!

Dr Timothy Dare is a forensic psychiatrist working as a consultant for the criminal courts in Vancouver. His wife, unquestionably the light of his life, has just left him and is having an affair with a man he is certain is a pedophile. His mother is being sued for libel over her portrayal of a serial killer in a novel. As if that isn't bad enough, Dare becomes convinced there's a real homophobic copycat killer on the loose taking his cues from her novel and targeting homosexual men in Vancouver. He's been appointed to closely monitor a man recently released from prison who makes no bones about having murdered his previous psychiatrist. Last but not least, a gorgeous nymphomaniac is stalking him. She's got more baggage than the Grand Trunk Railway and when Dare rejects her advances, she hauls him up before a disciplinary committee for "inappropriate conduct". Now he's receiving notes from somebody who "knows where he lives" and is threatening to kill him. Little wonder then that he recognizes he's a mental wreck and could use a little psychiatric couch time himself!

I read the editorial reviews expecting a fast-paced heavy duty psychological thriller but was quite surprised to find that, much like Jonathan Kellerman's SILENT PARTNER, the murder and violence takes second place to the narration of the internal turmoil of Dr Dare and his analyst, Allison Epstein. The story unfolds primarily through first person narration and conversation as Dr Dare is poked and prodded into revealing his inner demons in the warm, quiet environment of Dr Epstein's office. As opposed to a Hollywood thriller, Deverell treats us to a warm, compelling human drama driven by an exciting set of plots and sub-plots that are kept well under control and come to their resolution in an entirely credible fashion.

By the way, while I am biased about this, I'll add that the whole thing had a distinctly ... well ... understated Canadian flavour to it! Even if I was pressed, I don't think I could identify where it came from but I'm quite certain it was there and it certainly added considerably to my enjoyment. Well done, Mr Deverell! One more notch on your belt and another title in an ever expanding collection of terrific novels! My thanks to you.

Paul Weiss

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Returning to another William Deverell novel early in my 2019 Reading Challenge, I turned to one that has been collecting virtual dust for a while. Deverell’s novels can be hit or miss, depending on the reader’s engagement with the characters and story. In this piece, Dr. Timothy Dare finds himself visiting fellow psychiatrist Dr. Allison Epstein, filled with a number of issues that could use the detached analysis of an established therapist. Dare brings these issues to the therapeutic couch, including an impending hearing on professional conduct, a patient who is likely a serial killer, and Dare’s own relationship struggles. Throughout the novel, Epstein opens each chapter with some session notes and excerpts from the conversation before the narrative switches to Dare recounting, in detail, the happenings that fuel the discussion. The reader can see the ongoing struggles that Dare has with his fiancée and how an attractive patient plays on this, soon pushing him to the brink and turning a spurned seduction of her therapist into Dare having used his power to persuade her into a tryst. At the same time, Dare and Epstein appear to be forging a platonic bond, one that could have troubling fallout the further things spin out of control for the beleaguered Dr. Dare. As the intensity ramps up, the reader is subjected to many troubling revelations in a story whose ending builds in intensity. Deverell does well with this piece, whose mind games are plentiful, for reader and character alike!

I have come to realise that when I begin something by William Deverell, I am never sure where it will take me, or if I will find myself committed to the cause. This novel steers away from legal matters, for the most part, keeping those readers who revel in Deverell’s masterful presentation of Canadian law from becoming too excited. Rather, focus remains with Drs. Dare and Epstein, both sifting through the detritus of the former’s life choices. Dare bears all and shows the writer that his life is anything but smooth sailing, learning much in therapy as he tries to glue the pieces back together. Epstein appears to be the bystander, forced to sit through her patient’s narcissism as he deflects many of his poor life choices. Some of the other characters who grace the pages serve as narrative vessels to push the story along, much needed in this psychological piece that has some coming of age alongside self-discovery. Deverell does well trying to weave a patchwork of ideas and vignettes together to create a cohesive novel, though I do wish it had been one where the courtroom was the primary setting, not a therapist’s office. Still, as with all Deverell books, the name of the game is thinking and piecing it all nicely together.

Kudos, Mr. Deverell, for your hard work and dedication to the cause. I do enjoy novels that force me to think a little, though the mind games here may have been a bit much so early in the reading year.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this audiobook until about the 70% mark and I just completely got lost and had absolutely no idea what was going on. Is this a murder mystery? Is there an unreliable narrator? I honestly couldn’t tell you.

I definitely think I would love this as a physical copy or an e book and I would keep my way much better as the premise was really interesting! As an audiobook, I just couldn’t follow it well at all. The narrative was really convoluted.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about Doctor Dare who is seeing a psychiatrist his mother is not only a famous author but a politician either he is very paranoid or there's someone after him. Now that summary isn’t the best summary but let me just say I love this authors books and was so excited to get this one because it sounded so very good but unfortunately I couldn’t get into it. I tried multiple times to re-listen to the book I started it over and for some reason I just didn’t get it. I did think the whole storyline with him and the guy who was released from prison was a good one but I didn’t get the whole thing with Sally and him cheating or not cheating? I mean it wasn’t a bad Book but I just couldn’t get into it. I think this is more a fault with me and not the author because I usually love his books. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

[Jess | dapper.reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was a really interesting story until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley I got to listen to the audio version of this one and the dual narrators were absolutely perfect. Without that, I think it would have been very difficult to differentiate between where one narrator stops and the other starts. The fact that it’s a female and male narrator really helps too.

I couldn’t stop listening to this for the majority of the book. However, after awhile it felt like it was trying too hard to hit a word count or something because it felt drug out when it easily could have wrapped up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Becki Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing read through psychological turmoil and trauma to keep you interested.

I enjoyed accompanying the protagonist on his journey and enjoyed the writing style of the author.

The main character was engaging and I found the character relationships authentic.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Marci Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind games for sure! This was a wild ride into the mind of quite a few of the characters, not just those in therapy!! Some of those peeps were for sure fucked up and we all love reading about that! Definitely worth a read/listen!

#MindGames
#NetGalley

[A. Lorna Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was definitely quite the ride... I didn't really connect with it and so felt lost several times but it was an interesting book to read overall. The narrator did a good job.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled following this audiobook. I liked the beginning, but was lost after about halfway.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Jessie McKinnon · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is keen on adding French words in an attempt to sound posh, but the majority contains spelling errors. The story contains too many subplots, which lead painfully slowly nowhere. Even the main plot fell flat. Overall poorly executed.

[Derek Falkowsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very good, but good enough to finish.

[Dixie Dylla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGallery and the books publishers for the complimentary audio copy of Mind Games by William Deverell. I’ve struggled to write a review for this book as I don’t know what I think about it. I liked it, but I often found myself lost with all the back and forth. A friend once told me that all psychiatrists and psychologist are mentally challenged and it’s what draws them to the profession. This book certainly proves that theory! As I listened I kept thinking that this book would have been better read by me in print form so I could flip back a few pages to figure out where in the story I was! I’ve given 3-stars though I toyed with a 2 and a 4… a good read, but just not for me.

[Mary Greiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

While novels featuring Arthur Beauchamp are my favorites, this was a delightful frolic featuring a terribly neurotic psychiatrist.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forensic psychiatrist, Timothy Dare, is quietly unraveling from personal and professional problems. His wife has left him, he’s under investigation for professional misconduct, his mother’s being sued, a newly divorced woman is obsessed with him, he has unresolved father issues, and one of his patients might be killing gay men. So I guess we can forgive his endless self-pitying journals and angst in therapy sessions with psychiatrist Allison Epstein.

When I picked up this book, I expected a complicated, well-written mystery, which is what I got, but not right away. The many pages of psychological turmoil detracted from the murders so much that I was wondering if I was reading a mystery at all. The first murder appeared on page 112 (although earlier crimes were referred to), the second occurred on page 150 of this 297-page novel, and that’s when the murder mystery began to take center stage.

Using the turmoil of a protagonist and his dreams to provide Dare with clues about catching the killer was a technique that didn’t quite work for me; yet once Dare put his own troubles aside to start some serious investigating, things became more intriguing. For readers interested in a closer look at the ups and downs of psychiatrist/patient relationships, though, Mind Games is a good choice.

[Johnny Holiday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that William Deverell is a great story teller and this is an interesting approach to writing a thriller. Timothy Dare, the main protagonist, is a psychiatrist who needs and gets psychiatric help.His character relates much of the story in a monolgue to his own psychiatrist and she responds with written notes on his patient file.

I found it hard to suspend my disbelief towards the end of the book as the two killers were tracked down by the police and our good doctor risked life, limb and embarassing exposure in the cause of Canadian justice. But it was a good read and I laughed out loud at parts of it.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last third of the book was definitely better than the first part - more action and positive thinking than the whiney character at the beginning of the book

[Huluriasquias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not as good as Trial of Passion. He writes to his own rhythms and it might take some adjustments to make.

[Jane Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cleverly written novel. Although it took me some time to get used to his style, it improved and I may well try another.