Another mind-blowingly intelligent thriller from John Marrs, The Minders is a brilliantly written and superbly complex story that is driven by tension-fuelled action.

With references to The One and The Passengers, I love this near-future world that Marrs has created. It’s so original and well-thought-out but it also feels completely believable. Some elements are so close to home that there’s always an added element of horror in how some of these technological advances may become reality (or maybe some are even happening already), especially with how our personal data is involved.

Marrs uses his trademark technique of short chapters told through a number of characters. Usually, this is what keeps me so gripped to his books as the frequent mini-cliffhangers keep the story rapidly progressing and you constantly on edge. But while I was eager to keep reading, I wasn’t quite so gripped this time around.

The problem for me was that I didn’t see how one story, in particular, was related to the others, which did stunt my enthusiasm at the start. But it all leads up to an exhilarating ending, and I love how the story comes together in the end. It completely took me by surprise and I’m forever blown away by Marrs’ storytelling genius.

Marrs is most definitely one of the best authors out there at the minute. While this wasn’t an instant favourite for me as the three other books I have read by him have been so far, there is no doubting his capabilities as a phenomenally talented writer.

In this novel, as in life, information is power. A hacking collective has been targeting governments and holding them to ransom. Pay up a crippling amount of money or have your secrets sold to the highest bidder. Britain is determined not to fall into their trap. Information has been turned to genetic code and hidden in five specially selected members of the public. Five people hold the information that could destroy the country for five years, living incognito. At the end a new start. But five years to stat hidden is a long time when there's a traitor within the programme.

This is set in the same world as The One and The Passengers. Can you read it without reading them? Yes but you'll have no idea whats happening. I've read them and was occasionally clueless. But if you have read them you will love this. It's not as instant as The One or as action packed as The Passengers but it's bloody clever with some truly shocking moments.

For me John Marrs has a lot in common with another thriller writer, Simon Kernick. Their books are very different in tone and subject but their style is almost cinematic. When I'm reading their books I'm there with the characters. It's truly a shame that Netflix decided to mess with The One like they have. It was brilliant as it was and with all three books (maybe more?) adapted they'd have had a huge hit on their hands. But ah well at least we have these fantastic stories. Please Mr Marrs, could we have some more?

Thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I have previously read The One and The Passengers by this Author, the premise of these books and odd characters get mentioned in this story. So it might make sense to read those books first, but this book can be easily be read as a standalone read. I gave both those stories stars or 10/10.

The Minders is a story about 5 individuals tasked with keeping safe the secrets of the Government, this is in an attempt to stop Cyber crime happening. Hacking of computers is a common event and the Government were concerned that things that they had kept hidden would be revealed. The Government came up with a cunning plan that the info could be changed and stored as genetic code on an implant. The 5 individuals chosen had this implant inside them for a period of time in order to allow the Government to find a more secure way of storing this info forever.

As the 5 individuals begin to form new lives and make new acquaintance and friends. One by one their identities are being revealed and their lives are one by one put at danger. As they each try their best to stay under the radar and out of danger, it becomes evident that ultimately they might not survive.

Can any of the 5 survive or are they all doomed to die at the hands of an unknown enemy?

I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10. For some reason it didn't grab me quite as much as the previously mentioned stories. Maybe the fact that I struggled with the start and found that the story came into it's own around halfway through, as the first half was setting the scene and I struggled a little at working out what was happening. The second half though as the story progressed and the reader began to realise what they thought was happening, only to have things turned topsy turvy by the plot twists that began to be thrown at us. I found drew me in to the ending that I never expected to be true, it was a proper mind twist. Not all that is seen is real, the mind plays tricks on us as does this Author.

A word of warning about this Author, be prepared to have your mind blown by what he reveals to you as the plot twists are revealed. All is not what you might think in many ways.

Another gem from John Marrs!! A go-to author who weaves a tale so absorbing that you want to stay up all night to read.

I really wanted to love this book and I loved the concept of it such a brilliant idea but unfortunately it was just a little too far fetched for me. I'm not saying it wasn't written brilliant as I'm a huge fan of John Marrs it just wasn't,in my opinion,one of his best but I get why alot of people will love it.

John Marrs never EVER fails to disappoint.

To be honest, we are running out of words to explain just how in awe we are that this author seems to raise the bar and vault over it with ease each and every single time.

The Minders is yet again another masterpiece that dives into a deep dark corner of Marrs' mind and the result is a captivating, engaging and truly twisty thriller.

An easy 5 stars yet again and we look forward to seeing what Marrs is able to pull out of the bag next.

Set in the future and the government is desperate to keep sensitive information from hackers and come up with what they think is a fail safe solution. Speaking as someone who has enjoyed previous books by this author, it has to be said that this one wasn’t quite as good. There’s a great start, a middle section which just meanders along and then gets pretty lively which rescues the story. Didn’t realise it was a sort of follow on to The One and The Passengers which I haven’t read. I love books set in the near future where things are still recognisable so it was still an enjoyable read and right up my street. Looking forward to the next!

I wasn't able to get into this book. It's so unfortunate as I really wanted to love it after reading What Lies Between Us by the same author which was a 5 star read for me! I still will read by this author but this particular one wasn't for me.

This book is set in the near future.
Governments all around the world are under attack from super hackers, The Hacking Collective, no computer system is safe from them. When compromised the governments are blackmailed for billions of dollars.

In order to protect the UK's sensitive data a radical plan is devised.

Implant the data into the brains of brilliant, willing participants while a new secure computer system is devised and built.

These 5 'minders' now hold all the security data, state secrets and basically everything the Government doesn't want you to know.

The minders are on a 5 year mission to stay under the radar and go about a normal, quiet life.

However someone is hunting them. Someone who has a lot of knowledge of the minders and their location. Game on.

I had not read The One or The Passengers previously, this book is set in the same world, but that did not impact my enjoyment of this book at all.

An intriguing premise delivered with style and excitement by the bucketload.

This is the first book read by this author. Was unsure how much I would enjoy this book with it having content that is not my usual genre of book. I was pleasantly surprised, I found it was a little slow in gripping me in the beginning but the more I read the more it peaked my interest. Overall the minders is a good story.

I don’t often read techno thrillers (which I think is the correct term for The Minders, though correct me if I’m wrong). I always find books where technology is king a little too far-fetched, even though I’m probably just too much of a Luddite to realise how close to our future reality they may actually be. And it’s unlikely I’d have chosen to read The Minders if I hadn’t have read so many good things about Marrs in the past.

Starting out, I thought I had made a big mistake. I found it hard to put myself in this near future where people seem to have given lives over to such a degree to technology. Partly, it was because it felt like every page was presenting something new – cash banned, borders closed, people no longer falling in love but trusting their DNA will find them their perfect match. There were also so many characters and back stories to get my head around, though. I found myself going back over pages to remember who was who.

Gradually, though, they became more ‘solid’ and, with the picture of the future painted as well, I started to find the rhythm of the book. I was probably a third of a way in before then, and before I actually started enjoying myself. The rest went in somewhat of a blur as the pace picked up and I found myself not wanting to put the book down.

Do I think it’s the best book I’ve ever read? No. And have I become a huge fan of Marrs? Again, no (mainly because this just isn’t my genre). But would I recommend it with caveats? Absolutely.

Any other great read by John Marrs. Gripped me from the very first chapter and kept me guessing till the end. Would definitely recommend reading this one.

This was my first John Marrs novel and with hindsight I should’ve read ‘The One’ and ‘Passengers’ prior to this, so as not to spoil my enjoyment of those books, as they are referred to quite frequently within this.

The government put out an advertisement that only people with synesthesia can decode (funnily enough my mum has this!)

Four people - Flick, Charlie, Bruno and Sinead - were recruited and were entrusted with an implant in their brains to hold the most highly classified information, holding the countries secrets.

It is set in a futuristic Britain where cars drive themselves and people find their love match via their DNA.

A group of domestic terrorists try to hunt them down while the minders do their best to escape them, keeping the information they were entrusted with, safe.

I really enjoyed this (even though I wish I’d read the other two first) and found the futuristic element believable. It was a cross between a sci fi and a psychological thriller and I liked that aspect of it.

I won’t post any spoilers, but by the end of the the whole story is turned on it’s head.

Now to go back and read the others!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, publisher and author for a free copy of this fantastic book. Every time I see a new book by John Marrs, I know I want to read it because I know I will enjoy it. The story was definitely different and imaginative. It had a little bit of action, romance, mystery and terror themes, enough to keep anybody's eye balls glued to the book. I really like the author's narration style. Sometimes I felt a little overwhelmed by the government information portion of the story - I admit - not a huge fan, but I know it was needed to understand where the Minders' concept came from. The last few paragraphs of the book needed 4th of July fireworks and they contained one of my favorite lines ever from a book: "Just one more year." Ah, beautiful! Thank you, John Marrs for your talent. Now, could you please hurry with your next fabulous book? I'll be here waiting.

Data is everything in the current world and countries are trying everything and anything to keep their secrets safe. 5 ordinary people were selected to basically become a data warehouse and though a revolutionary medical procedure turn them into the country’s best kept secrets.

Basically these 5 people became weapons for cyber terrorists all over the world. One by one the secret keepers are bing taken out because someone has learnt the location of the 5 people. They hold the key to the safety of the country’s lie’s, conspiracies and cover ups. No ones safe!

This book wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be. It was action packed and full of twists and turns. I really loved the characters and each of their stories and struggles

The Minders is based around the same theme as Mr. Marrs previous books The One and The Passengers.

Five specially selected people who innocently solved an online puzzle were approached and asked to be "Minders". These Minders are basically owned by the British Government. If they accept, they each individually must create new lives for themselves and cut all ties from their previous lives. They have to do this as each of them have a program embedded into their brains containing the nation’s secrets in order to safeguard it from cyber-attacks etc.

The five Minders were willing to do this as they were not overjoyed by what was happening in their current lives. They do not know each other. But someone knows who the Minders are. One by one, the five are being hunted down and eliminated.

This is a really good read. I have to admit I preferred "The One". I also have to admit that John Marrs is fast becoming one of my favourite authors and I am waiting with bated breath for his next offering.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, Cornerstone and the author for the ARC.

Took a while to get into this book but I loved it. Just shows how the mind can play tricks especially when being implanted with chips. The ending was not what I expected but I will be recommending this book to my friends and family. Thank you net galley for letting me read this I will definitely be looking for more by John Marrs.

In a futuristic world where information is the most sought-after commodity, hackers are attacking government servers worldwide. After a cyberattack with catastrophic effects that has the whole country grieving, the UK government decides to take a new stance – use revolutionary genetic engineering technology to implant the country’s secrets into the minds of five ordinary citizens named The Minders. Off the grid, their goal is to safeguard this information for five years, until the government can create other plans to protect their secrets. But someone has discovered their identities, and now the minders are being hunted one by one.
This is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller with one hell of a twist. I really liked the characters of the minders and appreciated how we get to know them as people before they entered the program, exploring how the procedure changed them inside and out. Some characters had a complete personality shift as a result of the program, which made me a little sad – I like their characters as they were, and we lost that with some of the minders. It makes references to COVID-19 and Brexit, and I’ll admit it feels a little ‘too soon’, but it added to the ominous atmosphere. At times, it does feel a little far fetched or overdramatic but that also adds to the overall atmosphere. In all, I did enjoy it and would definitely recommend it to people who liked Blake Crouch’s Recursion or Jem Tugwell’s Proximity.
P.s. Apparently this is set in the same world as The One and The Passengers, by the same author, and those should be read first (oops.)

I personally think John Marrs is one of the most interesting authors I have come across in a long time. Each of his novels is a standalone with a story that has kept me hooked. The minders is no exception. 5 people hold the secrets of the country in their heads, deemed to be safer from attack than storing them in computers. However people mean emotions and things soon start to unravel. This is a super weird, super scary story that will keep you gripped!

The Minders is set in a future Britain, a few years hence. Automated cars are the norm, people are matched by their DNA and artificial intelligence is taking over human jobs and skills. Government too secret information is at risk from a mysterious organisation called the Hacking Collective and so five Minders have the data implanted into them and sent away to live secret lives. Yet they too are at risk. A twisting and thrilling novel, set in a world which is familar. I like reading this author and look forward to his next imaginative venture.