The exploration of the main character's mental illness was well done and heartbreaking. I would have liked more development of the mom and Robbie, to better understand what happened in their pasts to better understand their motivations.

'Ther Mole People" is a story of a young girl battling mental illness. This would be a somewhat easy way to sum up and describe this book and yet it is so much more.
The first part of the book tells us of Suzie's college time as she attempts to apply herself to her studies whilst simultaneously battling an ever present and rapidly degenerating mental illness that has her well and truly in its grip. Given her ever increasing delusions and the fact that this illness for the most part goes untreated, we see her spiral downwards into a world far removed from reality. As her paranoia grows, she finds herself in Las Vegas, homeless and at the mercy of unscrupulous people. Navigating her growing madness, alongside her drug addiction, it is hard to imagine that this will end well.
In most major cities there are underground communities in which the unfortunates and forgotten homeless population take up residence. In Las Vegas these are the Mole People of the flood control tunnels.
We could be forgiven for seeing this book as a tale of the life of a down and out and the consequences of lifestyle, and yet it is a complete expose on untreated mental illness and the depths this can take someone to firstly, and secondly, it is a revelation as to how these underground communities, which are all too real. exist ironically under the glitz and revelry of a town like Las Vegas in which money flows freely. and without regard.
This book is an absolute page turner and whilst a little farfetched in places, the overall storyline is solid. It is very well written by Kevin Landt keeping me reading due to its easy flow and steady pacing.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and would read anything else by this author

I liked the premise of this, and I felt the first half or so of the book was pretty interesting -- I could feel the schizophrenia through the words and actions of Suzie. I think her thoughts and thought processes were pretty well portrayed. However, once the Las Vegas section started, the book veered from Suzie 's perspective to a more multiple POV, which I couldn't really identify with. I could relate and empathize with her but I didn't feel like she was a sympathetic character at all. The last 1/3 of the book was tough for me to get through -- it felt a little rushed in an effort to tie up some loose ends, which didn't successfully come together for me, either.

All in all, a good effort -- a great premise and a very good first half of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the author and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

DNF at 25%-I was really excited to read this book and had high hopes for it despite the mixed reviews. To me, the main character, Suzie absolutely her boyfriend, Robbie felt very flat. I do not want to write an entirely negative review of this book just because it was not for me, so I will leave it at that. Props to the author for taking on such a tough subject. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Thought this one would be right up
My alley with all the “real world issues.” It was written with such respect to those issues. I was hoping for more though somehow. It was a good read for sure but won’t fall on my favorite list.

Between 3.5 - 4 stars. Rounded to 4.

We go on a journey with Suzie, a young college girl that is navigating her mental health, particularly as she hears auditory hallucinations. Suzie has a loving mother and boyfriend however her voices challenges what she knows to be true. Suzie abandons college and runs off to Las Vegas to see if she can start a new life, only to be challenged with daily survival.

What I loved about the book is you can tell the research that was put into this regarding the Mole People and about Schizophrenia. I was immediately drawn into the story with Suzie and how she would navigate the world with her mental health.

Where it fell a little flat or I was disappointed was the ending. I wanted more. I feel like Robbie and Dana were under-developed and we didn't get a lot of back story or storyline on them. There was a bit of a twist at the end and we didn't get to see how that affected Suzie or how Dana was affected really. It felt heavy with no debrief amongst the characters. I wish Suzie's mental health was show more in the tunnel where I feel like her voices might be the most active. Or at least as active as they were in the beginning. I was left with a lot of questions regarding the characters and their development.

With that all being said. I did really enjoy the book and even with my slow reading, I wanted to keep coming back to see what happened to Suzie.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kevin Landt for an opportunity to review an advanced copy of this book. I received an review copy of this book for review via Netgalley for an honest review, all opinions are my own.

Decent book; 4 out 5 stars.

Convinced by her own mind that everyone she loves is out to get her, Suzie runs away. However, instead of finding peace, solace, and freedom, she finds herself in the even more suffocating and incredibly dangerous underbelly of Las Vegas. Here she quickly discovers she's got more to worry about than the voices in her head, but who can she trust and does she even want to?

I enjoyed this fictionalized look inside the fractured mind of the young lead character. It's enough to grow up and go off to college without any mental struggles. Trying to understand yourself and the world around you is a right of passage. Yet for this story's main character, struggling with mental illness on top of everything else, it was anything but.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC and review opportunity.

This is an amazing story that touches on mental health, trama, family ties and addiction. It was beautifully told right up until the last word. You will not want to put this down!

This is a crazy, fascinating look at schizophrenia and its ravages on the mind! Starting in 6th grade, Suzie is teased by her peers and begins cutting herself. Now in her 20's she's been diagnosed with the illness and is on medication which she often chooses not to take. Boyfriend Robbie is kind to her even after she throws a chair at roommate, Andrea. Discovering pot and vodka makes her happy and she flushes her meds and heads to Vegas where she inadvertently meets Wonderman and the tunnels beneath the city where darkness lurks and anything goes! The novel is dark, often creepy, but it's a clever look at the mind and all its memories and fluctuations--and a message to us all: get help if you need it!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This is a very interesting book. It is realistic fiction which isn’t my normal genre I read. It has drug use, mental disorders, homelessness, attempted sexual assault, and prostitution. I read it very fast and it definitely kept me wanting to know what was going to happen. The main character is very interesting and definitely someone you feel empathetic toward. This tells the fictional story of one character, but I am sure there are many people with the same experiences. Great read!

This book had such a wonderful promise to be an enticing read - the main character is adrift, in the throes of mental illness and addiction. She takes off one day and her boyfriend and mother spend months looking for her. She has episodes, meets people that both harm and keep her safe, and she tries to cure her schizophrenia with multiple drugs. Sounds good, right?


This book did not hit. It was so fragmented, Suzie was the flattest main I’ve ever encountered, the ending was stilted and none of the characters were developed enough to make this book really pop. It needed about 200 more pages, but not like that. I hate to give it a low rating but it’s a 1-star read for me. I wanted so much more from the book and it just didn’t happen.

Suzie struggles greatly with schizophrenia and the resulting paranoia every day of her life. She rarely agrees to take medication which will help stabilize her moods, hallucinations and the voices in her head. Unable to accept the help of her boyfriend and her mother, Suzie leaves college in Oregon and finds herself in the tunnels of Las Vegas, where, now drug addicted and still self-harming, she tries to live with others who are also struggling (called The Mole People). This is a short but very powerful book. Suzie lives in a frightening and dangerous place, both inside her head and in the tunnels. This is a stark reality in our society, the ongoing struggles for many with severe mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness. Suzie is well portrayed, as are the other mole people, the tunnels are visually disturbing, and as a reader I could feel such raw emotion and empathy. The book also reflects on the difficulty family members and friends face when trying to help. I highly recommend this deeply moving book. With thanks to Netgalley and Ryland Publishing for this ARC. My opinions are my own. susanh_bookreviews

Thank you for this ARC! I was really excited for this book based on the synopsis, but the writing fell flat for me. I was not able to get into the story and ultimately DNFed. I may come back to it in the future, as it is an important and interesting topic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC. The story moves quickly but it’s really hard to connect with any of the characters. There is a minor character whose story could have been developed a lot more and I was genuinely curious about! An interesting premise that is limited by the lack of character development. A solid idea that just needs to be flushed out a little more.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Kevin Landt for the e-arc of The Mole People, which made this review possible.

I have always been fascinated by the disenfranchised who live underneath the sin and grime of Las Vegas. I have seen interviews and documentaries, and I am left wanting to know more about these people every time. I normally stick to my lane, horror fiction. However, if you think about it, this book qualifies as horrific.

Mr. Landt takes the reader on a fictional journey to a very real place. The main protagonist, Suzie, is schizophrenic and ends up heading to the tunnels under Las Vegas and encountering the mole people. Things take off from there, for better or worse. On the one hand, The Mole People really sheds light on mental health, addiction, and bullying, which, as a reader, I am empathetic towards. However, on the other hand, so many metaphors and distractions are present that distract from the story, making it difficult to connect to the characters.

The Mole People had the potential to be an amazing novel if the author had the right team behind him. However, the pacing is off, some scenes feel rushed, and it reads more like a rewrite than a finished product. Don’t get me wrong; if you are curious about the subject matter, there is a story here to read. I believe it could have been an even better story.

The Mole People from your favorite bookstores will be available on June 30th, 2024. I give it three out of five stars.

“The Mole People” by Kevin Landt.
What an intense book! Suzie has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but refuses to take the medication her doctors prescribe to her. The internal conflict within herself, the voices in her mind lying to her are heartbreaking. She ends up in Las Vegas, but living under the city in the tunnels with the “mole people” that Suzie befriends. I had never heard of them before, but the mole people really do exist. Throughout the book, I was cheering Suzie on hoping she and her tunnel friends would make it. This book truly opens your eyes…and your heart…to the struggles of mental health crises. I feel it was a deep, eye opening, and very well written book. It takes a lot for a story to make me FEEL its words. This one definitely did just that.

Expertly crafted suspense with great character development. Very enjoyable read - prepare to be captivated!

It’s a beautiful, yet tragic story of a young woman’s battle with schizophrenia. A heartbreaking tale of her struggles to function in mainstream society with her disease and the devastating consequences. An eye opening account of the correlation between mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness.
I found this book to be well-researched with an in depth view of the “mole people” living in underground tunnels that brought me to tears.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was really excited when i read the synopsis about this book and excited to receive the approval of this book.

It is amazing how the mind works and to get into the mind of Suzie is just amazing. The author did a great job at gripping you instantly. I have never been around anyone with the Schizophrenia but the author made the storyline and plot work. It is a fascinating read and the way the author builds that story is awesome. Sometimes it felt rushed but i never wanted to DNF this book.

I will recommend this book to everyone. I hope the author writes more.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

In The Mole People, readers are plunged into the tumultuous journey of Suzie - a young woman attending University struggling with schizophrenia. The premise offers a compelling exploration of mental health issues that interlink with addiction and homelessness.

However, while the premise seemed to hold great promise the execution fell short in several key areas. A notable weakness lies in the writing style - an overabundance of metaphors and similes felt cumbersome and detracted from the natural flow of the story. Additionally, the shift in writing style following Suzie's descent into the tunnels was very jarring as the focus shifts from characters' thoughts to a more event-driven narrative. This abrupt change made me feel disconnected from Suzie and the overarching story, leaving me unable to fully engage with the plot.

Despite this, there are some moments that shed light on the internal struggles of individuals grappling with mental illness, homelessness and addiction. The portrayal of Suzie's eating disorder and self harm is very striking and offers a glimpse into the complexities of her psyche. However, these moments are unfortunately overshadowed by rushed pacing and uneven characterization that is prevalent throughout the novel.

While there are moments of poignancy scattered throughout the book, they are overshadowed by the overall lack of cohesion and connection with the protagonist.