Well, JJ McAvoy has written another winner.
Vicious Minds is book 4 in the Children of Vice series, which is a follow-up to the Ruthless People series. **Read the Ruthless People series FIRST**
As an FYI, Ruthless People covers the first generation of the Callahan mafia family born in the US, while the Children of Vice series follows the next generation.
Vicious Minds, Part 1, represents a 360-degree change from book 3 in the series, which is emotional and requires a tissue box. Instead, book 4 is raw, full of cold, calculating action at every turn. It tells the story of Ethan (gorgeous Callahan family mob boss) and three women (Clarissa, Ivy, and Calliope), who all want to marry him. Each woman is dreadfully used for some part of the grand plan, with the reader left to figure out Ethan’s motives, if his words match his feelings, and if there is any line he won’t cross to achieve his objectives. And what is the end game?
However, the most compelling element of Vicious Minds, Part 1 is the first-person flashback recollections of Ethan, his brother Wyatt, and Calliope, which reveal the *real* story of pivotal events that we had previously seen only from a more objective viewpoint. The use of this tool is genius, but boy does it change everything in the storyline. It turned everything I thought I knew on its head, and totally reframed my perception/opinion of one particular MC (and not for the better).
I am intrigued, fascinated and a little obsessed with the characters and the many storylines in the Children of Vice series. I frequently find myself thinking about what is going on in the series, and what the real *truth* is.
I highly recommend Vicious Minds. Part 1, especially for readers who enjoy the mafia/ mafia romance genre. There should be thousands of 5-star reviews!! I guess we need to get the word out to others!