The Minders by John Marrs

In the very near future, major nations are being terrorized by an organization called the Hacking Collective. They've already claimed responsibility for one catastrophic event in the UK, and now the country is desperate to avoid becoming the latest victim of a plot that would find them risking every state secret unless they're willing to pay the Hacking Collective's ransom. 

Some of the best scientific minds in the nation have come up with a plan. It involves using humans to carry the information in question. These people are called Minders and each one has a very unique genetic makeup that makes them ideal for the experiment. And the use of the Minders will give the nation enough time to figure out a longer solution to protecting the data in question. 

Five have been chosen. Their locations are top secret and known only to one person. Unfortunately, the enemy is quick and vigilant and finding the Minders has become the ultimate goal. 

John Marrs's latest is set in the same world as his previous two novels, The One and The Passengers. You do not have to have read those two, but there are spoilers in The Minders. 

So this near future that Marrs has created is one in which technology is a necessary part of everyone's lives. Physical money has gone away, so even the most staunch protestors are forced to use tech for payment, at minimum. 

There are also autonomous cars (The Passengers) and a new innovation that allows you to meet your DNA soulmate (The One). 

Flick, Sinéad, Charlie, and Bruno are each, for their own reasons, looking to start anew. And that's exactly what they're promised as Minders. 

For a maximum of five years, they'll hold dangerous information inside their own heads. This means they have to leave their current lives and connections behind. They're trained in self defense and sent somewhere of their choosing—outside of London—to create new lives for themselves. 

And then there's Emilia. 

Emilia doesn't know anything about the Minders. She doesn't even know anything about herself. 

I really enjoy the world Marrs has created in these books. I must admit, though, that I hadn't yet read The One at the time of this review (it's at the top of my TBR considering the Netflix series based on it airs mid-March). 

The Minders is the kind of cross-genre book that I truly enjoy. It's a thriller set in a sci fi setting (don't worry, if you think you're not a fan of sci fi, it's actually pretty light in that regard). Definite Black Mirror territory!

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