Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Mindhunters #7

Secrets of the Dead

Rate this book
Eve Larrison has a unique gift: as a hyper-polyglot she speaks over sixty languages. She’s uniquely qualified to assist in an attempted kidnapping case that has international overtones. But this assignment is exceptional. The target of the abduction is Royce Raiker, stepson of the head of The Mindhunters. And she’ll be going into deep cover with Declan Gallagher—as his “wife". She never suspected that the pretend marriage would be the toughest part of the assignment.

Declan knows he can ill-afford distractions on this assignment, and Eve Larrison provides one hell of a distraction.They realize that Royce will never be safe until the people who targeted him are brought to justice. But as Declan and Eve infiltrate the group responsible, it quickly becomes apparent that to solve the case they’ll need to unravel the mystery of the boy’s birth. The only ones who knew those secrets are dead. And digging into the old mystery has them both marked for the same fate...

380 pages, ebook

First published June 25, 2015

83 people are currently reading
377 people want to read

About the author

Kylie Brant

82 books638 followers
The mother of five children, Kylie Brant claims she began writing to save her sanity. Plotting stories became her method of escape from the reality of constant ball games, chauffeuring kids, and refereeing "minor" disagreements between her perfect offspring.

In 1992 she was elated to get a call from Silhouette offering to buy her second novel. Home with laryngitis at the time, she still managed to croak out agreement, and her career was born. A few months later she went on to sell Rancher's Choice, the first manuscript she’d written.

Kylie is married to her high school sweetheart, and they make their home in Iowa. She insists that all her heroes are based on her husband of 23 years because he possesses that most heroic of make qualities — ironing skills. Those abilities come in handy, as she juggles a full time teaching job with writing and a family.

Doing things the easy way has never held much appeal for this multi award-winning author. She graduated with high honors from the University of Northern Iowa. A graduation photo shows her in cap and gown holding her two sons, one aged 16 months and the other three weeks. She went on to obtain a teaching job working with learning-disabled children while completing her master’s degree at night and during summers.

"There was a time in my life when I could imagine myself as a life-long student," she recalls. "I actually toyed with the idea of pursuing a doctorate. But instead, my life took a spin and I ended up writing romances. I’ve never regretted it!" Her family has since been completed by the birth of another son and a set of twins, a boy and a girl.

Kylie’s books are regularly featured on bestseller lists such as Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Bookseller. With over a million copies of books in print, her novels have been distributed in 20 countries and released in seven languages.

Family and friends are the main focus of Kylie’s life. When she isn’t writing or teaching, she enjoys reading and flower gardening. She loves traveling, preferring beach, ocean, and room service.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
199 (32%)
4 stars
294 (47%)
3 stars
106 (17%)
2 stars
11 (1%)
1 star
7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Sabrina.
4,283 reviews2,388 followers
October 17, 2018
Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

Kylie Brant was an author I loved for a long time when I was in a big Romantic Suspense phase, and this series has some of my most anticipated reads. I got out of reading it just because I started reading different genre's so I liked being able to jump back to this series now, all these years later. Once I started it was easy to remember the past characters, though their books aren't absolutely necessary to read before this one.

This story wasn't my favorite from the series for me, though, and there were times that it seemed to drag a little. There was always something going on yet the characters didn't have me as captivated as I was expecting. It just seemed a little slow compared to what I remember from the other books from this author. Still a good story though and I'll definitely be making my way back to the Mindhunters sometime in the near future.
Profile Image for Cindy.
2,349 reviews173 followers
July 4, 2015
From the start this book absorbs your attention. When the opening scene is the young son of Alex Raiker, who runs the company this series is about, is getting kidnapped you know its going to be a engrossing story.

If you've been a fan of the Mindhunters series from the start you're well aquanted with who Adam is. He has always known that his past history of putting criminals away would mean that his family would always be at risk to those wanting to hurt but he's tried his best to always have safeguards in place. Well those safeguards fail and Royce is kidnapped.

Royce manages to get away but Adam knows it's not over. He then brings in Declan Gallager and Eve Larrison to help draw out the ones trying to kidnapp him. These two were very interesting characters and Eve really brought
an interesting set of skills to the table.

From here the story just get more interesting as we slowly learn the real reasons and who all is behind everything. Every character whether they were good are bad were fascinating.
Profile Image for Danielle  Gypsy Soul.
3,171 reviews80 followers
February 26, 2019
It's been a long time since I've read this series but I remember liking it a lot more. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right mind space for this, if my reading likes have changed that much or if this just wasn't quite up to the level of the earlier books. It seemed to drag a bit for me. I still enjoyed it but I wouldn't read it again nor does it leave me wanting to dive back into this series. I'll give book #8 a shot though in case it's just this book.
Profile Image for ᴥ Irena ᴥ.
1,654 reviews242 followers
August 4, 2020
There's a list of 'acceptable' villains in some of these books and this one checks quite a few of them. I don't feel the need to explain it. This is just a reminder of why I didn't like the book. Oh, the fact that it bored me to tears might have something to do with it too.
Profile Image for Phillipa.
780 reviews21 followers
May 14, 2022
Still generally enjoying this series, although the partners falling for each other each time is terribly predictable!
Profile Image for Theresa.
172 reviews15 followers
June 6, 2020
Another disappointment, sadly, after the series had a promising start. While not quite as tedious as the previous book, both the villains and the good guys in this one were really quite stupid -- for example, Declan and Evie talk in a different language at their apartment which is being bugged, and the bad guys don't feel compelled to use Google translator to figure out what they're saying, don't get suspicious, and don't start doubting Evie's airhead routine? The lack of intelligence on anyone's part really dulls the suspense, and the romance suffers from Declan being overbearing. Another one to skip.
Profile Image for Maureen ~Bitch Can Write A Book.
1,490 reviews36 followers
July 5, 2015
FANTASTIC!!!

I could not put this book down. Non stop action from page one on. The plot was solid and fast paced. I loved revisiting old characters. And Eve and Declan's chemistry...boom! The author did a phenomenal job of integrating new characters right into this solid cast. She also hit it out of the park with the plot line. The kidnapping and back story brought me right back into the greatness of the Mindhunters.

I love this series AND this book DID NOT DISAPPOINT! What a great ride. Looking forward to more.
Profile Image for D.B. Reynolds.
Author 39 books2,366 followers
September 8, 2015
I love this series, and this latest installment didn't disappoint.
Profile Image for Lindsey Ruppe.
809 reviews8 followers
September 19, 2015
Dark and gritty, delving into the world of human trafficking, Secrets of the Dead make a great addition to the Mindhunters series!
Profile Image for Anita.
744 reviews56 followers
June 6, 2016
So obviously I was a little less than satisfied with what this book gave me. I’m sure that’s my bad since I over-hyped myself into wanting this to be the best book in the world. Because I love Kylie Brant’s Mindhunters series, even if I didn’t love every one of the previous six installments. It doesn’t negate the fact that Kylie Brant is a good writer with great ideas for crime thrillers or that the Mindhunters series is packed full of characters I’ve come to love and squeal about whenever they make an appearance in other books.

And Secrets of the Dead started out very, very strong! The characters were promising, the criminal mystery had direction, and the progress was great. You get to be reunited with Adam Raiker, his FBI agent wife, Jaid, and their son Royce. I was also looking forward to seeing some of the other Mindhunters make brief appearances, but alas, we only get to see Kellan Burke in real time and the rest are mentioned in passing.

Which is quite fine with me; Declan and Eve make an excellent addition to the Mindhunters world anyway. (Although it seems we’ve got another new Mindhunter in the mix, Finn Carstens, who used to be a doctor and who shows up nearing the end of the book; so I’m interested to see if he gets his story next.)

And even with the few minor editing errors (typos, pronoun switching, left out words here and there, repeated words in the same sentence) I still enjoyed the book a lot; and I’ll be the first to admit that editing can sometimes deter one’s enjoyment of a book even if the book has been outstanding. One editing error per several hundred pages doesn’t bug me; one editing error per every several pages catches my attention. However, several editing errors within the span of approximately ten pages starts to get annoying.

These came and went. But I’m going to say right now: someone got lazy. And I’m sorely disappointed about it, because for a seasoned romance author, I’d almost say that this kind of lack of editing and finalization of written product is unacceptable.

But thankfully, the book itself isn’t a terrible one. And I have a soft spot in my heart for the Mindhunters series. The last half of this book just needs to be gone back over with a fine editing comb, is all. Everything else was great! Though I DO take slight exception with some of the romance’s development (more on that later).


The Story:
There is an attempted kidnapping of Adam Raiker’s (head honcho of the famous Mindhunters organization) stepson, and being the kind of person he is, Adam is determined to find out who was behind the failed abduction. Because until the truth is found, Royce Raiker will probably not be safe for the long run--and of course, Adam has taken all the precautions to place his stepson and his wife in a protective safe house for the time being.

Enter Declan Gallagher and Eve Larrison. Declan is one of the newest additions to Raiker’s forensics and investigative team--seasoned police detective from D.C. who had worked cyber crimes and vice before being recruited by Adam Raiker. Eve is on loan from the State Department--a brilliant linguistics specialist as a hyper-polyglot who is fluent in over sixty different languages. Both will be going undercover as a married couple to ferret out the ones responsible for Royce’s attempted kidnapping.

But as the couple digs deeper into the investigation, a whole world of secrets in this criminal organization is made known to them--prominent of all, a large human trafficking ring.


My Thoughts:
I can’t be too disappointed that this book wasn’t what I’d expected--that’s my fault for thinking this would be another straight forward, gory murder mystery. I mean, there are murders, but the criminal aspect goes so much deeper than that. And the title is Secrets of the Dead... of course, I’d be thinking that this was another murder mystery...

And to be honest, the story started out very strong. I was hooked immediately with the wondering of how our couple would handle going undercover as a married couple; how Eve’s hyper-polyglot skills would come in handy infiltrating a criminal organization comprised of people from many different cultural backgrounds.

Even without a prominent murder mystery, I was enjoying the heck out of the investigation for the identities of the people wanting to kidnap Royce as well as what Royce’s birth history has to do with anything. It was intriguing and things were going oh, so well. The human trafficking underbelly of the crime organization was also a good twist to include and gave the story a bit more excitement and intrigue.

There were slight hiccups along the way, but I skimmed over those and kept reading. There were tangents that felt a little monotonous, but I waved them off and continued enjoying. The writing is great! Kylie Brant delivers what I’ve come to expect after reading her Mindhunters series.

Then one of the two main conflicts comes to a head with a satisfying resolution a little after the midpoint of the book… and then suddenly about three more conflicts spring out of the ground that need resolutions as well. After that, it felt like the whole focus of this book spins out of control and we’re now chasing criminals around the world and trying to resolve several other conflicts that came from nowhere. Exciting as that may have been, I can’t help but feel like we were grasping for a good ending, but somehow lost track of what that ending should be.

Things spiraled very much out of control from there on.

I hate to say this, but a lot of things could have been skimmed out of the story altogether. The multiple editing errors per few pages didn’t really help either. Neither did the tacky romance or the sex scenes, which was a bit disappointing, really, because my mind registers how well executed and how well written the previous six Mindhunters books were in both of those aspects.

I mean, the development of the romantic relationship between Declan and Eve had been great! I loved their chemistry, the tension, the build-up, the banter... There hadn’t been much in terms of needing to pretend to be intimate or in love in front of other people (which was a bummer, cause I love watching a potential romantic couple have to be uncomfortable around each other due to these types of situations, because it can be all kinds of fun), but they still managed to have a good working relationship while slowly falling for each other.

And that’s what I loved about their romance the most. Aside from having potentially explosive romantic chemistry, Eve and Declan made out to be excellent partners on their mission.

Unfortunately, the moment they had sex, everything turned into a less than exciting love story. The first kiss they had (sans sex scene) was multiple times hotter than their ultimate sex scene, or even any other sex scene after that. Even their ultimate proclamations of love felt a little lackluster, yet at the same time a bit overdone (I don’t know how it’s possible to be both, but it certainly happened that way. Maybe I’m just really hard to please--I don’t deny that).

It’s like we kind of gave up on the rest of the story after a certain point in the book.

Nonetheless, the characters were still great and the concept of the Mindhunters is still a personal favorite. The few quibbles certainly didn’t keep me from loving the coupling of Declan and Eve nor did it deter my immense admiration for Eve’s no-nonsense, straight forward personality, or the fact that she’s able to blend and make herself seem insignificant while using her invisibility to her advantage for investigation purposes.

I will more than likely be looking out for the next book--which is proclaimed to be due out in December this year.
Profile Image for Mojca.
2,132 reviews168 followers
February 2, 2018
Someone is gunning for Jaid and Adam Raiker's adoptive son, Royce and after a failed kidnapping attempt, Raiker knows he needs to be proactive if he wants to keep his family safe. Enter Declan Gallagher and Eve Larrison posing as a married couple disgruntled with Declan's "former" employer, Adam Raiker.


This story was a disappointment. Too leisurely paced (nothing really happened and there was no real sense of urgency until almost the very end) with rather bland and dull characters and a very sorry excuse of a romantic side-plot.
2,063 reviews25 followers
February 24, 2020
This book is part of the Mindhunters series but could easily be read as a stand alone. Eve and Declan go undercover to prevent the kidnapping of a young boy. Royce, the stepson of the head of the Mindhunters won’t be safe til they find out who has targeted him. This book grabbed me from the first page. It is full of suspense from the first page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a suspense with some romance thrown into the mix.
Profile Image for Sofia  Monteiro.
243 reviews3 followers
January 9, 2023
Some series should not be so long that we can actually see the prevalence of the same troupe, done similarly. The troupe could be the same, but the prime protagonists could have some negative characteristics, being flawed in some way. Make them different and not interchangeable. We get it, everyone of the mindhunters is brilliant, caring, lovable and if not beautiful, they are sexy.
I have decided to review the books after a couple of days of finishing them, and adjust my classifications according of how much I remember the book. I could describe the book what happens in the book, spoiling or not, but the blurb of the book is already provided by the author and goodreads. So, from me, you get feedback of enjoyment (or not).
3,276 reviews12 followers
March 1, 2020
Fabulous book! Declan and Eve - what a combination. Eve wasn't appreciated by her family because she wasn't brilliant in math and science even though she was fluent in 65+ languages. Declan appreciated how smart she was and wasn't afraid to let her know. There was plenty of action and drama in this story that kept me involved from beginning to end.
746 reviews
September 23, 2020
Full of action and intrigue which made it a good read. The romance fell flat for me. I never really got to know Eve. Not even any certainty about her job for all the hinting. She had no friends or interests outside of her love of languages. The only facet of her was her family that she was the odd one out from.
Profile Image for Night Runner.
1,544 reviews36 followers
February 26, 2021
Definitely one of the best stories of this series. My only note to the Romance authors is that stubbornly putting yourself in danger when safer ways exist does not make the h strong and is why the TSTL designation exists. It drives me nuts as well when the H makes idiotic decisions when he tries to 'protect' his h!
824 reviews9 followers
January 25, 2021
I'm finding that each subsequent volume in the "Mindhunters" series just gets better and better. Lots of action and suspense, and I am enjoying the rich development of individual characters through all of the books.
Profile Image for Kara.
335 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2023
Took a break from this series, but was able to jump back in and fall in love all over again! Finding these books in paper form has been very difficult! The audible version is great, really great, but I love having my favorite books in paper format too!
689 reviews3 followers
November 2, 2024
I love the stories in the series. In the first chapter Royce Raiker is kidnapped and then saves himself. Of course, there is more to the story. Great thriller with truly evil guys and two people that must find Royce when he is kidnapped a second time.
Profile Image for Brenda Allen.
1,551 reviews4 followers
May 26, 2020
Great series from Kylie Brant. The way she mixes romance with terror is great. I love books that can make me cry about what is going on with the characters.
Profile Image for Angie.
128 reviews2 followers
July 6, 2021
this should be a romantic mystery...more sex than crime.
1,542 reviews2 followers
February 3, 2022
Eve is Adam's secret weapon and Declan soon learns to not underestimate her. She has a unexpected strength that she bravely uses to disarm her enemies.
808 reviews8 followers
April 5, 2020
It had been a long time since I read books 1-6 of the Mindhunters or any other romantic suspense novels. It took me a while to finish, skipping on days to avoid reading in the evenings; the danger of staying up too late was too great. The story is well-paced and the budding romance between Gallagher and Eve believable.
Profile Image for Alison Boniface.
139 reviews
October 23, 2023
I enjoy the different mindhunters and their roles and how they play out in the different cases. Good cerebral books but this one is not for the faint hearted.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.