Kiran Brunner is a 22 year old freak. Not the carnival side-show variety, more like a gorgeous mutant with the ability to control people's thoughts and actions. Many such Minders, as they are called, live among us and The Agency, a clandestine government organization that Kir escaped from a year ago, is determined to capture or kill them all.
Josh McKay is an ex-marine freelancer contracted to bring in Kir. Regular agents have died trying, and considering Kir's sexual preference, a gay outsider might be just what the mission requires. Josh easily manages to convince Kir to accompany him home, and promptly drugs him. But Josh quickly discovers that Kir is being both physically and sexually abused by his captors, and decides to help Kir escape again. The problem is Josh doesn't know if he's doing it because he really wants to help the young man, or if Kir is controlling his mind.
This is an exciting read that will keep you on edge from cover to cover. Joely Skye's pace is as frantic and direct as her plot, and Kir and Josh are beautifully fleshed out making both extremely three dimensional and believable.
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER is actually three short novellas that combine to make this trilogy, and each installment is tense and engrossing, but there are problems. Simply put, Skye's narrative focus is much too narrow, and the scenario lacks critical detail. How and when did Minders appear in society, what have they actually done that makes them such a threat, and by what authority does The Agency operate? So much information regarding why things are the way they are is missing, that I felt somewhat cheated. Granted this is primarily background material, but it's crucial none the less, and not having it makes the novel seem slightly short of complete.
I really enjoyed this book, none the less, and I hope Skye produces a sequel or two, and explains some of the things overlooked here. This is a fascinating beginning but, in my opinion, there's a lot more that needs to be said.