Review: The Mind Reader (Fear Street #26) by R.L. Stine

Title: The Mind Reader

Series: Fear Street #26 (Can be read as a standalone)

Author: R.L. Stine

Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller

Publication date: September 1996

Published by: Archway Paperback

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

A bony hand beckons from a shallow grave...

But only Ellie Anderson can see the skeletal hand. Ellie has visions—visions of past secrets and future horror. Her visions have led her to the body of a girl who was killed two years before. Now her power may help her find the murderer…unless he finds her first!

My rating: ★★★★☆

Seeing too much is murder!

Ellie is just minding her own business, taking her dog on a walk, when all of a sudden she stumbles upon a dead body in the woods! Luckily for this dead body, Ellie has visions of the past and the future (which, for the record, I thought was awesome!), so naturally the body wants justice for their death via Ellie. That's right, poor Ellie starts having these horrible visions after discovering the body, and there’s nothing left for her to do but find out who killed this person.

So, this killer... I suspected everyone but the actual killer! It just never crossed my mind because it is so awful to think about! Whatever happened between these two people, that murder was just messed up! (And of course I know what happened, but I’m trying to avoid spoilers lol).

I really liked that fact the Lieutenant Wilkins actually believed Ellie when she told him she found a body in the woods. A lot of times the adults just think the teens are playing some sick prank. But this was a nice change from that, though it did take a bit of convincing on Ellie’s part.

As for the love interest, Brian, I thought he was a total creeper! He’s very stalkerish and sometimes knows things he shouldn’t/things Ellie never mentioned to him! I just had this total aversion to him that Ellie did not! Which is strange because she had bad feelings about the guy—warning lights going off in her head that she completely ignored just because he was super attractive.

Anyway, I wasn’t a big fan of him. But towards the end I did start to question things... Right when Ellie starts to believe that Brian is maybe hiding something big from her, is when I started to think that maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy. Weird, I know. Lol. But all this time Brian was being a creeper, well there’s an explanation for all that, and it was pretty interesting!

Overall, I really liked the mystery! I never saw that twist at the end coming, so the reveal was very satisfying! The descriptions were creepy, especially when it came to Ellie’s visions! Speaking of which, extra points for Ellie having a supernatural ability! I love it when these books throw in a little bit of the paranormal in there!

The Fear Street connection: So, Ellie was actually born in Shadyside, but they moved away when she was 2, after her mother died. And now they’ve moved back... WHY?!

But at least she doesn’t live on Fear Street. However, her best friend Sarah does!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! :)