Tricks of the Mind

By Alan Ahrens-McManus

In a quirky flat in the Westend of Glasgow, during the tension preceeding the second Gulf War, Bruno walks in on Justin exercising and gives in to his pleading to massage taut muscles. As Justin groans in pleasure, Bruno reads him a strange astrological dream, a dream which begins to echo eerily in various narratives of family and friends as the dream turns to nightmare. Imogen is more concerned with the drama of getting through her teaching course and Clara is busy running the NHS and they have their own opinions about the reality behind the dream - and also about Bruno's mental health. But even they find the increasing coincidences hard to explain away. When the front door slams and Bruno seems psychically led to the scene of a murder, Imogen puts aside her doubts to help him fight his monsters from the Id. The Bruno Benedetti Mysteries are aimed at intelligent readers of mystery novels who like characters who they can identify with rather than slick Bond-types. Particular aspects of this series are the move away from the 'gritty Glasgow' genre, which has become predictable, and the faithful reflection of the strategic use of dialect in different social situations - which many readers (Scots or not) will recognise. "Tricks of the Mind", rather than just a form of escapism, allows reflection on 'real life' as the main characters are both multi-faceted and develop as they learn from experience and each other, a development continued in "The Lovers", "Shades of the Sun", "Qismet" and "Tir nam Ban".

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1505677149
• ISBN13: 9781505677140
• Release Date: December 2014
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"