A Slight Trick of the Mind

By: Mitch Cullin

Narrated by: Simon Jones

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

He's 93-years-old, in retirement in Sussex, beginning to lose his memory, and subject to emotions he has resisted all his life. His name is Sherlock Holmes.

It's 1947, and the long-retired Holmes lives in a remote Sussex farmhouse with a housekeeper and her young son, Roger. Holmes has recently returned from war-torn Japan and settled into the routine of tending his apiary, writing in his journals, and grappling with the waning powers of his once razor-sharp mind. Then Roger secretly searches Holmes' private study and uncovers the case of Mrs. Keller, the long-ago object of the legendary sleuth's deep, and never acknowledged, infatuation.

As Cullin weaves together Holmes' hidden past, his poignant struggle to retain mental acuity, and his unlikely relationship with Roger, who stirs his paternal affection, a mythic figure is transformed into an ordinary man. At once an engrossing mystery and a gripping character study, A Slight Trick of the Mind is an affecting and original portrait of literature's most beloved detective in the twilight of his illustrious life.

©2005 Mitch Cullin (P)2005 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Winner, Fiction (Unabridged)

"An ambitious, beautifully written novel....This look at Holmes near his natural death is a delight and a deeply satisfying read." (Publishers Weekly)
"This is a lovely, tenderhearted book, full of reserve, good manners, elegance of feeling. It's what a novel should be. You don't read it to be "improved", but for the plain joy of seeing what the language can do in the hands of an affectionate, very accomplished writer." (The Washington Post)
"Under Cullin's sure hand, the vibrant, assured detective we know gives way to a man who looks back with regret at missed opportunities in a manner that makes the larger-than-life figure surprisingly human." (Booklist)

Rare case where I preferred the Film to the Book.

I downloaded this audio because I really loved the film that is based on it, Mr. Holmes, played by Ian McKellan who brought an emotional depth to an aged Holmes that I hadn't seen before. The movie was warm with a satisfying ending. Not so with the book. It is rare that I enjoyed a film more than the book, but in this case I did. The writer of the film did an excellent job of taking a book which seemed disjointed and pulling it into a story that made better sense. There were numerous differences between the character portrayals and events between both, and I still prefer the film's version. Simon Jones did an excellent job with the narration and the book held my interest. Just slightly disappointed.

Good Character Study of the Aged, Former Detective

What did you love best about A Slight Trick of the Mind?

I loved the way it studied, in a unique, new way, the main character - Sherlock Holmes.

What about Simon Jones’s performance did you like?

His vocal pacing was very good.

If you could rename A Slight Trick of the Mind, what would you call it?

The focused, yet imperfect mind, of an aging former detective.

Any additional comments?

A read for true Holmes fans, because they will appreciate the story without being disappointed that this is not a classic Holmseian mystery.

Very enjoyable

The narration on this book is excellent, and one of the reasons I gave it five stars. If I could have rated it a 4.5, I would have. Not a typical Sherlock Holmes, but then I didn't expect it to be. We have three stories in one here, more or less, and I found this book to be completely enjoyable.

Very different from Conan Doyle

#clever #depressing #WorldWarII This is not a traditional Holmes pastiche, instead it uses the well known character as a vehicle to explore much more serious topics such as mental health, aging, suicide and more. Not an easy listen, and not a particularly good mystery, but very worth your time. #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Bad Bad Bad!

This book is incredibly tedious and depressing. Definitely the worst thing I have found here at audible.

what i thot

i thought it would be like any other sherlock holmes i had read but it was too hard to follow it switched from the past to the presint then to a book holmes is wrighting if u like to have to go back and relisen to parts and have to pay close atenchen to the book at ALL times then this book is for you if not forget it this book is terrible and i LOVE practicly ALL sherlock holmes mysterys but i got to confused and downright hated this book

Unsatisfying

Sherlock Holmes remains a literary and box office powerhouse. Or, at least, that's the only reasonable explanation for the success of this book.

On the other hand, Mitch Cullin's contribution to the Holmes canon is, sadly, forgettable.

Cullin offers us a novel in three parts -- three story lines set in two different periods of Holmes' life. Three new glimpses into the life of Sherlock Holmes could be treasures. But here, they're not. None of these stories is even especially interesting or exciting or engaging.

With Holmes, we expect a mystery to challenge and confound us. There really aren't any here.

With Holmes, we expect demonstrations of observation and deduction that cause us to marvel. Here, we don't find much at which to marvel.

With Holmes, we expect the tale to carry us away to his world as the original stories would: to his rooms on Baker Street or to Baskerville Hall or atop Reichenbach Falls. Here, the narrative has no power to take us anywhere. We remain firmly set in our own time and place and world.

But still, this is Holmes, so we can hope.

Surely Cullin will draw his story lines together and redeem his entire novel in an exciting denouement. How could we expect anything else for Conan Doyle's great detective?

But that never happens, either. Cullin allows each story to wander off on its own and gently fade away. There are no surprises. There are no mysteries solved. There are no exciting moments. There are no characters we will remember. There is no closure.

There is only a forgettable and unsatisfying novel that serves only to remind us that even great lives have dull moments.

Skip this one.

Didn't work for me

I felt like these three storylines didn't go anywhere. Overall a frustrating listen, though the reader's voice was wonderful. It might have worked better if the main character were not Sherlock Holmes. It would not have created an expectation of twists and mysteries and clever endings in me.

This is not a Sherlock Holmes story.

This is a wandering, unfocused, self indulgence piece of writing. I feel as if I have been tricked into listening to it by the use of Sherlock Holmes as the main character and narrator. If you have any affinity for the original character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or the modern recreation by Steven Moffat, do not bother wasting your time with this book.

excellent

truly an excellently written book....