A Slight Trick of the Mind

By: Mitch Cullin

Narrated by: Simon Jones

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)

No mystery and a labourious listen.

Would you try another book from Mitch Cullin and/or Simon Jones?

Mitch Cullin, No. Simon Jones, Yes.

What was most disappointing about Mitch Cullin’s story?

There was no intrigue, mystery or even interesting characters including Holmes himself.

Which character – as performed by Simon Jones – was your favorite?

The woman who played the Armonica.

Did A Slight Trick of the Mind inspire you to do anything?

Fall asleep several times.

Any additional comments?

The stories were simply narratives with little satisfaction at the end of their telling. It's a caricature of what the 1970's Holmes would have become.

Remove Holmes and retitle it, "Reflections of a dying old man" and it may be a better book, but the inclusion of Holmes leaves a reader/listener expecting something memorable and interesting.

The Author, Mitch Cullin has managed to strip nearly every enjoyable aspect of Holmes and left us with a rambling old imposter or character impersonator who thinks he was once Holmes.

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.

Falls Short of Being a British Mystery

I was very much looking forward to listening to this book, having been a Holmes fan from a young age, both through the books and various films and BBC productions. Although read beautifully by the narrator, who does an excellent job of performing the different voices, I was very disappointed that the focus of the story centered primarily around the post-WWII history and culture of Japan and a male lead Japanese character. There is a brief flashback on a case that Holmes had sleuthed in the past, but this gets lost with the Japanese focus of the story. If you want a true Holmesian mystery set in Englad, I'd suggest you skip this recording and choose from the originals written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Agreeable story but not Holmes nor a mystery

The narrator is excellent, the story well written, but it is not Sherlock Holmes. Some will find naming the character Holmes no barrier to enjoying the study of an old man, others, like myself, will find it troubling to reconcile the attributes of Doyle's Holmes with the creation of this author. Probably the degree of familiarity and comfort with the original will play an important role in determining which category a read will fall into.
In addition, it is one of those books which is designated by the author or distributors as a mystery but hardly meets reasonable criteria for the categorization. Once again, if it is not mystery or detective fiction that attracts you to this book, you should be satisfied with it.