Murder on the Mind

The Jeff Resnick Mystery Series, Book 1

By: L.L. Bartlett

Narrated by: Steven Barnett

Jeff Resnick hardly knew his well-heeled half-brother. But after suffering a fractured skull in a vicious mugging, he reluctantly accepts the fact that he has a long and brutal recovery to face - and his closest of kin can provide him with the time and place to do it.

Now, Jeff is haunted by unexplained visions of a heinous crime - a banker, stalked, killed, and eviscerated like a 10-point buck. When Matt Sumner's murder is discovered, a still-recovering Jeff realizes this was what he had seen. Jeff must not only convince himself of his new-found psychic ability, but also his skeptical brother, Richard Alpert. Since Sumner was Richard's banker, both brothers have a stake in finding out what happened. With Richard's reluctant help, Jeff's investigation leads him to Sumner's belligerent family and hard-nosed business associates, none of whom want him snooping around.

When Jeff discovers a second victim, he knows he must relentlessly chase his quarry - even if it means risking his brother's life.

©2005 L.L. Bartlett (P)2015 L.L. Bartlett

Great Mystery with some Psychic Visions !!

I really enjoyed this audio version of this book. The narrator did an excellent job and made me not want to stop listening. The author drew the characters and relationships (especially between the brothers) to make you want to know more about them. Is Jeff psychic?...

MOST ENJOYABLE. GOOD SERIES.

The two main characters, Jeff Resnik and his rich brother, Richard Alpert solving murders. Jess after being badly mugged returned to his brother's house to recuperate. He discovered that after the mugging, he began to have visions of crimes being committed and he is now psychic. Richard, though disbelieving of Jeff's ability reluctantly helped him. A very interesting storyline with both brothers getting to know each other again. Loved it.

Compelling read

Jeff Resnick, an out of work insurance investigator, walks home from a pub in New York the night before starting a new job when he gets mugged and beaten very badly in L.L. Bartlett’s Murder on the Mind. Diagnosed with brain damage, Jeff finds himself moving to Buffalo with his older half-brother, Richard, a well-regarded medical researcher who has inherited over $50 million and taken an early retirement from his work in California. But soon he begins to notice changes in his emotional state and has recurring dreams that adjust in their perspective. After Jeff finally gets the courage to tell his brother about these dreams and other experiences that seem unusual, Richard’s longtime partner, Brenda, points out that these dreams resemble a murder from the day before that appears in the day’s newspaper. This leads to Jeff’s chasing after the murder of Matt Sumner, who was shot with an arrow, had his insides ripped out, and was moved to his own garage.

Not allowing Jeff to drive, Richard ends up getting involved in the case too, though skeptically at first. But gradually Richard comes to question whether maybe there is something to Jeff’s claims, finally becoming a true believer when Jeff leads the pair to an open field where the insides are buried beneath a foot of snow. Jeff knows from almost the beginning who committed the murder, but it will take work to find any proof and convince the police.

In the midst of all this, Jeff comes to bond with the much-older brother he hardly knows, and he even meets a woman with whom he goes out three times. The pair become truly a team, and Richard and Brenda are also able to begin to mend the relationship that has suffered ever since their move to Buffalo from California.

This book is very well written. The details of Jeff’s development of his psychic abilities come across realistically, while Bartlett’s depictions of the characters portray them well. One detail in particular that impressed me is the depiction of Jeff’s extreme migraine pain related to his concussion injuries. The way the light serves as a weapon and the description of Jeff’s “hugging the porcelain god” sound exactly like what I myself experience regularly with my migraines, and the terminology used to describe the experience is commonly used by those in the migraine support community. I really commend Bartlett for her excellent portrayals of migraines.

Steven Barnett does a fantastic job of narrating this book. He makes the book enjoyable to listen to and creates believable voices and depictions of the narration. His performance was truly excellent.

I came to Murder on the Mind with fairly low expectations, selecting it because I have really enjoyed the other books by L.L. Bartlett, who also publishes under the names of Lorraine Bartlett and Lorna Barrett. I knew that the book is harder core than her other two series available on audio, which are cozy mysteries, but I hadn’t realized that it was about a man with psychic abilities, a feature I usually most emphatically do not enjoy. However, I got deeply drawn into this book and couldn’t stop it. I give this book four stars!

Good paranormal mystery

Any additional comments?

From the get go, this book drew me in. I really cared about the characters. The narrator's performance was good. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

Easy intriguing read

Great character development, leading to future books. Really enjoyed the main characters and look forward to reading more.