The Rules of Dreaming

Awarded the Kirkus Star for Books of Exceptional Merit Nicole P. is an Irish graduate student pursuing a doctorate in literary theory in New York. She checks herself in to the Palmer Institute (a posh upstate mental hospital), seeking help with anxiety and disorientation triggered by a recent breakup and her quest for a dissertation topic. But by the time she’s discharged two weeks later, her life has become dangerously entangled with those of her psychiatrist, who has fallen in love with her, and two schizophrenic patients, Hunter and Antonia Morgan, 21-year-old twins whose mother, Maria Morgan, committed suicide seven years earlier. Maria Morgan’s suicide has cast a spell over the Institute, enmeshing everyone there in a world of deception, delusion, and death. Prompted by a blackmailer named Dubin, Nicole realizes that she must untangle the mystery of that suicide and its consequences in order to keep from losing her mind. “A mind-bending marriage of ambitious literary theory and classic murder mystery… An exciting, original take on the literary mystery genre.” – Kirkus Reviews “A great read and highly recommended.” – Jack Magnus, Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews.

Author Biography

Bruce Hartman lives with his wife in Philadelphia. He has worked as a pianist, bookseller and attorney and has been writing fiction for many years. His first novel, Perfectly Healthy Man Drops Dead, won the Salvo Press Mystery Novel Award and was published in 2008. Several others followed, including The Rules of Dreaming, The Muse of Violence, The Philosophical Detective, and most recently The Devil’s Chaplain.