Murder in Nirvana

by Casey Dorman

High in California's Santa Ynez mountains, a horrific murder has marred the idyllic calm of the peaceful village of Shambhala. Manuel Torres, an escaped resident of the experimental treatment center for delinquents run by geneticist, Dr. Francine Stein, has been savagely beaten. Brian McGowan, retired lawyer and cynical former cop, is asked to help with the murder investigation. Three more killings follow the first as McGowan discovers the dark side of Dr. Stein's experimental treatments. By the time McGowan learns that the geneticist's experiments are the key to the murders, the delinquents from her Foundation have become monsters, attacking the town, killing several of its citizens and arousing the vengeance of the village residents. In a scene worthy of a Frankenstein film, the townspeople storm the treatment center, trapping Dr. Stein and her violent creations and bringing a fiery conclusion to Murder in Nirvana. This is a reissue of the book originally published in 2015.

Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2020

About the author

Casey Dorman is a former university professor and dean, a psychologist, a literary review editor, an essayist, and the author of fourteen novels, a collection of short stories and poems, and three non-fiction books, including a volume in the Johns Hopkins Series on Neuroscience and Psychiatry. He is the former editor and publisher of the literary magazine, "Lost Coast Review." His fiction, essays, and poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. He has published academic and research articles in psychology, medical, public health and philosophy journals. He is a member of the Society of Philosophers in America. His most recent novel is the sci-fi thriller, “Ezekiel’s Brain,” published by NewLink Publishing in 2021. He is working on the sequel. He and his wife, Lai, live in Southern California and enjoy traveling, wine-tasting, gardening, and visiting with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchild as well as their nieces and nephews.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retired cop, after going through heart surgery, decides to move to a nice no-stress town and take up organic farming, but after a rather grisly murder happens in that idyllic town, he's recruited to help the chief of police solve the crime. Soon his dreams of a stress free retirement go down the tubes and things get complicated. A new age school, a behavioral psychiactric compound, and an assortment of red necked neighbors are all in the mix. Not a bad story, semi-believable, and easy reading.

[Riya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a tough reader to please when it comes to mystery. Most of the time I find the genre predictable and trite, but every once in awhile a gem like Murder in Nirvana comes along. With it's fast pace and fresh ideas, it was easy to tear through this novel in a day. The author's ability to balance just how much information to give, and when, made for that perfect puzzle where the reader is led along the path of figuring it all out, without anything being too obvious or simplistic. I also appreciate the realness of the characters. The hero isn't perfect, in fact some times he seems like a bit of a jerk, which is fantastic actually. Who wants to follow a goody goody one dimensional character for 200+ pages? It is a common sin but Dorman avoids it expertly and weaves a must read tale.