Trick of the Mind: A Mystery

by: Cassandra Chan

Published by: St. Martin's Minotaur

Reviewed by Alex McGilvery

Trick of the Mind is a mystery novel by Cassandra Chan with an unlikely pair of detectives: Phillip Bethancourt, a man of independent means, and Jack Gibbons, an up-and-coming Sergeant. Phillip’s outing in Paris is interrupted by a phone call telling him that his friend has been shot. Gibbon’s colleagues and friends are shocked since such violence is rare in London. Unfortunately Gibbons is unable to remember anything that happened after reporting for work the morning of the shooting.

While the police are following up to see what forensic evidence was left at the scene after the rain, Phillip tries to follow his friends’ thinking about the case he was involved in. Jack had just been transferred to a different division from Homicide. He was investigating the theft of some heirloom jewelry from the estate of an old woman. Phillip meets the people involved to learn what it was that Gibbons had found out. Along the way he meets Gibbon’s cousin and an insurance investigator and begins to piece together the missing hours.

I found the characters of Gibbons and Bethancourt immediately engaging. Chan has created people who are original and likable. They interact like old friends. The sections that talk about Jack’s time in the hospital are especially well done. She portrays the pain and frustration wonderfully, as well as the various reactions of the visitors. It is great to read a story in which someone is shot and actually takes time to heal. Even from his hospital, Gibbons is very much involved in the resolution of the case.

This is the third book in the Gibbons and Bethancourt mysteries, and I will be looking for the first two.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a great read for any who like classic mysteries.