Stranger in the Mind Audiobook By James R Berrywood, Steven L Aspen cover art

Stranger in the Mind

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Stranger in the Mind

By: James R Berrywood, Steven L Aspen
Narrated by: Liz May Brice
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About this listen

Stranger in the Mind is a supernatural thriller blending history, mystery, and the unexplainable.

Mystery and murder swirl around a dangerous doctor.

One detective vows to unravel the truth. 1920s Liverpool—a city shrouded in fog and secrets. Detective Amelia Dei uncovers a string of unexplained comas in Liverpool’s most notorious infirmary. As she digs deeper, she faces a sinister psychiatrist and a truth darker than anything she’s imagined...

©2024 J R Berrywood & S L Aspen (P)2025 J R Berrywood & S L Aspen Crime Thrillers Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Psychological Supernatural Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives

Critic reviews

"‘Stranger in the Mind’ quickly draws you in and does not let you go till the last word." Reader Views
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Liz May Brice did a great job with the narration.

1920s Liverpool delivers a setting both familiar and different. Det. Amelia Dei must fight through gender roles, misogyny, and the supernatural in this murder mystery that feels both historical and fantastical. In a way it reminded me of Shadowseer: London by Morgan Rice in that it feels like a classic mystery meshed with an almost urban fantasy twist. Or Out on a Limb by Luis Paredes with its hints at a supernatural world beyond kind of a la Men in Black (although not alien).

Amelia will stop at nothing to upend Dr. Knight and his string of mysterious coma patient deaths. Her superiors don’t believe in her, and are finding it hard to believe her when she says something suspect is going on, but she refuses to relent. Her partner, Det. Reed, is the only one to have her back as the mystery unfolds into swirling darkness.

This is written well and feels cohesive. I found myself wondering where the two authors blended, becoming this unique voice. The two POVs (Amelia and Dr. Knight) worked well for me as I enjoy a glimpse into the dark and madness. The only hang up I had were the flashback memory scenes with young Knight. I understood their need, as it shows his coming into his power and experiencing his dark reality—the Umbra Mentis, but they also felt like attempting to humanize. As the story opens with him committing SA and reveling in it, I didn’t find him redeemable.

This tackles themes of sexism, gender roles, mental illness, poverty, and sexual orientation rather well. Even in a reality that turns out to have an entirely exterior nightmarish world just beyond it, these things are still present and touched on throughout. The Umbra was creepy, intriguing in what the authors held back, and I wished to know more. The inspector finally backing Amelia, as well as hinting at his awareness of the supernatural, makes me feel like there could be an expansive series even beyond the Umbra!

I really liked the last names of Dei and Knight facing off against each other. I have to imagine it was purposeful, as they even chose spellings that were not so on the nose. As the Umbra is this kind of swirling mass of black and darkness, it really felt like Amelia was the day facing off against the night.

A unique supernatural mystery

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Listener received this title free

This story was a collaboration between two authors, and it was my first experience with either one. My attention was hooked from the opening paragraphs until the very end, and I listened to the whole audiobook in one sitting. Although this story was told from two POVs, one character named Doctor Arron Knight and the other was named Detective Amelia Dei, I had no trouble following the flow of the story. I thought the characters were powerfully written as Dr. Knight was a psychiatrist with a special gift and Detective Amelia Dei was the first woman detective in Liverpool in the 1920's. I felt that the combination of all the elements: the underlying themes, the descriptive setting, the strong characters, and the uncomfortable moments added together to make a very thought-provoking and memorable story. I enjoyed Liz May Brice's narration, and her performance kept my attention. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding this audiobook.

Eerie Psychological Thriller

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Listener received this title free

Received as an audio copy to review from Story Origin, this is an honest review. Anchored by the breathtaking and glorious narration by Liz May Brice, Stranger in the Mind is an immersive supernatural thrill ride with amazing, complex characters you cannot forget. Detective Amelia Dei is a fierce forces of nature as she fights to understand the bizarre set of comas and deaths at Brownlow Hill hospital while proving to her male colleagues views of women in a job she shouldn't have. The deeper Amelia and her partner Jonathan Reed dig within the hospital, they discover that a place of healing has become the home for Dr. Knight to exploit a very dark gift he truly believes he can keep control of even as the shadowy world of the Umbra is far more dangerous and haunting than Aaron Knight can understand.

Highly recommended.

A captivating mystery

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