In the book “The Rules of Dreaming”, the author takes us into the mind of a psychiatrist who works and lives in a modern-day institute in which the mood and architecture are strangely reminiscent of a Gothic period insane asylum. The doctor begins to investigate what could have caused one of his patients to suddenly play a very difficult piano piece, having never had a lesson in his life. The doctor’s actions put him in the middle of an ongoing disagreement between the two founders of the institute about how the patient’s schizophrenia should be treated. The patient and his sister, both permanent residents of the institute, have been living there since their mother, a renowned opera singer, was found hanging from a chandelier in her home rehearsal studio. The mother’s death was ruled a suicide at the time, but the appearance in town of a known blackmailer, who is suddenly asking questions about her death, raises suspicions about conclusions made at the time. Suddenly, we are caught up in a tale of murder and madness, one that could have lasted for more than the seven years since the singer’s death, one that might even have been going on for centuries.

While you read this marvelous work by Bruce Hartman you get caught up in the madness of the story, which twists and turns and returns. Mr. Hartman uses a device in telling the story that is not obvious until he tells you about it near the end of the book. For me it was one of the best “ah ha” moments I have had in reading in a long time. I recommend this book strongly to anyone who enjoys a fine mystery, laced with a little madness, mischief and the macabre.

In "The Rules of Dreaming", Dubin, a disgraced journalist-turned blackmailer, sets his sights on a new research project. His research is no different than that he conducted as a journalist -- only now he confronts the guilty with his findings and earns a living on the resulting hush money. This latest project involves solving the tragedy of the Morgan family. Maria Morgan was an opera singer who committed suicide seven years before this story takes place and just before she was due to open in a production of "The Tales of Hoffman". Her son and daughter, Hunter and Antonia, both of whom had been diagnosed as having mental illnesses, were institutionalized shortly thereafter and are still residents of the Palmer Institute. Hunter reads and watches videos incessantly, and speaks only scraps of phrases and quotes from the Shakespeare plays he watches over and over. His sister Antonia has not spoken since her mother died. In the same time frame as that in which the blackmailer, Dubin, begins his investigation, Hunter's psychiatrist, Ned Hoffman, and the rest of the staff at Palmer, are amazed by Hunter's impromptu piano performance of a Schumann piece.

Bruce Hartman's "The Rules of Dreaming" works on so many levels. There is the underlying mystery concerning Maria's death entwined with a Gothic, psychological thriller based on the opera "The Tales of Hoffman". Much of the tale is narrated through the perspective of Ned Hoffman, the young psychiatrist who struggles with the clinic's insistence on pharmaceutical treatments for the patients instead of analysis. There is also the story of Nicole, a young Irish graduate student, who decides to make Hoffman the subject of her dissertation and finds life is terrifyingly similar to art -- or is it the other way around? Part of me wanted to rush through the story to get to the solution to the puzzle, and the other part wanted to slow down and enjoy every word and nuance of this complex and satisfying mystery. It is a great read and highly recommended.