Editorial Review: Once Upon A Murderous Delusion

When a series of brutal murders strikes an otherwise quiet town, most law enforcement and citizens blame the vulnerable ex-army veteran with schizophrenia; but two of his nurses, Nella and Val, don’t think it was him.

The first time Steven meets Nella he is quiet and polite, except for his stalwart belief that the CIA and the army are responsible for his headaches and the voices he hears. He is angry with his mother for not believing him, so when several mothers are found in increasingly violent and bloody murder scenes - law enforcement brings him in. Despite his insistence that he is innocent, his lawyer’s resolve, and the advocacy of his medical team, Steven is the primary suspect in the murders of these women.

When the ward and the nurses who work there begin to be targeted and the police don’t seem to be taking it seriously – despite several of the nurses being married to local cops – Nella and Val decide to try and figure it out themselves. Kurt, Val’s husband and lead investigator on the case, is doing his best in adverse conditions and even calls the FBI in to help.

Nella and Val, indeed the whole nursing team at the underfunded psychiatric ward, have their own trauma to deal with outside of the difficult things they deal with every day. After serving in the Vietnam war, Nella is haunted by her time nursing the wounded and believes she can see the auras of people – which is how she knows that Steven isn’t one of those who are truly dark. Val is dealing with her own trauma after losing her sister to suicide, in addition to coping with the strain it has put on all of her familial relationships.

Once Upon A Murderous Delusion takes place in the 1980s when psychiatric disorders were only beginning to be understood, and in a town where the attitudes towards those with them were thirty years behind their contemporaries. This othering attitude to those with mental health issues is jarring to a modern reader, but it is time and place appropriate. Clearly written and well researched, A. G. Russo has handled these themes with remarkable compassion while maintaining believable characters for a 1980’s landscape.

There are several scenes in this book that may be upsetting - including graphic violence and sexual assault both on and off-page – but they are not heavy-handed or gratuitous. Though handled well, this gritty serial killer thriller pulls no punches when it comes to the details of sadistic crime. That said, genre readers will get their fill with Once Upon A Murderous Delusion.

Once Upon A Murderous Delusion is a fast-paced and easy-to-read crime thriller, with interesting characters and engaging writing.