The Narcissism of Small Differences: A Noir Detective Novel - Softcover

Dorgan, Dennis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1098392272 ISBN 13: 9781098392277

Publisher: BookBaby, 2021

Synopsis

The Narcissism of Small Differences is a noir detective novel about the guiding influences of memory and the subconscious mind. It's also a story about how insignificant the differences are between the defenders of law and order and those who live in the world outside of it. And, while it is also a fast-paced police procedural, in the end this is the story of Conor Delaney, a man who can see into the dark.

The story starts with a traumatized, ten-year-old Conor Delaney sitting at the kitchen table of Grandmother Raven, a powerful Ojibwe Midewikwe. Before he leaves her doublewide on the frozen shores of Lake Superior, she holds a ceremony for him, heals his trauma and dubs him Owl Eyes for his ability to see into the dark.

As an adult, he is the head of Delphi Investigations and Research. In this role he ferrets out corporate misdeeds like bank fraud, money laundering and market manipulation. He will ultimately find that these corporate crimes are at the heart of his first murder case; one that the perpetrator of three gruesome murders forces him into. The police team he joins is headed by his good friend, Mel Thorogood, Assistant Police Chief.

Another of his friends is Dr. Phil, a former Jesuit, psychologist and carney barker, who murdered six abusive priests. He is now a permanent resident at the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Delaney thinks him to be among the most moral men he knows. Dr. Phil is still a formidable forensic psychologist and profiles the killer as a malignant narcissist who may be a woman. He also lays to rest the notion of a serial killer.

Mackey Stately is the City's crime boss and a close friend of Delaney's since childhood. He is pledged to help Delaney with this case. Other unconventional friends, including Henri Bouchard, his Ojibwe brother, help him bring this case to a conclusion. The journey to that goal is grounded in St. Paul, Minnesota, but also involves excursions through Belfast, Kansas City, Tulsa, St. Peter, Minnesota, and St Petersburg, Russia.

But it is the journey into Delaney's subconscious mind and dreams that bring the investigation to its astonishing conclusion.

About this title

About the Author

The Narcissism of Small Differences is Dennis Dorgan's first novel. He recently retired from a lifetime of working with private and government agencies that took on the heart-breaking issues confronting low-income persons in our country: domestic violence, homelessness, hunger, unemployment and systemic racism. So, instead of writing the Great American Novel, he wrote a carload of funding proposals and similar documents. They steered millions of dollars to legal aid and other organizations that serve low-income families and communities. It was important work.

He claims that his interest in politics, history, law enforcement, criminal gangs, dark matter, Ojibwe culture, the subconscious mind, dreams, psychopaths, the many forms of narcissism, and the City of St. Paul's criminal-friendly past, all came together in a dream that led him to write this novel.

He lives happily on the shores of one of Minnesota's ten-thousand lakes with his wife, Debra, dog, Finnegan, and an invisible water sprite that keeps plugging new characters into his psyche.

From the Back Cover

The Reviews Are In
And They All Agree . . .

Clever, eloquent and emotionally revealing . . . An absolute stunner . . . Fans of sophisticated, gritty crime thrillers will want to take a look. Dorgan is an author to watch.
- The Prairie Book Review


Filled with witty one-liners, the Narcissism of Small Differences is like no other murder mystery . . . a one-of-a-kind book . . . a new sort of mystery.
- Literary Titan


This taut police procedural will appeal to any fan of tightly constructed, seasoned mysteries. This is crime drama at its best.
- Bookview Review

. . . more demanding (and thus more satisfying) than your typical crime piece. . . . a multifaceted read that is satisfyingly complex and thoroughly engrossing.

- Midwest Book Review

Edition details

• Publisher: BookBaby
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1098392272
• ISBN 13: 9781098392277
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 294