by L. N. Nino

Three Steps into Madness by L. N. Nino is a compilation of three novellas. Each novella is a story of how the main character descends into madness.

“The Brain Within Its Groove” tells the story of how a doctor who had “treated” a mentally ill patient and is so guilty about how he abused her, he winds up becoming mentally ill himself.

“The Gray Man” is about a couple, Greg and Carla, who decides to move from an ex-communist country to America so that Greg can become a writer of great literature. But when he discovers the process of how books are published in America and sees “the depth of literature reduced to the shallowness of entertainment.” he becomes disillusioned and fails into despair

An investigator tries to solve the murder of a famous scholar in “Chronology of a Murder” – with help from the victim who gives an unbelievable theory as to who the murderer is.

Three Steps into Madness is written in archaic language which I found difficult and cumbersome to follow. Also, the narration of each of the three novellas went on too long and didn’t add much to the story. However, the story of each novella is interesting and the twists and turns are fascinating.