A status update on Facebook, a few pictures on Instagram, some tweets. That is about it for most people when it comes to bragging about great vacations.

Barry Wiley was so enamoured with Bermuda he decided to make the Island the focus of one of his books.

“Bermuda was such a natural place for a novel because it has such a history of mystery and all that,” he said.

“Because it was such a beautiful place, it seemed an ideal place to put a murder.

“I thought it would make for an interesting book. I thought it was the ideal background for something that was not at all Bermudian — lots of violence.

“You have all that history there anyway, I thought, ‘Why not just build on it?’.”

Beyond the Tempest is the latest in a string of works by the 78-year-old author. He wrote his first novel, about a young boy and his Arabian stallion, while in the fourth grade. He still has it today.

“Every now and then I come across it and it brings back a rush of memories,” the Harvard graduate said.

The retired Silicon Valley executive has a strong interest in the paranormal and has lectured on the history of stage mentalism, mind-reading and spiritualism for various organisations, including the Psychic Entertainers Association.

That interest is a running theme in his books.

“They all tend to have a mind-reading, magical background,” said Mr Wiley, who lives just outside of Los Angeles.

“I was an assistant to a magician back in high school and have been involved in the magic world ever since.”

As a result, Beyond the Tempest is not about the Island’s pink houses or beaches.

“Mentalist Kaarin Laarson is booked to appear at a conference on Bermuda to replace a murdered memory expert, who has been shot twice by two killers at the same time in an abandoned cemetery, even though just holding the guns on Bermuda risks ten years in prison,” the dust jacket reads.

“She must dodge killers, perform her mental wonders, all the while dealing with a deeper question: is she human?

“Kaarin is becoming more deeply troubled by recurring, agonising dreams of visions, and strange feelings of threat that had driven her from her life’s work as a theoretical physicist probing the cosmos. And then that bitter suggestion by a renowned anthropologist, offhand and careless … that she may not be human.”

Mr Wiley researched the book with help from the Bermuda Police Service.

“[They] went out of their way to answer my questions,” he said.

“They took me on a tour of various things and we sat down and went over some Intel reports.

“When I questioned them and we started to move into confidential areas, they drew lines and not everything they showed me could be used in my novel but they trusted me to use my judgment and I greatly appreciated that.

“I could not have received a more generous response.

“Bermuda has such a unique history and unique and beautiful presence. Our time there was just so positive.

I completely appreciated the support of the Police Service. They answered questions on the telephone, by e-mails, while I was there.

“I read The Royal Gazette every week or so to get caught up and see how things are going.”

Mr Wiley, who has visited the Island three times, said he took “great liberties” with Bermuda’s geography, adjusting bits to better suit his needs.

“In the novel I created a cafe that I wish were there. I needed something uniquely Bermudian,” he said.

• Buy Beyond the Tempest at barnesandnoble.com. Learn more about Mr Wiley at www.creatorofmysteriousstories.com.