A Death in Vienna

Vienna, early twentieth century. A beautiful medium is found dead in a locked room, shot through the heart and with an apparent suicide note on the table, but where is the weapon? Inspector Rheinhardt of the Viennese security office is put on the case, but because he and his assistant Haussmann are quite baffled by the case, Rheinhardt asks his good friend Max Liebermann, a young psychiatrist, for help.

I came to this book via the BBC series Vienna Blood and because it is so well executed decided to read the novels. What a good decision that was, because there is so much more to explore in the novel, including some fascinating historical scientific facts. While by no means a page turner, the rather sedate pace suits the setting and show more atmosphere rather well, though I expect it is also responsible for the average rating of only three and a half stars. Tallis has clearly done his research, and without knowing Vienna personally, the setting and evocation of the turn-of-the-century atmosphere appear flawless, even though he does get carried slightly away at times and some of the descriptions could easily have been cut without detracting from the experience. The characterisations are superb and the characters fully three-dimensional, no doubt owing to the author's ability to observe and describe human nature (he is a qualified clinical psychologist). I thought the solution to the mystery was rather original, and apparently based on a real case, as explained in the author's note.

While having an odd couple as investigating detectives is nothing new, I thought the pairing of Oskar Rheinhardt and Max Liebermann was given novelty value by making Liebermann a disciple of Sigmund Freud and practising psychiatrist, a medical discipline that was still very much in its infancy at the time the novel is set. I was particularly glad to see that the character of Amelia Lydgate is given far more prominence in the book than in the TV series; in fact, it is due to her intelligence and inquisitive nature that the case was solved at all!

I will definitely continue with the series and am looking forward to reading Vienna Blood later in the year. show less

Mortal Mischief, by Frank Tallis, is the first in a series known as the Liebermann Papers; in it, we are introduced to Max Liebermann, a young psychiatrist living in Vienna in 1902, and his friend, Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt with the Vienna police force. Max is friendly with Sigmund Freud, although he finds his constant dwelling on sexuality to be a bit over the top; still, some of Freud's ideas have merit in Max's view and he is happy to place those ideas at the service of Oskar when a puzzling, "locked room" type of murder takes place. It seems that a beautiful young medium, Fraulein Lowenstein, has been killed, but how the killer got out of the locked room in which her body was found and what weapon was used to kill her are complete show more mysteries. That is, until Oskar and Max begin to look into the past lives of the circle of devotees who had been planning to attend a seance on the night of the murder.... This is a series discovered by my husband, when he picked up a copy of the fourth novel in Victoria, B.C., and then realized he needed to go back to read the first three novels as well. I'm glad he did, because this is a very intriguing set of characters (I didn't even mention Max's fiancee Clara or his patient, the Englishwoman Amelia Lydgate, in the above synopsis), living in a very interesting place at a very interesting time. Tallis does a good job of setting the atmosphere of that world, including the nascent studies of electricity in health care, the theory of "hysterical neurosis," the rising anti-Semitism of the time, and the burgeoning field of female suffrage. As a series, this is off to an excellent start, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one. Recommended! show less

Frank Tallis writes an extremely descriptive and thought provoking novel. His novels have been adapted by PBS into a series called Vienna Blood. The novel outranks the television series immensely. One of the distractions in the novel is the frequent use of German for coffee, desserts, and buildings. Frank Tallis should have added a glossary. The detailed description of the setting and characters embellished the story. Of course, I had seen the PBS episode and knew many of the sequences and the mystery of the locked door and absence of a bullet. The introduction of Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalysis proved very interesting. I adored the Jewish jokes of Freud. Music provides a dramatic sense of relief during the most gruesome aspects of show more the novel. Oskar sings and Max plays the piano to express their love of music. A hint of the melody floats through the pages. The dark side of life appears in the treatment of women and in the hatred toward the Jewish community. I would love to be drinking coffee and savoring a Viennese pastry. show less

Disappointing. I'd assumed something with a TV adaptation might have a spark that this was lacking. The prose and characterisation are good, but the plot and the mystery and sorely lacking. Multiple tired tropes are invoked (the locked room mystery, the vanishing bullet, the closed circle of suspects etc).

The presentation of Freudian psychology (particularly dream interpretation) as some sort of infallible science is laughable at times, especially when used to justify a situation of artificial peril at the climax. As a device to warm over another cold trope of the Holmesian problem-solving genius it doesn't really work because we live in a world where crimes are simply not solved that way.

The mystery is solved extremely quickly, late in show more the book, by the main love interest and it's made clear that if someone of similar skills had known the details earlier there would have been no book to write. The identity of the killer was clear to me from far earlier once we saw their access to materials used in the commission of the crime.

It was also a bit of a slow slog, only gathering pace and interest in the final act. Not for me. show less

Enthralling murder mystery set in fin de siècle Vienna. The two protagonists, Inspector Rheinhardt, aided by the young psychiatrist, Dr. Max Liebermann, investigate the death of a noted medium. The murder took place in a locked room, with no trace of the bullet that killed her. It did enter her body, but where is it? I enjoyed the descriptions of the Vienna of that time, also the interplay between the two main characters and glimpses into their personal lives. Each man supports the other. Liebermann's psychological insights come in handy. They get unexpected help from a young Englishwoman, Miss Lydgate, who has come to Vienna to study with a famous doctor.

Highly recommended.

he murder mystery is not *that* interesting but the setting is wonderful. Really. It has some of my favourite things mixed in an historical murder mystery. So it has birth of psychoanalysis lit (Freud, Vienna 1902), the hero is a young Jewish Doctor, a fan of Professor Freud. We have Vienna, 1902, music (Beethoven, Mahler, Strauss, Chopin) both our hero and his counter part in the police are music lovers. We have Vienna, 1902, and the 14th Secession exhibition, dedicated to Beethoven. Klimt, Klinger, the building. Tallis makes the period come alive. The antisemitism in the city, the clash of modern values and the rise of the Pan German regime.

I will read the second novel in the series.

The beginning of this book is somewhat disjointed trying to introduce characters, their relationships at the same time as identify the murder of a well-known physic. If the book had continued to progress in the same manner, I probably would have abandoned it, but once all the factors were in place, the story definitely improved. However, as interesting as the story was, the characters still lacked some dimension.

The setting in Vienna around the turn of the century 1900 with Sigmund Freud as a background character was just a part of the draw of this book. This locked door mystery is worth the time even if there was room for improvement.