La structure et le dynamisme sont des réussite. Le cadre est le milieu est forcément romanesque… Très agréable au final. ( )

A principios del siglo pasado, Viena asiste impávida al asesinato de una conocida médium. Todos los indicios conducen a pensar que su muerte se debe a una causa... sobrenatural. Sin embargo, el inspector Oskar Rheinhardt se nieva a aceptar tal posibilidad y solicita el consejo del doctor Max Liebermann, un joven psiquiatra que acaba de introducirse en los círculos psicoanalíticos. Las primeras pesquisas no arrojan ninguna luz sobre los hechos y Liebermann se da cuenta de qu no basta con adentrarse en la mente del asesino. En el transcurso de una de sus reuniones con Sigmund Freud, el maestro le dará la clave para emprender una investigación que lo llevará a descubrir una verdad incómoda y aterradora.

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 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. ( )

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 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. ( )

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. ( )