Vienna Blood: A Novel (Mortalis)
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Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9780812977769
ISBN: 0812977769
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 496
Publication Date: 2008-01-08
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: 2008-01-08
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Editorial Reviews:
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The second in the Dr. Max Liebermann series, literature’s first psychoanalytic detective.
In the grip of a Siberian winter in 1902, a serial killer in Vienna embarks upon a bizarre campaign of murder. Vicious mutilation, a penchant for arcane symbols, and a seemingly random choice of victim are his most distinctive peculiarities. Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt summons a young disciple of Freud - his friend Dr. Max Liebermann — to assist him with the case. The investigation draws them into the sphere of Vienna’s secret societies — a murky underworld of German literary scholars, race theorists, and scientists inspired by the new evolutionary theories coming out of England. At first, the killer’s mind seems impenetrable — his behaviour and cryptic clues impervious to psychoanalytic interpretation; however, gradually, it becomes apparent that an extraordinary and shocking rationale underlies his actions. . . .
Against this backdrop of mystery and terror, Liebermann struggles with his own demons. The treatment of a patient suffering from paranoia erotica (a delusion of love) and his own fascination with the enigmatic Englishwoman Amelia Lydgate raises doubts concerning the propriety of his imminent marriage. To resolve the dilemma, he must entertain the unthinkable — risking opprobrium and accusations of cowardice.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Historical mystery, travelogue, social and political commentary ... what a smorgasbord!
Comment: Dateline Vienna 1902, location - the sprawling majestic Schönnbrunn Palace's Tiergarten Zoo. Detective Oskar Reinhardt is called to the scene of a grisly slaying - the cruel killing of a 30 foot long anaconda that has been cut into three sections with a saber. But even such an unprecedented bizarre case must fade into the background when Reinhardt is faced with the brutal maniacal slaying of a brothel's madam and two prostitutes. Reinhardt and his close friend, Dr Max Liebermann, a respected practitioner of Freudian psychology, are convinced that the murders, with a strong resemblance to the recent Whitechapel Jack the Ripper executions, are the work of a demented serial killer who will soon be looking for a fourth victim.
"Vienna Blood" is a superbly crafted historical mystery built around a compellingly recreated Vienna. Rheinhardt is portrayed as an early believer in the infant science of forensics and profiling. But, even in turn of the century Vienna, like his modern counterparts, he is faced with internal political pressures. He is being harried to stick to solid, established techniques of dogged police work and to produce a quick arrest.
"Vienna Blood" is a magnificent travelogue of what is arguably one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in Europe and the classical music capital of the world - the Opera House under the leadership of Gustav Mahler, the cafés, the scrumptious calorie laden Mozart and Sacher tortes, the Ringstrasse, the birth of the electric tram system, the magnificent art gallery in the Belvedere; the entertaining natural history collection in the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the extraordinary outdoors beauty of the Vienna Woods on the western fringe of the city.
"Vienna Blood" is also a frightening political commentary. Dealing with the disturbing prevalence of secret societies in Vienna in the early twentieth century, Tallis makes a convincing argument that faults Vienna's "Law on Associations" with driving subversive political groups underground and making them even more dangerous. Tallis shows how the sinister Guido von List - a successful journalist and writer, much loved at the time by hardcore Teutonic Germans obsessed with superiority of the Aryan race and preserving the purity of German bloodlines - was likely the seed that sprouted into the National Socialist movement and their anti-Semitic policies.
Finally, "Vienna Blood" is a wonderful story of the cultural and social milieu of the city. Reinhardt, who is engaged to the vapid but sexually enticing Clara Weiss, realizes that he simply cannot in good conscience marry her because he does not love her. He struggles with the difficulty and the social embarrassment of breaking off the engagement as he realizes he is growing fond of Amelia Lydgate who is studying medicine at the Anatomical Institute. In a most interesting side plot, Amelia is forced to deal with the chauvinistic (nay, misogynistic) attitudes towards women, the clearly inferior sex, who would presume to test their hands at the male professions of art, science and medicine.
When I was in Vienna on vacation last week, I visited a local English language bookstore - Shakespeare & Co - and asked the proprietor to recommend a novel that was not a tour guide but that would represent the city of Vienna well and serve as a memorable souvenir. Five stars for Tallis and "Vienna Blood" and five stars to the lady that made such a superb recommendation. Thank you very much!
Paul Weiss
Customer Rating:
Summary: Vienna Blood
Comment: Great read; really enjoyed this author. This is the first book I have read by this author and will most certainly look forward to reading more by him.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Still some good writers...
Comment: It is always good to read a new book by a, at least to me, new author. I had read his other books, and thoroughly enjoyed them. He still maintains his style of writing, unlike a lot of authors who when they finally "made it" in the publishing field, abandoned their style and ideas for more books, more money, but less readers due to poor writing, no thought...some put out books faster than a hen can lay eggs.
Customer Rating:
Summary: superb sequel
Comment: Tallis has produced an engrossing sequel. The characters are developed further, the plot is set in Vienna at the time of Freud and includes the great doctor. Food, classical music, German literature, and the foreshadowing of the rise of the Nazis are integral to this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "His motives are twisted and obscure."
Comment: "Vienna Blood: Volume Two of the Lieberman Papers" is set in the freezing winter of 1902. Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt is summoned to the zoo to investigate the slaying of a thirty-foot long anaconda named Hildegard. An unknown assailant knocked the keeper unconscious and sliced the snake into three segments with his saber. This bizarre crime soon fades into the background when Oskar and his assistant, Herr Haussmann, are called to the scene of a terrible atrocity. Four women have been slaughtered in a brothel and three were viciously mutilated. For some time now, Inspector Rheinhardt has involved his close friend, Dr. Maxim Liebermann, a practitioner of Freudian psychology, in his inquiries. Max's role is analogous to today's profiler; he has an uncanny gift for applying his knowledge of psychoanalysis to the workings of the criminal mind. More murders follow, and Oskar once again teams up with Max to resolve a troubling and complex case that has the police baffled.
Although he has a satisfying medical practice, Max is not without his personal problems. He is engaged to the lovely but shallow Clara Weiss, a woman who attracts him physically but bores him intellectually. Can a successful marriage be based on lust alone? He is also guilt-ridden by his secret interest in Amelia Lydgate, a British woman who is studying medicine at the Anatomical Institute. She is beautiful and brilliant, a perfect match for the intellectual Liebermann. As Oskar and Max proceed with their investigation into the aforementioned massacre, they ask Amelia to analyze microscopic fibers and blood, using the limited technology available at the time.
All of this occurs against the backdrop of a cosmopolitan and scenic city that harbors ugly secrets. One of them is an organization, "Primal Fire," consisting of bigots who subscribe to a nationalist Pan-German agenda and would love to do away with Slavs, Jews, Catholics, Freemasons, and other non-Aryans who might pollute pure Teutonic bloodlines. The group is led by Baron Gustav von Triebanbach and includes a mediocre and frustrated artist named Andreas Olbricht, a misogynistic doctor, Erich Foch, and an aspiring young composer, Hermann Aschenbrandt. They all admire Richard Wagner and defer to Guido List, who has written works filled with racial and religious hatred. What connection, if any, exists between List's acolytes and the aforementioned homicides? Oskar, Max, and company will need all their powers of observation and analysis to capture a lunatic who is both devious and deadly.
Frank Tallis's vivid description of the atmosphere, language, and culture of Vienna at the turn of the century is fascinating and masterful. He skillfully incorporates historical figures such as Sigmund Freud into the narrative, and he cleverly uses the ideas of psychology, evolution, medicine, and forensics in his well-constructed plot. The characters are nicely drawn: Max is a principled and intelligent individual who fears that he is about to enter into an ill-advised marriage; Rheinhardt's job is causing him great stress, since his superior, the irascible Commissioner Brügel, constantly pressures him to make a quick arrest. Oskar and Max relax in each other's company over drinks and pastries in Vienna's cafés and they enjoy frequent musical evenings during which Max, who plays the piano, accompanies Oskar, who has a fine baritone. The villains range from a handsome soldier, Lieutenant Ruprecht Hefner, who is overly fond of womanizing and dueling, to the many purveyors of intolerance who are planning to take Austria back from its alleged infiltrators. One can readily understand how Hitler, who was familiar with List's writings, came up with the ideas that he later used to mesmerize an entire nation. My sole quibble with "Vienna Blood" is that, at five-hundred pages, it goes on a bit too long. It could have been trimmed with no loss of excitement, suspense, and coherence. Nevertheless, this is an engrossing, informative, and entertaining mystery in which Tallis tackles some compelling themes: the power of the unconscious to influence our actions, the roots of anti-Semitism in Austria, and the terrible decay that often underlies apparently refined civilizations.
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