Early in 2020, I watched a PBS TV mini-series entitled “Vienna Blood.” While watching the series, I discovered that it was based on books by author Frank Tallis. I have now read the first book featuring Max and his circle of friends and family, A Death in Vienna. There are at least seven books in the series.
Thank you for the great fun. I visited Vienna in 2016 and it was nice to “see” again some of the places I visited at that time.
Dr. Max Liebermann is young psychoanalyst living in Vienna early in the 20th Century. He is a disciple of Sigmund Freud but is not an active student of Freud. His boss thinks Freud is a quack. Max’s good friend is a slightly older Inspector with Vienna Security (police) whose name is Oskar Rheinhardt. Oskar’s career is on shaky grounds. He is happily married with two kids. Oskar is a singer and Max plays the piano. They do it together for relaxation.
In this story they work together to solve a “locked room” murder. The victim was a medium who conducted weekly séances with a group of seven regulars all of whom are suspects. Included in the group are a Viennese banker, his wife, a locksmith, an industrialist, a down on his luck Hungarian Count, a con man/magician and a female dressmaker. The victim was shot to death and there is no bullet to be found in the body or anywhere else in the room.
Playing significant roles are Amelia Lydgate, an English nanny who wants to become a doctor, and Clara Weiss to whom Max is engaged. The last significant player in the story is famous Reisenrad Ferris wheel in Prater Park. It is still working.
The story is fast paced. The reader also discovers that Freud had a sense of humor. Readers will also get brief explanations of the meaning of dreams, the geography of Vienna of 100 years ago and an introduction to psychoanalysis. Many of the locations mentioned are still available for visitors to see. I am looking forward to reading more about Max, his family and his friends.
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