Vienna Secrets

Liebermann Papers #4

by Frank Tallis

In Freud’s dangerous, dazzling Vienna of 1903, an ingenious doctor and an intrepid detective again challenge psychotic criminals across a landscape teetering between the sophisticated and the savage, the thrilling future and the primitive past.

On opposite sides of the city, two men are found beheaded on church grounds. Detective Inspector Oskar Reinhardt is baffled. Could the killer be mentally ill, someone the victims came into contact with? Some are even blaming the murders on the devil. But when psychoanalyst Dr. Max Liebermann learns that both victims were vocal members of a shadowy anti-Semitic group, he turns his gaze to the city’s close-knit Hasidic community. The doctor is drawn into an urban underworld that hosts and hides virulent racists on one side and followers of kabbalah on the other. And as the evidence—and bodies—pile up, Liebermann must reconsider his own path, the one that led him away from the miraculous and toward a life of the mind.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Historical, Mystery Thriller

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Aka F.R. Tallis.

Dr. Frank Tallis is a writer and clinical psychologist. He has held lecturing posts in clinical psychology and neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry and King's College, London. He has written self help manuals (How to Stop Worrying, Understanding Obsessions and Compulsions) non-fiction for the general reader (Changing Minds, Hidden Minds, Love Sick), academic text books and over thirty academic papers in international journals. Frank Tallis' novels are: KILLING TIME (Penguin), SENSING OTHERS (Penguin), MORTAL MISCHIEF (Arrow), VIENNA BLOOD (Arrow), FATAL LIES (Arrow), and DARKNESS RISING (Arrow). The fifth volume of the Liebermann Papers, DEADLY COMMUNION, will be published in 2010. In 1999 he received a Writers' Award from the Arts Council of Great Britain and in 2000 he won the New London Writers' Award (London Arts Board). In 2005 MORTAL MISCHIEF was shortlisted for the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award.

Reviews

[SoulSurvivor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began this series several months ago. I was able to find volumes 1 & 2 via the library, and awarded them both 4 stars. Unable to find volume 3 I decided to carry on with #4. The style and pace were both different in this book for the first 250 pages. The author returned to his original format 2/3 way through the book which raised it from the 2-3 star netherland to a 3 high enough to round up to 4.
Mostly a fictional series with nibles of both psychology/psychiatry and history interspersed.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading my way through the Liebermann Papers series (Vienna Blood on PBS) and this is number four and in my opinion the best so far. It seems an optimistic period in 1903 Vienna, but there is an undercurrent of rising antisemitism . The plot involves Jewish mysticism, and folklore (the story of the Prague Golem). Max takes on an interesting new psychological case and more interesting details about Max’s and Oskar’s lives emerge. And of course, so many musical references as Max and Oskar continue their duets and eat Viennese pastry. This is really an outstanding historical mystery series on many levels.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just recently saw these mysteries on PBS and enjoyed them...so of course, I went and found the books. I'm a real believer that most likely, the books are usually better than the tv shows or movies. What I find very interesting about these books is the atmosphere, and the information about Vienna in the time prior to WWI and during the time that Freud was becoming prominent. Of course, we are look backwards after a hundred years have passed, but I am sure there are still readings, art, newspaper articles, government papers demonstrating how 'dark' this time period was. Hitler was never created in a vacuum, but rather was an outgrowth of previously held belief systems that he grew up in and was taught. So these books definitely demonstrate the social fabrics of the time, and how anti-Semitism was growing.

I found the mystery interesting, and scary. Men will always use fear to drive personal agendas, and this book demonstrates such an occurrence. Tallis conveys deep seated beliefs in both religion and social mores, that someone used to advance his own interests. We can see this happening every day in our own political environment, where many men and women put their own interests and beliefs as the most 'important' regardless of who they may hurt in the meantime.

Enjoyable mystery if very dark. I always like books that teach me about history, and make me think about my own prejudices too.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the story--this series is one of my new favorites. I especially enjoy the little details of the Vienna music scene in the 1900's. But I read it on my Kindle, and whoever or whatever was responsible for putting it in e-book format did a horrible job. One main character's name is consistently rendered as two separate words, which became unbelievably irritating [note to editor: her name is Lydgate...NOT Lyd gate]. By all means read the book, but my suggestion is to read the print version if those kinds of editing errors are as distracting to you as I found them to be.

[Lawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Tallis brings back young Max Lieberman for his fourth appearance in "Vienna Secrets." Lieberman, a psychiatrist and member of Sigmund Freud's growing group of followers is called upon once again to offer psychoanalytical insight to a series of troubling murders by his friend Oskar Reinhardt, an inspector with the Vienna Security Office.

Three bodies are found at the base of plague columns in very public locations about Vienna near well known churches. Each victim has been decapitated. However, the men have lost their heads, not to a sword or other sharp instrument. Someone with incredible strength has ripped their heads from their necks. Oddly, great quantities of mud are found at each scene.

The first deaths are attributed to ritualistic murder, committed by a zealous cult of followers of a Hasidic Rabbi who foretells that justice is coming. But the pieces of the puzzle are not easily fitted together when the third victim is Jewish.

Tallis deftly weaves ancient Jewish folklore into the plot of "Vienna Secrets." Lieberman learns of the ancient "Book of Creation," describing the Rabbi of Prague's creation of a Golem centuries ago. Has a Kabbalistic Mystic recreated the Rabbi of Prague's monster?

Anti-Semetism is becoming a popular position reaching to the very heart of Vienna's Town Hall. The upstanding rulers of the city view the Jewish population as a plague. Efforts are being openly made to remove Jews from every profession in the city.

Even Lieberman becomes a target when he denies admittance of a priest to give the last rites to the profligate son of an Austrian Baron. The young Baron is in the last moments of his life, but is in a dream world looking forward to his next summer with his comrades in his country home.
Lieberman staunchly defends his actions to his detractors, explaining that had the priest given last rights, the young man would have been terrified at his impending death and would have died in terror, not peace. Unless he apologizes he will lose the right to practice in the hospital whose commissioners are members of the elite anti-semitic faction that pervades Vienna.

Meanwhile, Barash, the Hasidic Rabbi, has told Lieberman that he, too, may not live to see the end of the month. Vienna seems to have been taken over by extremists among Gentile and Jew.

Lieberman is haunted by dreams filled with symbols of ancient Rabbinic mysticism. He and Reinhardt must move quickly before Vienna explodes in a paroxysm of racial violence, if Lieberman himself does not fall prey to the mysterious killer who possesses incredible strength.

Once again, Tallis has executed a deftly plotted work of historical fiction and mystery. Frank Tallis is a clinical psychologist in England. The Lieberman series continues to draw growing recognition in England and France. Max Lieberman next appears in "Vienna Twilight." It will be on my list to read.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grotesque pair of murders of prominent anti-Semites at first seem to be of supernatural origin, but as Liebermann and Rheinhardt investigate, a Jewish procurer is murdered and the increasingly complex trail leads to a human and mechanical explanation. Unlike book #3 of the Liebermann series which has a more accessible plot, this one circles in short vignettes and gradually closes upon its bizarre solution, revealed as Liebermann is foolishly sucked into a rather obvious trap.

The secrets here are those of Jewish mysticism (the kabbalah, the golem legends, demonology) and of faith in supernatural intervention, both of which are used as political weapons by those longing for Jewish resistance to the growing anti-Semitism of Karl Lueger's Vienna in 1903. Another plot thread involves pogroms in Russia which have led to a flood of refugees to Vienna -- notably Jewish women who become prostitutes and are mistreated by other Jews as well as by anti-Semites.

A city politician hungry for power threatens Liebermann's position as a doctor when he clashes with a priest wanting to rouse a dying syphilitic aristocrat from a peaceful morphine haze in order to give him last rites. Liebermann's assimilated skepticism leads him to underestimate the seriousness of this threat, whereas the deeply religious Hasidim and their sympathizers see his danger clearly. "The priests, the Christian Socials, the Pan-Germans, and we are complicit in our demise. We assimilate, convert, and become embarrassed by the appearance of a caftan on the Ringstrasse! They divide us."

Another fascinating exploration of divisions in Viennese society before World War I. Liebermann's love life and vocational conflict with his father come into play but assume less importance than in the earlier books.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's obvious that Tallis loves these mysteries--the characters, the time period, the food, the atmosphere. He loves them so much he can't seem to leave anything out, and wants to make sure we have enough characters to personify what all is going on in turn-of-the-century Vienna. So we get very short chapters, each dealing with a few characters, for a few pages, and then it's a quick shift to a new bunch. It all comes together in the end, and this particular book in the series has a very interesting who- and how-dunit. But it has too many quick shifts. I wanted longer chapters featuring Liebermann only--and more of Miss Lydgate.

By the way, why the change in titles from British to American editions? And why such a lame choice, throwing in the word "Vienna" in case that might be forgotten? I await "Vienna Fingers" and "Vienna Sausage."

[Kaileychan88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8

[Brillenpinguin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieser Krimi liest sich gut weg. Trotzdem hat es bei mir sehr lange gedauert, was aber daran lag, dass ich das Buch immer wieder bei der Bibliothek vormerken musste und es kam prompt immer, wenn es so gar nicht zu meinem Leseverhalten passen wollte.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

In three days I polished off another of Frank Tallis' amazing Vienna fin de siecle novels. This one shows his continuing growth as a writer, and since he started at a very high plateau, this one is nothing short of amazing. What's different? A more daring plot, with complications directly impacting Max Liebermann, his psychiatric protagonist. In addition, he delves into Jewish mysticism, touches on Viennese politics, explores medical-religious conflict and of course tempts us with references to Vienna's food offerings. He does it all keeping us in suspense until the surprise denouement. When you read a story so intriguing, so well crafted, it's as if you had a chance to dine with one a famous person, or be present at an historic event. Fortunately, more Tallis awaits.

[Jack Hrkach · Rating 3 out of 5]

So! My fourth installment of the Lieberman Papers is finished! In this one race and racism matter, Liebermann gets into trouble, one section is set in Prague (a plus for me - two great cities!) - and then there's the Golem...or IS there?

I found it quite interesting, as I've come to very much enjoy Tallis's style. It may be a tad heavy on discussions of the Jews and their (mis)treatment in Vienna and beyond, as well as in Freudian psychology, but I'm hooked. Going straight on to the next installment, in which I hope for more ointerplay between Lieberman and Miss Lydgate, his former patient, now his "friend" - or is she la belle dame sans merci?

I won't tell, you'll have to read to see!

[Katherine Bambridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuminating

This was a fabulous read. I admit that I came to the Lieberman novels by way of the television adaptation but the books are even better. Tallis incorporates a thorough knowledge of Viennese and Jewish history into his texts and I always come away feeling that I have learnt something. The criminal and medical cases are intriguing and I find the main protagonists appealing.
Tallis writes with great confidence; he makes no apology for his use of a complex, accurate and appropriate vocabulary and I envy his pace.
A brilliant read that has taken my mind off lockdown!

[Zella Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun entry in the series. It's so different from the TV adaptation that I had to double-check it was the same story. One aspect that was removed in the adaptation but I found really interesting in the book was watching Liebermann, a secular Jewish man of science, grapple with fantastical concepts in Jewish mysticism as they related to the case. Tallis also does a really good job of showing how political movements and theories in 1903 laid the groundwork for the horrors of the world wars in later decades since the lovely, vibrant, complicated Vienna of Liebermann and Rheinhardt is also the Vienna that a young Adolf Hitler lived and seethed in.

[Linda T. Pirolli · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love learning from your novels, this book is perfect

Packed with details about the social history and celebrities of Vienna in 1900, the author also draws on his professional knowledge of psychology, OCD in particular, and the origins of Freud's school, to craft his story. The plot differs from the BBC version, but the characters retain their personalities and I could easily imagine the actors within the novel. The only thing I don't like is that Dr Liebermann's psychological makeup blinds him to the dangers he and his larger family will face in the coming years. Read this book.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching the excellent PBS series, Vienna Blood, I vowed to read some of the source material. To my delight, I discovered that there were additional novels which had not yet been televised and purchased the novel which would follow from the last episode I viewed. That novel is Vienna Secrets. To be sure, that title could have applied to any of the previous novels because these Max (as in Maxim) Liebermann novels by Frank Tallis are not afraid to delve into conspiracy, betrayal, secret societies, underground vices, and, in this case, Kabbalah. But don’t worry, even though you will find references to Prague’s Rabbi Loew and the golem, gematria (symbolic meaning of numbers), metoscopy (reading Hebrew words or characters in the lines on an individual’s face), lamed vavniks (the 36 righteous men who in Jewish lore keep the world from ending), dybbiks (powerful demons), and Jewish mystical writings, you don’t need to know anything about them in advance to enjoy this riveting mystery. I’ve visited Loew’s Old-New Synagogue in Prague and, as a result, I caught references to the golem mystery before Tallis overtly revealed it, but I wouldn’t have been frustrated if I had only found out when Liebermann (ironically) finds out.

For those who don’t know the series, Max Liebermann is a junior doctor in Vienna, specializing in the diseases of the mind. He is an admirer of Freud and has received a certain amount of resistance to his adoption of Freud’s theories on dreams and treatment by psychoanalysis. He becomes a de facto (ie. “unpaid” and “unofficial”) consultant to the police. By this book, he no longer needs to prove himself to Detective Oskar Rheinhardt but he is questioned and his career politicized within the hospital itself.

The series does a fabulous job of describing turn of the 20th century Vienna and such strange snake-oil treatments as magnetized water, along with bizarre curiosities such as Narrenturm, the cylindrical-almost cake designed psychiatric hospital in Vienna where the general public was allowed to circumnavigate the halls and observe the inmates. Tallis makes excellent use of primary sources to summarize speeches and magazine/newspaper articles to illuminate the temper of the early 20th century Austrian society. And just in case you think some things are too bizarre to have happened, there is an extensive afterward (with both detailed acknowledgements and a delightful historical appendix).

Vienna Secrets features a series of grotesque decapitations which seem to be inexorably tied to religion (both Judaism and Catholicism). I can’t resist sharing a couple of scenes I particularly enjoyed. Considering the supernatural aspects surrounding the beliefs described in the book, I thought Oskar’s description in this scene particularly apropos: “RHEINHARDT HAD BEEN SMOKING cigars all the way from Josefstadt to Hietzing. As a result, when he opened the carriage door, he emerged from the confined space like Mephistopheles, surrounded by a roiling yellow cloud. He placed a foot on the step and jumped to the ground, his coat catching the air and rising up like a black wing. The young constable who greeted Rheinhardt was somewhat overawed by the inspector’s theatrical débouché.” (p. 103)

Tallis also drew nice comparisons between the baroque architecture of Vienna and the gothic architecture of Prague. For instance: “Liebermann observed an imposing Gothic structure, which he knew to be the Church of Our Lady Before Týn. Its two towers, of unequal height, were festooned with sharp pinnacles. It looked nothing like the baroque churches of Vienna, with their ebullient ornate façades, which always reminded Liebermann of confectionery. The Church of Our Lady Before Týn was a much darker piece of architecture—brooding, even sinister. The black, bristling spires were menacing, the home of some horrifying storybook evil.” (p. 205)
Some of my favorite lines were robust conversational ripostes. Early in the book, Liebermann’s father, Mendel, is accused of being too pessimistic, but Mendel insists: “A pessimist is just a well-informed optimist.” (p. 16) When Liebermann believes himself overthinking an issue, he admits, “Sometimes things are exactly what they seem to be, and nothing else.” But immediately comes the rejoinder: “A difficult concept for a psychiatrist to grasp, admittedly,” … (p. 72). Tallis recycles a classic Jewish comment that I’ve heard before, but rather enjoy because it applies to a lot a people I know who are not Jewish: “There’s an old saying: two rabbis, three arguments. And you know, it’s not far wrong.” (p. 98)

At another point, Max confronts a villain who is monologuing. I don’t think this interlocution will spoil the mystery. Max observed that the villain’s behavior would be, according to Freud, psychopathological. The villain responds: “That may be so, but Professor Freud’s objectives are somewhat different from mine.” To which Max responds in sermonic form: “True. Where he seeks to heal divisions in the psyche, you seek to open them up in society.” (p. 349).

Vienna Secrets is extremely well-written, erudite without being pedantic and off-putting, and mesmerizing. I think this is the best historical-fiction as mystery that I’ve read since my stand-by author, Anne Perry’s two Victorian mysteries. Yet, I like this series even better because the early 20th century European setting with Austrian, Teutonic, Jewish, and Slavic backgrounds is even more fascinating to me.

[Elaine Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fourth Liebermann Papers novel, and it's a very good one. Tallis's stories are steeped in historical settings and science, especially psychotherapy. Even more than the earlier three, this book foreshadows the dreadful rise of anti-Semitism, putting Dr. Liebermann's practice of Freudian analysis into the crosshairs of bigoted establishment figures. I appreciate the fact that not every loose end is neatly tied up, and that this particular story ends on such an ironic note.

[Jo Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series, set in turn of the century Vienna, and this book was no exception. It was a little more far-fetched and gruesome than the others (as I recall) but still very enjoyable. I am sorry that the author seems to be focusing less on the detective, though.

[J.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When violence is employed to serve an ideal it invariably negates that ideal.” (364)

Another good installment in the Liebermann mysteries, this time in 1903 as racial tensions are slowly starting to rise, a golem begins a killing spree, or does it?

[Lynn Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I'll have to revise my prejudice about historical detection after this series set in the turn-of-the-century Vienna of Dr. Freud and anti-Semitism. Max Liebermann is very appealing.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good, but not great. first of the series I've read. Great use of location and era, but the story meanders.

[Sonia Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Passados 6 anos regressei à série Liebermann e ainda bem que o fiz. Livros históricos ou de época não são o meu género mas esta série é qualquer coisa especial. Acho que, primeiro, porque se passa em Vienna, que não é um local habitual nos livros que leio; segundo, porque retrata uma sociedade, do início do século XX, em que quase tudo era mais elegante que agora e isso é cativante; apesar de o autor escrever em Inglês e não Austríaco, acho que dá para perceber como, de facto, as pessoas falavam e se comportavam na altura (este livro passa-se em 1903), as deferências para com os outros, os cumprimentos, etc... Porque é que nesta série aprecio este tipo de coisa e noutros livros históricos/de época mão - não sei dizer... Em terceiro lugar, Liebermann é Psiquiatra e sempre gostei de ler sobre personagens médicos, sendo a psiquiatria uma área intrigante. Com Liebermann conhecemos alguns aspetos que, mesmo não sendo já estranhos nesta altura, é engraçado saber como pensavam há mais de 100 anos atrás. O próprio Freud entra como personagem secundário, a dar palestras e a conversar com Liebermann. Acompanhar alguns casos de pacientes de Liebermann e como este lida com eles é bem interessante, como foi o caso de um homem que pensava e apresentava os sintomas de gravidez.

Mais que o caso policial em si, achei fascinante ler sobre os Judeus, saber um pouco da história deste povo antes de 1903 e também nessa altura. Sabendo eu que as guerras mundiais estavam para chegar, para mim é algo doloroso pensar que estes personagens queridos teriam uma provação terrível a chegar...

Tive bastante dificuldade em reconhecer os personagens secundários de capítulo para capítulo., talvez por causa dos nomes estranhos, de modo que, quando o assassino foi revelado, ainda tive de pensar quem ele era mesmo.

O caso policial era um mistério interessante, lá isso era, mas o desenlace não me convenceu completamente. Recordo dos 3 livros anteriores que também achei as explicações, mais propriamente os métodos utilizados pelos assassinos, pouco convincentes e ideias muito rebuscadas. Aqui foi o mesmo, a forma como as vítimas foram decapitadas.

Tive pena que Amelia Lydgate, a mulher por quem Liebermann está apaixonado, não aparecesse. Quem me dera que ele se enchesse de coragem para lhe confessar como se sente.

Outra coisa que achei interessante foi neste livro terem sido mencionados elementos sobre os quais li noutros livros, embora muito pouco, como a existência, sempre, de 36 homens justos, os golems criados com lama e animados através de magia, a teoria da memória racial coletiva (experiências passadas que passam de geração em geração, no inconsciente, entre elementos do mesmo povo/raça) e Lilith, a primeira esposa de Adão.

Também é de mencionar o Inspetor Reinhardt, bom amigo de Liebermann, bom polícia e muito esperto, só mesmo ele para resolver o problema de Liebermann no hospital e conseguir que não fosse despedido.

E a comida, principalmente os doces?! Eles comiam tantos doces! LOL

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Max Liebermann mystery I have read.

Lieberman is a psychoanalyst who often works with Detective Inspector Oskar Reinhardt, around the turn of the 19th - into - 20th century. This case is certainly one for the mental health books: A priest is found with his head torn off, on church grounds.

In Vienna in these days anti-semitic sentiment ran high. The priest had been a vocal anti-semite. When another body is discovered, head torn off, and this second person is also discovered to be virulently anti-semitic, Liebermann and Reinhardt turn to the Hasidic community. Although usually peaceful as a group, some Hasidic Jews have been known to become violent at times.

A feature of the beheadings is the force required to tear a head off. No single person could have done it. So is there a group? A group that is similarly inclined? The detectives look into small groups led by Rebbes, influential leaders of Judaism. Could a strong Rebbe be leading a group to do these murders?

There is an interesting array of suspects, ranging from two wealthy women out to protect women from abuse to seedier characters. The mystery of who would do such a thing is fodder for Liebermann's brain, along with the mystery of how it was done.

I enjoyed the characters, from Liebermann and his diary (much agony over love interests) to the character of Vienna itself.

[Tom Godfrey]

As always with historical fiction, you know what's coming while the characters don't. Here, in the first decade of the 20th century, we find ourselves at an interesting crossroads;a Vienna still trapped in an ultra-Victorian society, yet grappling with developing social and economic realities of emerging industrial nations, and, in particular, the rabid anti-semitism that lays the groundwork for Hitler. Religious intolerance and self-righteousness of all kinds are at the heart of this iteration.
Max Liebermann is a Freudian analyst, but in his position as a medical doctor he tends to a soon-to-die patient who is totally unaware of his true state and is currently asleep. A nurse takes it upon herself to fetch the hospital priest, who wishes to administer last rites. Max, true to his oath, prevents this, knowing that to wake the patient just to let him know he' s going to die is needless and cruel, while the priest is outraged that the patient's soul may depart without the church's blessing. Who is right? This question is the theme, while the actual mechanics of the mystery become evident very early. I preferred the first two books of tyhis series to this one.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the TV series and found there were a series of books that the series was based on. Since I needed some recorded books for a long drive, I found Vienna Secrets. I liked this one much more than the TV series. There is so much more included in the book that goes much deeper, both into the characters and the plot.

The book starts with a gruesome murder but then delves in Jewish mysticism and Freudian psychology. The relationship of the friends Dr. Max Lieberman, a Freudian psychologist and Detective Inspector Oskar Reinhardt is explored as they work together to try and solve this and another similar crime. When psychoanalyst Dr. Max Liebermann learns that both victims were vocal members of a shadowy anti-Semitic group, he turns his gaze to the city’s close-knit Hasidic community. The doctor is drawn into an urban underworld that hosts and hides virulent racists on one side and followers of kabbalah on the other. And as the evidence—and bodies—pile up, Liebermann must reconsider his own path, the one that led him away from the miraculous and toward a life of the mind. Highly recommended.

[Daniel Melnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

During our lockdown, I’ve read on the recommendation of a neighbor several mysteries by the psychotherapist Frank Tallis about the Vienna in 1904 of Freud, Mahler, etc. Each novel involves Holmes & Watson-like investigators – a psychiatrist Max Liebermann and a chief inspector Oskar Rheinhardt. Much in such fairly well-written mysteries seems to depend on the interesting character of the detectives – another example would be Qui’s Chief Inspector Chen mysteries in contemporary Shanghai, for as a poet and a policeman, Chen joins the intuitive intelligence of Liebermann and the objectivity of Rheinhardt from Tallis’ Vienna mysteries. These latter books focus on everything from a brilliant anarchist to a fascist, not to speak of the murderous bully in a “Young Torliss”-like volume. Speaking of the latter, I’ve begun to read Musil’s “The Man Without Qualities” (the first time, many years ago, I stopped at page fifty! – but I’m doing much better this time around).

[Satia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good read! Tallis writes eloquently and intelligently. The book is well-researched. One of the bonuses about this book is the historical content - it is not only a great mystery but also a means to learn something about Vienna at the turn of the C20th. I find the best books are like this. They satisfy and make you want to learn more about history. The life of jewish people and the growing anti-semitism arising in mainland Europe is an important part of this book. I loved the BBC TV series based on Tallis's books and I was pleasantly surprised to find this book revealed in written word all the beauty that was visualised in the series. It was also dissimilar enough to keep me interested - not already knowing the plot. Dr Leibermann and Oskar come vividly to life within its pages as much as they do on screen.

[Michael Rumney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book through the television series, Vienna Blood. Max Liebermann is a psychologist working the police in Vienna.
In this we have a series of gruesome murders involving decapitation against a backdrop of antisemitism at the beginning of the twentieth century,
There is a hint of Holmes and Watson about the book but with added grit.
The chapters are short, filled with characters you don't always keep up with but it is interesting how Tallis brings several threads together at the end.
There are plenty of references to Freud and dreams which appears to be a favourite topic for the author.
It's obvious a lot of research went into this book and you do get a sense of time and place as through the characters we move around Vienna.
A series I would like to return to.

[Mark Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first taste of the Liebermann Papers series, although I have watched most of the TV adaptations. I liked it very much. Frank Tallis elegantly writes a first class mystery, set in the complexity of early 20th century Vienna. What fascinates it the depiction of the many features of Liebermann's life, a young psychiatrist in the early stages of his career, with a love life (or in this episode, a longed-for love life), a multi-faceted friendship with a detective inspector in the Imperial Security office, a complicated relationship with his Jewish roots, etc. That is to say, he's a three-dimensional character, not merely a sleuth. The research into the social, political, and professional layers of the background is robust.

[David Kirchman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few gruesome murders occur that at first stump Max Liebermann, a Jewish psychiatrist and student of a fellow Viennese Sigmund Freud, and his detective friend and gourmand Oskar Reinhardt, but their investigation is an excuse to explore the myths of golems and Jewish mysticism. The revelation of the murderer was a surprise, almost a footnote to the journey through fin-de-siecle Vienna and the gathering storm of the most virulent form of anti-Semitism that would decades later engulf Austria and the rest of Europe.

To answer a potential question of series, yes, you should start with the first book of the series, if only to observe the evolution of Max's love intererests.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

this installment is much less subtle than the others in the series. the Hassids do not talk about kabbalah in the language of encyclopedias and monographs, and the pronounced and noble sympathy for the Jews doesn't need to be supported by invented persecutions, whereas the real ones should suffice plentifully. what is still very good though, like it was in the other novels of the series, is multifaceted Vienna, the glamorous and the ugly, with its social tensions and intricate urban culture. the city is definitely the most attractive personage of the series for me.