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Robert Macdonald #42
Murder in Vienna
Superintendent Macdonald, CID, studied his fellow-passengers on the Vienna plane simply because he couldn’t help it, because he hadn’t conditioned himself to being on holiday. The distinguished industrialist he recognised: the stout man he put down (quite mistakenly) as a traveller in whisky. The fair girl was going to a job (he was right there) and the aggressive young man in the camel coat might be something bookish. Macdonald turned away from his fellow-passengers deliberately; they weren’t his business, he was on holiday - or so he thought.
194 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1956
111 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
E.C.R. Lorac
74 books178 followersEdith Caroline Rivett (who wrote under the pseudonyms E.C.R. Lorac, Carol Carnac, Carol Rivett, and Mary le Bourne) was a British crime writer. She was born in Hendon, Middlesex (now London). She attended the South Hampstead High School, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London.
She was a member of the Detection Club. She was a very prolific writer, having written forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second. She was an important author of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
She was a member of the Detection Club. She was a very prolific writer, having written forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second. She was an important author of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
April 17, 2022
2.5★
I'll make this review short & sweet.
I really enjoyed an earlier Lorac I read, Fell Murder,but this one fell (tee hee!) more than a little flat.
I did really enjoy the travelogue-like descriptions of Vienna. I've been to this city twice, both times a long time ago, & loved both visits. But when the mystery began, I rapidly became bored. There was so much repetition on quite trivial matters that the whole story just dragged. By the time of the resolution, I no longer cared who had done it.
If I read any more Lorac, it will be books earlier in her career than this one.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
I'll make this review short & sweet.
I really enjoyed an earlier Lorac I read, Fell Murder,but this one fell (tee hee!) more than a little flat.
I did really enjoy the travelogue-like descriptions of Vienna. I've been to this city twice, both times a long time ago, & loved both visits. But when the mystery began, I rapidly became bored. There was so much repetition on quite trivial matters that the whole story just dragged. By the time of the resolution, I no longer cared who had done it.
If I read any more Lorac, it will be books earlier in her career than this one.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
April 5, 2022
I haven't read tons of Lorac but of those I've read, this one comes in last place.
It has a great setting in Vienna (described beautifully) with MacDonald on vacay. There's a somewhat interesting group of travellers on his plane who figure into the larger story. But in the end, the actual murder mystery plot was very slow and I'm sorry to say, not up to MacDonald's abilities as shown in other books in the series. It took far too long for him to get there and if I'm not counting it as a lack in the plotting, it can only be a feature of his being on vacation and in a different mode. Still, not great. Adding to my surprise here is that I love books about bookish type things and this even had that.
Every book can't dazzle but YMMV. I think that if you skip this one in the series, you'll have lived a full life. Now I'm off to find my next read.
It has a great setting in Vienna (described beautifully) with MacDonald on vacay. There's a somewhat interesting group of travellers on his plane who figure into the larger story. But in the end, the actual murder mystery plot was very slow and I'm sorry to say, not up to MacDonald's abilities as shown in other books in the series. It took far too long for him to get there and if I'm not counting it as a lack in the plotting, it can only be a feature of his being on vacation and in a different mode. Still, not great. Adding to my surprise here is that I love books about bookish type things and this even had that.
Every book can't dazzle but YMMV. I think that if you skip this one in the series, you'll have lived a full life. Now I'm off to find my next read.
April 14, 2022
E.C.R. Lorac is a Golden Age mystery author that I've come to like. Her Robert Mc Donald series has produced another detective that I've come to like. I've read a few in the series (due to the difficulty of finding the printed editions) and I find her style is comforting. As much as the mystery, she gives us an enjoyable story with her beautiful writing and her choice of interesting characters. But, this last installment of the series is a bit of a disappointment. It's altogether a weak mystery; the weakest that I've read so far in the series. Perhaps having written it in her sixties might have affected the sharpness of her creative ability. In any case, the murder mystery was a confusing mess, and when resolved, it was just meh.
The characters were not up to the level of her other novels. Few were interesting of course, but some would-be interesting characters were dropped in the middle without any reference to them afterward. Even Superintendent Robert Mc Donald didn't shine here as he used to. Of course, being out of his jurisdiction his role is restricted, but I felt there was yet a possibility to make his role more active.
However, the setting somewhat compensated for the disappointment in the mystery element. The Viennese setting was truly enchanting. Through the story, we are taken to important destinations in the city, including the Schönbrunn Palace, its beautiful garden, and the Gloriette. The story brought back fond memories of my visits to Vienna, which was comforting.
The characters were not up to the level of her other novels. Few were interesting of course, but some would-be interesting characters were dropped in the middle without any reference to them afterward. Even Superintendent Robert Mc Donald didn't shine here as he used to. Of course, being out of his jurisdiction his role is restricted, but I felt there was yet a possibility to make his role more active.
However, the setting somewhat compensated for the disappointment in the mystery element. The Viennese setting was truly enchanting. Through the story, we are taken to important destinations in the city, including the Schönbrunn Palace, its beautiful garden, and the Gloriette. The story brought back fond memories of my visits to Vienna, which was comforting.
September 16, 2020
I took the plunge and chanced that reading this series out of order wouldn't be a problem. As far as I can tell, it isn't. That's a good thing, because some of the earlier installments are out of print and used copies are very dear.
The story opens with passengers on a Viscount airplane enroute from London to Vienna with a stopover in Zurich. The fact that it was a Viscount was apparently of interest in the time period because that model of aircraft was mentioned periodically throughout the novel, and I took moment to google it. Among the passengers is Scotland Yard's Superintendent Robert MacDonald, ostensibly on holiday. He would have been on holiday if he'd had anything to say about it, but the title tells us there will be a murder and it's unlikely he would have been included without his skills being required. While obviously not the country house mystery of the period, it pretty much follows this tradition and the suspects can be assumed to be limited to those on the flight.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with this. Of course it is almost all plot. If I chose to work at it, I might easily have figured out the how and why of the murders, even though there was still a surprise or two. The writing is good enough - neither too simple nor too complex - and there is more than a passing attempt at some characterization. Well, perhaps not much more than a passing attempt, but there was enough that I wasn't rolling my eyes at some feeble attempt. I will definitely read more by this author when I'm able to get my hands on them. Was this extraordinary? No, but good fun and a high 3-stars.
The story opens with passengers on a Viscount airplane enroute from London to Vienna with a stopover in Zurich. The fact that it was a Viscount was apparently of interest in the time period because that model of aircraft was mentioned periodically throughout the novel, and I took moment to google it. Among the passengers is Scotland Yard's Superintendent Robert MacDonald, ostensibly on holiday. He would have been on holiday if he'd had anything to say about it, but the title tells us there will be a murder and it's unlikely he would have been included without his skills being required. While obviously not the country house mystery of the period, it pretty much follows this tradition and the suspects can be assumed to be limited to those on the flight.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with this. Of course it is almost all plot. If I chose to work at it, I might easily have figured out the how and why of the murders, even though there was still a surprise or two. The writing is good enough - neither too simple nor too complex - and there is more than a passing attempt at some characterization. Well, perhaps not much more than a passing attempt, but there was enough that I wasn't rolling my eyes at some feeble attempt. I will definitely read more by this author when I'm able to get my hands on them. Was this extraordinary? No, but good fun and a high 3-stars.
March 21, 2022
I have read a few titles by E.C.R. Lorac now (Edith Caroline Rivett, 1884 - 1959) and have enjoyed them. This is the - staggeringly - 42nd book in her long-running Robert Macdonald series, first published in 1956 and was written in the later years of her career, which ran from the beginning of the 1930's all the way up to the year of her death.
This mystery sees Superintendent Macdonald flying to Austria, to stay with a friend of his, Franz Natzler, a Jewish refugee who had come to London during the war, where the two men had fire-watched together. However, of course, a straight forward holiday is unlikely and when a young secretary Macdonald meets on the plane is found with a head injury, foul play is suspected. Then another man, also on the same plane, is found dead and Macdonald is asked to investigate.
Although this was a very enjoyable read, it did have a very obvious clue. I will forgive the author as she was in her seventies at the time of writing this, so the odd slip can be forgiven. I did enjoy the cast of characters, who all arrive in a post-war Vienna, where the war still casts a shadow, and Macdonald's gentle unravelling of the clues, even if - even I - worked out whodunnit pretty early on. However, this kindle version definitely needs a proof reader - it is full of typos....
This mystery sees Superintendent Macdonald flying to Austria, to stay with a friend of his, Franz Natzler, a Jewish refugee who had come to London during the war, where the two men had fire-watched together. However, of course, a straight forward holiday is unlikely and when a young secretary Macdonald meets on the plane is found with a head injury, foul play is suspected. Then another man, also on the same plane, is found dead and Macdonald is asked to investigate.
Although this was a very enjoyable read, it did have a very obvious clue. I will forgive the author as she was in her seventies at the time of writing this, so the odd slip can be forgiven. I did enjoy the cast of characters, who all arrive in a post-war Vienna, where the war still casts a shadow, and Macdonald's gentle unravelling of the clues, even if - even I - worked out whodunnit pretty early on. However, this kindle version definitely needs a proof reader - it is full of typos....
March 19, 2022
3.5 stars - I didn’t enjoy this as much as previous Lorac mysteries I’ve read, I think because it took quite a while to get going.
Robert Macdonald of Scotland Yard, one of the author’s most used series detectives, is supposed to be on vacation in Vienna, visiting old friends. The book opens with his flight over, and he casually casts his eye over fellow passengers; during a stopover in Zurich he chats with a few of them, one a previous acquaintance, the other a young woman heading to a job.
At first, our hero is enjoying peace and sightseeing (indeed, this part is quite a travelogue) and the hospitality of his hosts, an elderly couple who live in a quiet, prosperous part of Vienna. His peace is shattered, however, when the young woman from his flight is found injured and unconscious (by Macdonald and his host’s son) in the woods nearby. She is employed by a retired British diplomat who is further rattled by the death of a houseguest, a famous writer. The old gentleman pulls strings back in London to get Macdonald on the case alongside the Vienna police.
Once Macdonald is involved the pacing picks up, but as he can only provide ideas for investigation - lack of German fluency and jurisdiction - we are left in the dark as he suggests to the Viennese officer assigned to him, and the officer and machinery of the Viennese police carry out the legwork. We do get a glimpse of Reeves, MacDonald’s subordinate in London, who carries on the investigation in London. He also flies over to Vienna in the final chapter for the “big reveal”, or summing up of the rather confusing and elaborate case.
As usual, Macdonald is a treat to tag along with, I always find his interviews with witnesses and suspects interesting. This case is set in the 1950s, well after the War, and I think it’s Lorac’s 42nd Macdonald mystery. I’ve read several, and I don’t feel the books need to be read in order, which is just as well, as they are being reprinted and rereleased out of order.
Robert Macdonald of Scotland Yard, one of the author’s most used series detectives, is supposed to be on vacation in Vienna, visiting old friends. The book opens with his flight over, and he casually casts his eye over fellow passengers; during a stopover in Zurich he chats with a few of them, one a previous acquaintance, the other a young woman heading to a job.
At first, our hero is enjoying peace and sightseeing (indeed, this part is quite a travelogue) and the hospitality of his hosts, an elderly couple who live in a quiet, prosperous part of Vienna. His peace is shattered, however, when the young woman from his flight is found injured and unconscious (by Macdonald and his host’s son) in the woods nearby. She is employed by a retired British diplomat who is further rattled by the death of a houseguest, a famous writer. The old gentleman pulls strings back in London to get Macdonald on the case alongside the Vienna police.
Once Macdonald is involved the pacing picks up, but as he can only provide ideas for investigation - lack of German fluency and jurisdiction - we are left in the dark as he suggests to the Viennese officer assigned to him, and the officer and machinery of the Viennese police carry out the legwork. We do get a glimpse of Reeves, MacDonald’s subordinate in London, who carries on the investigation in London. He also flies over to Vienna in the final chapter for the “big reveal”, or summing up of the rather confusing and elaborate case.
As usual, Macdonald is a treat to tag along with, I always find his interviews with witnesses and suspects interesting. This case is set in the 1950s, well after the War, and I think it’s Lorac’s 42nd Macdonald mystery. I’ve read several, and I don’t feel the books need to be read in order, which is just as well, as they are being reprinted and rereleased out of order.
April 3, 2022
Loved the setting in my home city Vienna with all its descriptions, but the mystery was weak and confusing.
January 5, 2025
I usually like her mysteries much more, but this one just floundered a bit. Loved the descriptions of Vienna though.
February 26, 2022
There were aspects of Murder In Vienna which I liked, but overall I found it a bit of a slog.
First published in 1956 and a late book in a long-running series, this is a tale of intrigue and detection in a Vienna which is still recovering from the devastating effects of the Second World War and its aftermath. Superintendent Macdonald of the CID, is going there for a holiday to meet an old friend, when he becomes involved in trying to solve strange goings-on including attacks on two Brits who shared a plane with Macdonald on the way out.
As a plot it’s adequate but not brilliant, the characterisation is quite good but somewhat stereotypical and I’m afraid the dialogue is horribly stilted sometimes. Lorac does set a very good background: the description of air travel in 1956 is very interesting and she paints a fine picture of Vienna at that time. This lends the book a good deal more interest – especially for me because much of the action is set in the suburb of Hietzing, to which I have strong family ties. I found that very poignant; without it, I may not have stuck with the book to the end, and even as it is I was quite glad to get to the end and start something else.
So...not terrible, not great. I may give Lorac another try at some point, but I can only give this a very qualified recommendation.
First published in 1956 and a late book in a long-running series, this is a tale of intrigue and detection in a Vienna which is still recovering from the devastating effects of the Second World War and its aftermath. Superintendent Macdonald of the CID, is going there for a holiday to meet an old friend, when he becomes involved in trying to solve strange goings-on including attacks on two Brits who shared a plane with Macdonald on the way out.
As a plot it’s adequate but not brilliant, the characterisation is quite good but somewhat stereotypical and I’m afraid the dialogue is horribly stilted sometimes. Lorac does set a very good background: the description of air travel in 1956 is very interesting and she paints a fine picture of Vienna at that time. This lends the book a good deal more interest – especially for me because much of the action is set in the suburb of Hietzing, to which I have strong family ties. I found that very poignant; without it, I may not have stuck with the book to the end, and even as it is I was quite glad to get to the end and start something else.
So...not terrible, not great. I may give Lorac another try at some point, but I can only give this a very qualified recommendation.
January 17, 2021
3.5 stars
Another entertaining mystery featuring C.I.D.'s Robert Macdonald. This one is set in the mid-1950s.
Macdonald is taking a well-earned vacation to revisit Vienna.
Of course he is inevitably drawn into the police world when an Englishman with high connections is murdered.
The descriptions of Vienna were wonderful, the mystery was twisty. I was just about ready to call 'foul' when the killer was revealed, but I then remembered a scene earlier in the book that set up the killer's identity. Lorac always plays fair; you just have to pay attention!
A note on this edition--yikes! the scanning errors!! Be prepared for numerous typos.
Another entertaining mystery featuring C.I.D.'s Robert Macdonald. This one is set in the mid-1950s.
Macdonald is taking a well-earned vacation to revisit Vienna.
Of course he is inevitably drawn into the police world when an Englishman with high connections is murdered.
The descriptions of Vienna were wonderful, the mystery was twisty. I was just about ready to call 'foul' when the killer was revealed, but I then remembered a scene earlier in the book that set up the killer's identity. Lorac always plays fair; you just have to pay attention!
A note on this edition--yikes! the scanning errors!! Be prepared for numerous typos.
April 17, 2022
Robert MacDonald is visiting friends in Vienna on holiday. Then a young girl who was on the flight with him from London is found unconscious at the bottom of a set of stairs and another fellow passenger killed in what was made to look like a car accident. And so he his holiday comes to an end and he has to cooperate with local authorities to solve the mystery. Not the best by ECR Lorac, but very evocative in time and place.
April 1, 2022
I enjoyed this relatively short mystery set in mid-1950s Vienna, despite the edition which is rife with the typical flaws of a scanned book (there was only one instance when I couldn’t figure out how the original would have read).
“Lorac” is one of the pseudonyms of Edith Caroline Rivett, a capable and prolific Golden Age mystery writer who is now being rediscovered after years of unmerited obscurity. Her main detective is a CID inspector (now superintendent) named Macdonald, a Scot with a good mind and a mild sense of humor. He makes for a pleasant and not overly intrusive guide, though at times I wish for an eccentricity or two. In this story he has arrived in Vienna on vacation, only to become embroiled in a mystery and be drafted by his superiors into collaboration with the Viennese police.
We begin with a detailed description of his flight from London to Vienna, with a stop in Zurich. This bit feels leisurely and inconsequential but it serves to introduce several central characters and a handful of vital clues. Lorac plays fair with her readers and most of the details necessary to understand the mystery are provided quite early on; the challenge is only to disentangle them from the red herrings. Mysterious incidents of violence, shady characters with suspect agendas, and venality abound. The characters are mostly interesting and allowed the due exercise of their personalities, as well as opportunities to both enlighten and mislead the reader. Several characters have multiple names, so this is a book that repays reading in as few sittings as possible to avoid confusion—I occasionally wished for a paper copy so I could check back to earlier chapters.
The atmosphere of Vienna in this era is beautifully evoked, save for a somewhat clunky travelogue scene when Macdonald first arrives, which reads like the exposition it is. So much had happened in the city over the preceding half-century, and the emotional and material scars borne by its residents are convincingly woven into the storyline. There was not a lot of fat in the narrative, just enough to leave the reader occasionally on shaky ground.
I developed a pretty clear sense of the outlines of the story but got enough details wrong that the ending didn’t feel flat to me. I am glad that Lorac tends to avoid those dramatic scenes so popular in more recent mysteries where the villain explains the entire plot while holding the good guys at gunpoint; here the main points of the plot are revealed in a clever way, though there was a recap scene afterward (which felt not entirely necessary to me) in which Macdonald ties up the loose ends.
Strong writing, good plotting, efficiency without excess haste—Lorac tends to offer very competently produced mysteries, and this was no exception.
“Lorac” is one of the pseudonyms of Edith Caroline Rivett, a capable and prolific Golden Age mystery writer who is now being rediscovered after years of unmerited obscurity. Her main detective is a CID inspector (now superintendent) named Macdonald, a Scot with a good mind and a mild sense of humor. He makes for a pleasant and not overly intrusive guide, though at times I wish for an eccentricity or two. In this story he has arrived in Vienna on vacation, only to become embroiled in a mystery and be drafted by his superiors into collaboration with the Viennese police.
We begin with a detailed description of his flight from London to Vienna, with a stop in Zurich. This bit feels leisurely and inconsequential but it serves to introduce several central characters and a handful of vital clues. Lorac plays fair with her readers and most of the details necessary to understand the mystery are provided quite early on; the challenge is only to disentangle them from the red herrings. Mysterious incidents of violence, shady characters with suspect agendas, and venality abound. The characters are mostly interesting and allowed the due exercise of their personalities, as well as opportunities to both enlighten and mislead the reader. Several characters have multiple names, so this is a book that repays reading in as few sittings as possible to avoid confusion—I occasionally wished for a paper copy so I could check back to earlier chapters.
The atmosphere of Vienna in this era is beautifully evoked, save for a somewhat clunky travelogue scene when Macdonald first arrives, which reads like the exposition it is. So much had happened in the city over the preceding half-century, and the emotional and material scars borne by its residents are convincingly woven into the storyline. There was not a lot of fat in the narrative, just enough to leave the reader occasionally on shaky ground.
I developed a pretty clear sense of the outlines of the story but got enough details wrong that the ending didn’t feel flat to me. I am glad that Lorac tends to avoid those dramatic scenes so popular in more recent mysteries where the villain explains the entire plot while holding the good guys at gunpoint; here the main points of the plot are revealed in a clever way, though there was a recap scene afterward (which felt not entirely necessary to me) in which Macdonald ties up the loose ends.
Strong writing, good plotting, efficiency without excess haste—Lorac tends to offer very competently produced mysteries, and this was no exception.
April 7, 2021
I know her reputation seems to be on the rise of late but I'm not sure if Lorac is really the author for me. This is the third novel I've read and I can't say any of them have excited me all that much.
This one sees Macdonald on vacation in Vienna, looking up some old friends and being reluctantly drawn into a complicated murder investigation.
The buildup is slow, measured and deliberate, almost ponderously so in the opinion of this reader. Languorous description seems to be a characteristic of the author, which I know holds considerable appeal for many but it's not a style I'm overly fond of. Precious little happens for the first half of the story although the pace does pick up slightly from that point on. While I can't claim to have been gripped at any stage, the book does improve as it goes on. By the end, I found myself regarding it, somewhat grudgingly, as OK if not especially good.
I do wonder if my choices of books by Lorac have been poor. I have a few more to hand, but I'm not in a rush right now to get back to any of them.
This one sees Macdonald on vacation in Vienna, looking up some old friends and being reluctantly drawn into a complicated murder investigation.
The buildup is slow, measured and deliberate, almost ponderously so in the opinion of this reader. Languorous description seems to be a characteristic of the author, which I know holds considerable appeal for many but it's not a style I'm overly fond of. Precious little happens for the first half of the story although the pace does pick up slightly from that point on. While I can't claim to have been gripped at any stage, the book does improve as it goes on. By the end, I found myself regarding it, somewhat grudgingly, as OK if not especially good.
I do wonder if my choices of books by Lorac have been poor. I have a few more to hand, but I'm not in a rush right now to get back to any of them.
August 6, 2020
I loved the descriptions of Vienna - the city and its culture. So much so, that I was compelled in the middle of the book to go on the internet to view the sights described .
The mystery was ok & I found it difficult to make sense of some of the dialogue . Not sure if it was 50s British slang , but it eluded me.
Overall a lovely read because of the writing.
The mystery was ok & I found it difficult to make sense of some of the dialogue . Not sure if it was 50s British slang , but it eluded me.
Overall a lovely read because of the writing.
May 27, 2022
Scotland Yard Superintendent Robert MacDonald finds himself on a plane traveling to a much needed vacation in Vienna, and as many of us do, he spent the air time looking at his fellow passengers and wondering who and what they are.
It's harmless fun and leads to him meeting a couple of those passengers, including Elizabeth LeVendre, who is flying to the town to become secretary to the British Sir Walter Vanbrugh, and a gentleman named Walsingham, who he recognizes is the author J.B.S. Neville.
But there seems to be danger afoot. Because Miss LeVendre is struck down while walking during a thunderstorm and Walsingham is acting suspiciously. As is a Mr. Stratton, another writer search for clues to the mother who abandoned him as a child. And then there is Ernest Henry Webster, a talkative free-lance photographer with a memory like a steel trap and an eye for celebrities.
Before too long, there are some dead bodies cropping up and because several seem to be from that ill-fated plane flight that began in London, MacDonald's vacation becomes an investigation. Who is who, indeed? And just what are all of them doing in Vienna?
Another interesting case written by British Crime writer Edith Caroline Rivett under the pen name of E.C.R. Lorac. All the clues are there but they are tricky because just about everyone, other than Miss LeVendre and MacDonald's friend and vacation host Dr. Natzler, are not quite who or at least all that they say they are. It makes for a well-crafted who and why done it. There are plenty of read herrings too.
Lorac (1894-1958) was among those who become members of that Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Her first entry was The Murder on the Burrows in 1931. It was the story that launched her then-Detective MacDonald and together writer and character were well received through the 46-book series. Murder in Vienna was her 42nd entry in the MacDonald canon, published in 1956.
It's harmless fun and leads to him meeting a couple of those passengers, including Elizabeth LeVendre, who is flying to the town to become secretary to the British Sir Walter Vanbrugh, and a gentleman named Walsingham, who he recognizes is the author J.B.S. Neville.
But there seems to be danger afoot. Because Miss LeVendre is struck down while walking during a thunderstorm and Walsingham is acting suspiciously. As is a Mr. Stratton, another writer search for clues to the mother who abandoned him as a child. And then there is Ernest Henry Webster, a talkative free-lance photographer with a memory like a steel trap and an eye for celebrities.
Before too long, there are some dead bodies cropping up and because several seem to be from that ill-fated plane flight that began in London, MacDonald's vacation becomes an investigation. Who is who, indeed? And just what are all of them doing in Vienna?
Another interesting case written by British Crime writer Edith Caroline Rivett under the pen name of E.C.R. Lorac. All the clues are there but they are tricky because just about everyone, other than Miss LeVendre and MacDonald's friend and vacation host Dr. Natzler, are not quite who or at least all that they say they are. It makes for a well-crafted who and why done it. There are plenty of read herrings too.
Lorac (1894-1958) was among those who become members of that Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Her first entry was The Murder on the Burrows in 1931. It was the story that launched her then-Detective MacDonald and together writer and character were well received through the 46-book series. Murder in Vienna was her 42nd entry in the MacDonald canon, published in 1956.
August 30, 2020
This is a difficult book to rate because I did like some of it, and Macdonald is a decent detective, but some of the characters irritated me so much that I almost stopped reading. Also, the amount of 'coincidence' was unbelievable.
I enjoyed the parts about Vienna, but even they weren't enough to raise it above 3 stars.
I enjoyed the parts about Vienna, but even they weren't enough to raise it above 3 stars.
April 6, 2022
Likeable but rather muddled mystery, set in 1950s Vienna. Macdonald is on a holiday, visiting his friend Frank Natzler who was a refugee and became a fire watcher in London with Macdonald during the War. However, his presence on the Vienna flight attracts the attention of several passengers, and when a fellow passenger is attacked just days after their arrival and a second person is found dead, he finds himself drawn into an investigation.
The setting of this book is evoked really well - the landscape of Vienna seen from the air as the passengers approach, the beauty of the city with its buildings and reviving cultural scene, the suspicion and caution of the people emerging from occupation by Nazis and then Allies. The plot is an original one and does come together well at the end, although I found it muddled in the middle without clear connections between the strands of the investigation.
Lorac is a reliable writer of sound Golden Age mystery stories that are entertaining and enjoyable, and although this wasn’t one of her very best, it still had plenty to appreciate and enjoy.
The setting of this book is evoked really well - the landscape of Vienna seen from the air as the passengers approach, the beauty of the city with its buildings and reviving cultural scene, the suspicion and caution of the people emerging from occupation by Nazis and then Allies. The plot is an original one and does come together well at the end, although I found it muddled in the middle without clear connections between the strands of the investigation.
Lorac is a reliable writer of sound Golden Age mystery stories that are entertaining and enjoyable, and although this wasn’t one of her very best, it still had plenty to appreciate and enjoy.
June 22, 2025
Having previously read The Black Spectacles from BL Crime, I found this one so much more readable and enjoyable. So this may not always have got 4 stars but after that one it was a relief and joy to read.
July 18, 2020
Superintendent Macdonald goes on holiday to Vienna and is pitched into a series of crimes. This is a late addition to the series, first published in 1956, the year after the ending of the Allied occupation of Austria.
As is often the case with Lorac, the setting and atmosphere are really well done, from the depiction of 1950s air-travel, to description of the faded splendours and lingering deprivations of the once-proud Imperial capital. What the novel lacks is detection and a interesting puzzle to unravel.
This one may be only for completists or ardent fans.Macdonald is ever-interesting and complex and the writing is ever-good, but as for the plot, it is too negligible.
3.5 stars
As is often the case with Lorac, the setting and atmosphere are really well done, from the depiction of 1950s air-travel, to description of the faded splendours and lingering deprivations of the once-proud Imperial capital. What the novel lacks is detection and a interesting puzzle to unravel.
This one may be only for completists or ardent fans.Macdonald is ever-interesting and complex and the writing is ever-good, but as for the plot, it is too negligible.
3.5 stars
March 16, 2022
MacDonald is on holiday in this book. He books a flight to Vienna (apparently on a Viscount and although this is mentioned a lot, is irrelevant). During the flight he notices a young woman who would like to look out of the window, but is obstructed by a man reading a book who has the window seat. At Zurich the plane lands and the passengers are divided by those who wish to carry with the flight and those heading for Vienna. This young woman attaches herself to MacDonald, as she thinks he looks trustworthy, for his help on carrying on her journey to Vienna. He learns that the woman is going to be a secretary to an elderly man writing his memoirs. For the first days of his holiday he meets this woman and tells her of the sights and places Vienna is famous for. Shortly after this he hears that the woman has gone missing and so sets out to find her. This is where the story really begins and a murder does take place. Needless to say, MacDonald has to cut his holiday short and help the police with their investigations.
I found the start of this was more like a travelogue, than a fiction book, so was pleased when the action got going. Once this stage was reached, it was quite a complicated plot, bringing in various different but interesting characters.
I found the start of this was more like a travelogue, than a fiction book, so was pleased when the action got going. Once this stage was reached, it was quite a complicated plot, bringing in various different but interesting characters.
November 23, 2024
Mid 50s Austria, still recovering from war and occupation is the setting for this classic crime novel. Interesting cast of characters and fascinating to see what foreign travel was like in those days! Clever dénouement I didn't see coming!
June 28, 2025
Honestly, that one didn't make a lot of sense. Too many coincidences, too many characters, too many circumstances. There seemed no way to figure anything out because you weren't given enough information, and were simultaneously given way too much false information. But hey, the Viennese setting was rather enjoyable and I always like McDonald (though we don't get enough of him here).
September 16, 2025
I really enjoyed the writing style of this book, so I would really like to give Lorac another read. The descriptions of Vienna were lovely and it was picturesque imagining bits of Vienna.
As a crime mystery, the story was very slow and not that engaging so I lost interest towards the end.
There was also a lot of interest in the British identity, but I suppose that comes with the time this book was written at.
overall....Meh...
As a crime mystery, the story was very slow and not that engaging so I lost interest towards the end.
There was also a lot of interest in the British identity, but I suppose that comes with the time this book was written at.
overall....Meh...
January 16, 2025
Another cracker from Lorac and Chief Inspector Macdonald. I very much enjoyed the setting in post-war and occupation Vienna.
August 4, 2021
3* Bats in the Belfry (Robert MacDonald #13)
4* Murder in Vienna (Robert MacDonald #42)
4* Murder in Vienna (Robert MacDonald #42)
November 26, 2024
I loved the descriptions of Venice, but all in all, this isn’t one of ECR’s best. The plot feels a bit weak, if not verging on confusing at times. Setting makes it.
February 26, 2022
As usual, Lorac gives us bags of atmosphere, here in post-war Vienna where people still remember the privations of the war and occupation. The beginning is very Christie-esque with a group of travellers on a plane but the crime plot is slow to emerge and characters who appeared important, disappear. The ones who are left start merging into each other with shifting identities and multiple conspirators. It all gets so convoluted that it takes a handful of chapters at the end to explain the whole plot - never a good sign. And it takes the usually sharp McDonald forever to realise something that seems so obvious to anyone familiar with Christie: . Read this one for the historical interest, not the murder mystery.
December 30, 2021
Macdonald was going to Vienna on holiday, so he didn’t pay too much attention to the other occupants of his plane. But after a few nasty accidents to British passengers on that particular flight, the Austrian police decided that it was time for a detective from Scotland Yard to get involved, and Macdonald’s holiday was over...
Lorac’s Vienna, just recovering from post-war occupation, still has a few hangovers from the period of Graham Greene’s The Third Man, but is a place where the respectability of the middle classes, diplomatic circles, and artistic genius are only occasionally forced to remember the traumatic past. This book gives a fascinating picture of a moment in time when foreign air travel was still an exotic experience, close to the world of Agatha Christie’s Death in the Clouds. As in that book, the closed world of the plane offers a great ground for contemplating a range of suspects about whom all that is known is what can be observed and what they say about themselves. Who is not what they claim to be?
I spotted one clue immediately, long before Macdonald, and kept up with him for the rest of the book. There was a great mix of different elements which might or might not have been red herrings. I’m disappointed that Lorac, usually so good about these things, threw away a prime opportunity for a romance between two young characters, though. A good read, though I have no idea how accurate was Lorac’s depiction of Vienna in the 1950s.
Lorac’s Vienna, just recovering from post-war occupation, still has a few hangovers from the period of Graham Greene’s The Third Man, but is a place where the respectability of the middle classes, diplomatic circles, and artistic genius are only occasionally forced to remember the traumatic past. This book gives a fascinating picture of a moment in time when foreign air travel was still an exotic experience, close to the world of Agatha Christie’s Death in the Clouds. As in that book, the closed world of the plane offers a great ground for contemplating a range of suspects about whom all that is known is what can be observed and what they say about themselves. Who is not what they claim to be?
I spotted one clue immediately, long before Macdonald, and kept up with him for the rest of the book. There was a great mix of different elements which might or might not have been red herrings. I’m disappointed that Lorac, usually so good about these things, threw away a prime opportunity for a romance between two young characters, though. A good read, though I have no idea how accurate was Lorac’s depiction of Vienna in the 1950s.
August 2, 2020
3.8 stars .
Murder in Vienna is a late entry into the MacDonald series and is set in 1955 . It is a work of a skilled wordsmith .It was quite nice to read about Vienna and it's places and history . It has one absolutely fascinating character ... Webster . It has a good atmosphere and sense of place .
However,it's a murder mystery at its core and not a bad one .There is a large number of people involved and sometimes it became a challenge to recall who was who .I also had a sense that some of the characters besides MacDonald and Reeves had made previous appearances in the series .
However, I don't think anyone would be likely to crack the case as the murderers actual identity and motive is very well hidden(you may say not hinted at all) .
Overall,this was a complex mystery with some story elements found more commonly in an Ambler or HighSmith novels rather in british detective stories. It was very readable,never boring but ultimately somewhat less satisfying than her best books. But at 50 rupees in Kindle ,it was easily worth it .
Murder in Vienna is a late entry into the MacDonald series and is set in 1955 . It is a work of a skilled wordsmith .It was quite nice to read about Vienna and it's places and history . It has one absolutely fascinating character ... Webster . It has a good atmosphere and sense of place .
However,it's a murder mystery at its core and not a bad one .There is a large number of people involved and sometimes it became a challenge to recall who was who .I also had a sense that some of the characters besides MacDonald and Reeves had made previous appearances in the series .
However, I don't think anyone would be likely to crack the case as the murderers actual identity and motive is very well hidden(you may say not hinted at all) .
Overall,this was a complex mystery with some story elements found more commonly in an Ambler or HighSmith novels rather in british detective stories. It was very readable,never boring but ultimately somewhat less satisfying than her best books. But at 50 rupees in Kindle ,it was easily worth it .
March 17, 2023
One of my favorite Lorac books
The myriad twists and turns in the plot were fun to follow and I liked that MacDonald had to.work almost alone (the Austrian police doing the bulk of the work he and his colleagues do in London). In setting the story in one of the world's greatest cities, Lorac made the story even more fascinating. I will definitely reread this mystery
The myriad twists and turns in the plot were fun to follow and I liked that MacDonald had to.work almost alone (the Austrian police doing the bulk of the work he and his colleagues do in London). In setting the story in one of the world's greatest cities, Lorac made the story even more fascinating. I will definitely reread this mystery
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