Vienna Blood

This is the first book to be reviewed in this blog by Frank Tallis, and Vienna Blood is the second in his series of six detective novels, the protagonist being Max Liebermann. This novel takes place in 1902 Vienna, and Liebermann is a sort of Sherlock Holmes savant who studies the works of Sigmund Freud. The Hapsburgs were still in power, and Vienna was teeming with intellectuals, musicians, artists, and wealth. Liebermann is sort of like a Victorian Alex Delaware as written about by Jonathan Kellerman. The plot was extremely clever, starting with the nonsensical murder of a giant anaconda (the emperor’s favorite) in the zoo at the Schonbrunn Palace, but it is quickly followed by the murder of four prostitutes, and then others.

Just like Alex Delaware has a pal in the police department in Los Angeles, Liebermann has a pal in the Vienna Security Office, Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt. At times Rheinhardt is very frustrated with his friend’s withholding of information, but he is dependent on Liebermann for his insights into the crimes that he investigates. Liebermann and Rheinhardt have a remarkable friendship and share intimate information about one another’s lives. Remembering that this is turn-of-the-last century Vienna, there is a lot about the arts that is weaved into the story and which is important to the plot. By reading this book, you’ll learn more about Mozart and Wagner. Also critical to the plot line with a Jewish protagonist is the early development of beliefs in the superiority of the Aryan race. The symbol of the swastika appears in one of the murder scenes, and no one has seen that before.

There is no doubt that part of my enjoyment with this read was being in Vienna and knowing the locations that Tallis uses as the characters move through the city. But, the characters were vivid and three-dimensional, and the plot was excellent. Tallis filled out the story with a number of excellent subplots which made excellent use of the era. I hope I can acquire the first book in the sequence, Mortal Mischief (A Death in Vienna), and I’ve already gotten the third book, Fatal Lies. Can you tell? I’m excited about this author and I appreciate my sister’s recommendation.