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 behavior and cryptic clues impervious to psychoanalytic interpretation; however, gradually, it becomes apparent that an extraordinary and shocking rationale underlies his actions.
"A series that, rather like a Viennese pastry, is stuffed almost to bursting with showy delights."
"This is the second novel in the Liebermann series and it lives up to the promise of Tallis' earlier book…At a time when readers know just about every forensic trick, Tallis cleverly takes us back to a moment poised between discredited Victorian theories about criminology and exciting new ideas about the unconscious."
"Tallis spices things up with a cast of outlandish suspects and colorful witnesses, and a series of mounting suspicions, wrong turns, and dead ends creates an exhilarating chase. The layers of Viennese society are peeled away as delicately as the layers of each mouth-watering Viennese pastry that the portly Rheinhardt makes it his business to devour."
"Frank Tallis' Vienna Blood is one of the finest literary thrillers I've ever read. It's a dazzling tour de force…the kind of novel Arthur Conan Doyle might have written if he'd been a far better novelist…The first great thriller of 2008."
"A fascinating portrait of one of the most vibrant yet sinister cities of fin-de-siecle Europe. On top of this, Tallis has laid a murder mystery of great intelligence."
"Tallis…cunningly folds psychoanalysis, early forensics, eugenics, music, and literature into a captivating suspense novel that also has its share of runic symbols, erotic swoons, and swordplay. All is held in perfect balance by the strength of complex characters…and the tactile intensity of even incidental descriptions."
"British clinical psychologist Tallis follows his superior debut, A Death in Vienna, with this gripping sequel…The book's strength lies in the relationship and interplay between the two detectives, whose friendship, which includes a shared love of music, may remind some of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin. The clever plotting and quality writing elevate this above most other historicals."
"An astute and beautifully written psychological thriller. The author is a practicing clinical psychologist and it shows: his handling of the psychoanalysis and criminal pathology are fantastic. This is a romping tale which takes in secret societies, race theories, Freud, classical music, and literary scholarship with an excellent balance of plot, narrative, and period color."
