Liebermann Papers

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."

In glittering turn-of-the-century Vienna, brutal instinct and refined intellect fight for supremacy. The latest, most disturbing example: the mysterious and savage death of a young cadet in the most elite of military academies, St. Florian's. Even using his cutting-edge investigative techniques, Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt cannot crack the school's closed and sadistic world. He must again enlist the aid of his frequent ally, Dr. Max Liebermann, an expert in Freudian psychology. But how can Liebermann help when he a crisis of his own: handling his conflicted and forbidden feelings for two different women, one a former patient? As the case unfolds, powerful forces will stop at nothing to keep a dark secret. "Frank Tallis has surged to the front of the field riding his dark horse, Vienna in the last days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire…While it's always a delight to visit the ballrooms where Strauss is played and the opera house where Mahler is rehearsing and the coffeehouses where ideas are devoured mit Schlag, this smart series has far more to offer than decorative charm." "Tallis's singular achievement is to bring vividly to life many of the glories and dangers of a great city at a crucial moment in its history…Immensely satisfying…The author delights us with rich, often gorgeous prose…[He] has an exceptional ability to move seamlessly among varied plot elements, characters, and emotions…If you're looking for the best in popular fiction, it's well worth seeking out." "Another immensely satisfying novel in Frank Tallis' intelligent and subtle Dr. Liebermann/Inspector Rheinhardt series…Dense, engrossing…A fine adventure." "St. Florian's Military Academy outside Vienna serves as the forbidding backdrop for Tallis's stellar third historical to feature Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt and Dr. Max Liebermann…Several late twists lead to a startling resolution of this compelling tale." "What is basically a murder mystery becomes something quite extraordinary as Tallis skillfully weaves in the politics, history, music, and social customs of turn-of-the-century Vienna. Another outstanding entry in an erudite and mesmerizing series; a must for historical-mystery devotees."

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.

Detective Inspector Oskar Reinhardt finds that young women are being slain in an unnerving-and ingenious-manner, with a small, almost undetectable, hat pin. For Dr. Max Liebermann, the killer is unique in the annals of psychopathology, one who murders in the midst of consensual love. Is the culprit a patient, one who swears he has a double, a shadow figure that is far more forward (in fact, indecent) with women? As danger mounts, Liebermann must find the answer while struggling with his own forbidden desire for a female patient.

Ida Rosenkranz is top diva at the Vienna Opera, but she's gone silent for good after an apparent laudanum overdose. Learning of her professional rivalries and her scandalous affairs with older men, Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt and Dr. Max Liebermann suspect foul play instead. Their investigation leads them into dark and dangerous conflicts with Gustav Mahler, the opera's imperious director, who is himself the target of a poison pen campaign, and Karl Lueger, Vienna's powerful and anti-Semitic mayor. As the peril escalates, Rheinhardt grows further into his role as family man, while Liebermann finds himself at odds with his inamorata, Amelia, who's loosening both her corset and her tongue in the new feminist movement. "Another bravura performance from a maestro." "A serious, well-informed and interesting novel." "This is costume drama at its best." "Maintains the high standard of the previous novels…A highly enjoyable read."