Viennese Mystery

October, 1901. Lawyer and private enquiries agent Karl Werthen accepts an assignment to protect the famous Irish writer Bram Stoker while on a speaking tour of Vienna. Meanwhile, his colleague, renowned criminologist Dr Hanns Gross has been called away to advise on a bizarre series of murders near his hometown of Graz, in the Austrian province of Styria. Three women have been killed with strange mutilations and scarring patterns left on their bodies. The third, most recent victim has had her unborn baby cut out of her womb. Clues have been left at each scene; clues that have been clearly mentioned in Gross's handbook for magistrates, Criminal Investigation. A coincidence? Dr Gross thinks not. Meanwhile, back in Vienna, Werthen's wife Berthe is investigating what seems to be a fraudulent breeding scheme involving the prized Lipizzaner horses. Could the two investigations possibly be connected? Matters become complicated with Werthen and Stoker's arrival in Graz. For, having read wild newspaper accounts of vampire killings, the Dracula author insists they investigate.

The new intriguing novel of suspense in the acclaimed Viennese Mystery series March, 1902. When Herr Karl, head waiter of the Café Burg, is found dead at the foot of the Maria Theresa monument, it is assumed he slipped on the ice and hit his head. However, a witness has come forward who says otherwise, and private enquiries agent Karl Werthen is hired to investigate. At the same time, Werthen is commissioned to locate a missing letter from the emperor to his mistress. Franz Josef is desperate for the letter not to fall into the wrong hands – but what incendiary information does it contain? As Werthen and his colleague, renowned criminologist Dr Hanns Gross, pursue their investigations, it becomes increasingly clear that there is a connection between the two cases – and that the future of the empire may be at stake.