Tuesday 9 February 2010

Vienna Blood (Liebermann Papers 2)



Firstly, I think I should point out, that I am probably not the best person in the world to review this book. The reason being, is I am not a fan of the detective genre - by a long shot. To be fair, I am guessing some people would love this book. It has all the elements, with the added twist of the story being set in turn of the century Vienna. It also has some early forensic science taking plance and some  criminal psychology analysis going on.

I know you should leave the summary to the end of the review, but I can sum it up as; "Not my cup of tea". I say this, as I do feel I am being a bit harsh in the below.

The book did start off well, but I was getting slightly jarred with the voices of the characters. There is Dr. Max Liebermann, a young disciple of Freud who is asked by his friend Detective Oskar Rheinhardt to investigate a string of murders. I appreciate this is the second book in the series, and as such the first might have set up the relationship more between them, but I felt their dialogue and thoughts, blurred somewhat.

I also think the book went on a bit. It could of done with chucking, say a 100 odd pages. I think the author may have gone a bit overboard in realing off what he had come across in his research of the period and secret societies etc. Just for the sake of including it. My biggest gripe is; from a small bit of dust they are able to determine a whole wealth of information. But when it comes to realising that 'lady of the night' could refer to a prostitute, they spend several pages before coming up with that realisation. Also, a couple of other reference to prostitutes in the book, reminded me of when I was eleven and a friend of mine had shown me the word in a dictionary, as if it was the biggest secret ever.

End of the day, its a detective novel and if you are a fan of this genre, then I'm sure it has lots to offer.
Is it a book that makes me want to read more detective genre books? No.
Is it a must read book regardless of genre ? No.
Is it an insult to Gutenburg and anyone who has worked in the printing industry ? No, not by a long shot, as said I am probably being unfair in the above. Its simply, not my cup of tea.

Vienna Blood: A Novel (Amazon link)



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