Fatal Lies: A Max Liebermann Mystery

Detective Inspector Oskar Reinhardt and young Freudian psychologist Dr. Max Liebermann team up for the third time over the death of a boy at St. Florian's, a secretive, repressive, elite school near Vienna. It's the beginning of the 20th century and Vienna is a glittering jewel of cutting edge ideas, gorgeous, sensual music, and wonderful food, especially the rich and elaborate pastries. St. Florian's however, is steeped in tradition, an insular place teeming with cliques and hazing rituals. The dead boy - a scholarship student, abused by a thuggish group of aristocratic boys - is marked with ritual cuts. Making little headway with his close-mouthed witnesses, Reinhardt calls in Liebermann whose Freudian ideas may provide some insight. The reader, meanwhile, has the benefit of inside knowledge - the viewpoint of Wolf, the boys' psychopathic leader, inspired by the ideas of Nietzsche. While the mystery provides the bones of the plot, Vienna and the protagonists' lives flesh it out. It's ball season and the lush waltzes lend headiness to Liebermann's enchantment with Miss Lydgate, an intellectual English girl and former patient. However, jealousy rears its ugly head and Liebermann consoles himself with a beautiful and rather wanton Hungarian violinist who introduces him to absinthe. Other evenings ring with his and Reinhardt's companionable vocal and piano duets. Tallis, a London clinical psychologist, has produced a witty, atmospheric and beautifully written series brimming with the enthusiasm and sophistication of new ideas for a new century, coupled with the grandeur and stateliness of old Vienna. This heady atmosphere pervades the comfortable, well-padded life of the cultured upper class, well insulated from the poorer classes and the new political ideas brewing in more radical circles. Newcomers will be sure to seek out the earlier books, "A Death in Vienna," and "Vienna Blood," while fans will look forward to the fourth book, "Darkness Rising," to be published here next year.

FATAL LIES has it all: a pleasantly intricate plot, two charming and original sleuths, true love, sex in moderation, a dash of espionage - and the fascinating atmosphere of Vienna in 1903. Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt and Max Liebermann are friends who get together whenever they can to perform lieder for their own pleasure. Rheinhardt sings baritone; Liebermann plays piano. Their friendship has lead to an informal partnership of detection. Dr. Liebermann is a disciple of Freud and has been helpful to the inspector in difficult cases through the application of psychoanalytic insights. He has a genius for uncovering the truth in a casual conversation by interpreting verbal hesitations, Freudian slips (of course!) and occasionally the subject's dreams. The plot centers on the military academy of St. Florian's, where a student has inexplicably dropped dead working alone on an assignment. Although the death is ruled natural, the freak death of a young person caused by some undetectable malfunction, Rheinhardt is not satisfied. The body has suspicious scars, and there's some evidence of bullying among the students. Deceit and cover-ups abound at St. Florian's, and revelations as they occur are always a surprise. There's also a subplot of espionage, just enough to complicate matters at police headquarters. The handsome young Freudian's romantic entanglements spice up the plot, as do frequent scenes in Viennese cafés, with mouth-watering descriptions of Viennese pastries. FATAL LIES is the third mystery in the series featuring Rheinhardt and Liebermann, and it may be my favorite. But DEATH IN VIENNA and VIENNA BLOOD are also well worth reading.

As far as I know this is one of three books, so far, in a series with wonderfully drawn characters and a great look at historical Vienna as it enters the 20th century. I did not read them in order, but never the less they stand on their own very well. The mysteries and the detection techniques are unusual and earn your attention. I hope he writes more.

Headmaster Julis Eichmann runs St. Florian's Military Academy near Vienna with an iron fist. However, when fifteen year old student Thomas Zelenka is found dead, Police Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt and psychotherapist Dr. Max Liebermann lead the official inquiry though the latter detests time away from Hungarian musician Trezska Novak. On the surface, there is no evidence of a homicide though the two sleuths wonder why the victim has so many cuts and scratches all over his torso even under his armpits. Although no one cooperates, especially the headmaster, the investigators soon learn of sexual trysts between the faculty and staff with the students. Especially alarming is an alleged encounter between the dead teen and a teacher Herr Sommer as well as the pupil with the wife of the assistant headmaster. Finally they uncover a student cult dedicated to Nietzsche led by the nephew of Police Commissioner Brugel, who already loathes the use of Freudian psychology in official investigations. Using real famous Vienna persona to anchor time and place, Frank Tallis writes a great historical mystery. The story line is fast-paced as the lead sleuths follow clues that take them into diverse directions. The whodunit is clever, but once again as with BLOOD AND DEATH IN VIENNA, it is the profound look at intellectual Vienna circa 1900 that owns the novel. Harriet Klausner

In the thid installment of the Lieberman papers, Vienna psychiatrist Max Lieberman again is called to assist his police detective friend, Oscar Rhinehardt solve a murder - this time at a military school. While the muder mystery itself is engrossing, the real gem here is the way in which the personal lives of Lieberman and Rhinehardt are woven into solving the crime. That there is bullying and strong anti-immigrant (Slav and Magyar) sentiments at a military school is hardly surprising; that the headmaster tolerates said hazing is also not a surprise. This storyline, however, is almost a red-herring for a more subtle plot involving what initally appears to be an ancillary murder. As Lieberman and Rhinehardt gather clues, half-truths, deception and lies begin to unravel, each revelation resulting in another tragic death. The final resolution of the crimes had me picking through the book to find the critical clues that I missed. In many respects, Tallis' characters are reminiscent of Holmes and Watson, although the tenor here is much different. As I have come to expect (and enjoy) in the Lieberman papers, there are abundant references to food (gugelhupf, ischer geback, and my favorite: dobos torte) as well as to music (Mendelssohn, Schuman, Brahms, Schubert - and new to me, Tartini). Given that the stories are set in early 20th century Vienna, Freud also makes the occasional appearance, as do oblique references to the fore-runner of the Rorschach test and to Freudian slips. I recommend Tallis and this series; _Fatal Lies_ was a much more enjoyable read than the darker _Vienna Blood_.