Customer Reviews

Mortal Mischief

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a well-written and interesting mystery, but be aware that "Mortal Mischief" and "A Death in Vienna" are the same book! One is the British title, the other the title used in the States. Don't buy both.

I really don't know where to begin. How could the other reviewers rate it so highly? But better keep things simple:

(1) The characters are two-dimensional. Many words are written about, but nothing is really said of, their being, their personality. Thus, why are the Police Inspector and the analyst friends? Because they play music together? Not a single significant thought is exchanged between them in this whole series of disconnected vignettes that passes for a book.

(2) The plot, and its dénouement, are absurd. The murder is presented as a fascinating locked-room mystery, but the solution to this particular puzzle is demeaningly cheap.

(3) Freud appears in three (?) half-pages only to smoke and utter total trivialities, so giving "local colour" to the story.

(4) And what's the point of the meanigless, idiotic twaddle exchanged between Amelia and the Professor? "Fluxions" in Continental Europe, in 1900, in the language of Leibniz, indeed! Why include chapters that make anybody with a minimum of science college training laugh at you?

And that's it. (5) Oh yes, there are some details about food, the psychiatric practices and theories of this fascinating period, and a glimpse of its courting customs, and that must have taken some (not much) research to write about. That's why I'm giving the book two stars instead of one.
But if you're genuinely interested in those times, then read Stefan Zweig's autobiography, or Sándor Márai "The Final Meeting" (I don't know if this is the exact title in English), or "Wittgenstein's Vienna" by Janik and Toulmin. These are wonderful books, and the time it takes to absorb them is well invested.

In a nutshell, avoid, even if there are enough loose ends to flesh out the following volumes, which I don't even dream of buying.

I enjoy Frank Tallis' books. I was disappointed that the same story was published under different titles. One should have been told.

When not solving crimes, the detective and psychologist protagonists of Mortal Mischief are enjoying the milieu of turn-of-the-century Vienna (19th/20th): the cafes, the concert halls, the art museums displaying the latest trends. Against this backdrop comes a baffling murder, seemingly unsolvable without resorting to supernatural explanations. That the dastardly crime is ultimately solved scientifically does not lesson the tension as the investigation bogs down and pressure mounts.

Freud's theories are just gaining currency and Herr Doktor himself makes a delightful cameo appearance, sitting at his desk, proudly showing off his impressive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

The murder is ingeniously concocted and executed, which keeps the reader - and the detectives - guessing until the climactic scene, a cliffhanger on a giant ferris wheel. The ferris wheel recalls the film, The Third Man, also set in Vienna, though decades later.

The author, Frank Tallis, is also a clinical psychologist, and he is especially good at understanding the conflicts and motivations of everyone, good guys and bad. He is also an elegant, intelligent writer. That said, Mortal Mischief (a generic, unevocative title, considering the setting and the crime) is a triumph of interesting ideas over genuine storytelling skill.

In the strange manner of publishers, this book's already out in Britain but not in the US. I never understand why's that. Anyways, most of the reviwers on amazon uk concur and pretty much all the reviewers have given this book 4 stars. The early 20th Century Viennese society and Jewish life is generally accurate as far as I can tell and quite interesting. It is not very fast moving but I'll probably buy the next installment. Good psychoanalytical mystery with a cameo by Dr. Freud himself.