The Time of Murder at Mayerling [Hardcover]

Ann Dukthas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1996

Nicholas Segalla journeys back in time to Vienna in 1889 to uncover the truth about the supposed murder and suicide of Archduke Rudolph, heir to the Hapsburg throne, and his beautiful young mistress, Maria Vetsera.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The third Nicholas Segalla time-travel mystery (The Prince Lost to Time) cuts a jagged trail through the facts and rumors surrounding the death of the Hapsburg Prince Rudolph in 1899. When the bodies of the prince and his 17-year-old mistress are found at the Imperial hunting lodge at Mayerling, Austria, the first account says they were poisoned. But it's soon determined that the couple died in a suicide pact-he shot her, then himself. Getting papal approval for a church burial is a tricky business, but permission is granted on condition that Segalla, appearing here as a papal envoy, may return after the official mourning period to look more closely at the case. When he does, he finds that the Hapsburgs have closed ranks and are reluctant to help him complete his mission. Segalla, as worldly and sophisticated as they come (time-travel and immortality will certainly season a man), measures all the angles, but even he comes up with more questions than answers. Why would a prince, who was planning to return to Vienna and who had visited another of his mistresses only a week before, kill himself and a girl who forced her way into his hunting party? Why had no one at Mayerling heard the shots? Surely not just murder, but politics, too, is afoot. Outlining all the geopolitical scenarios haunting the twilight of the ancien regime forces the pseudonymous Dukthas into a slow pace that picks up just a bit too late.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Once again, Dukthas resurrects brooding time-traveler Nicholas Segalla in order to solve a genuine mystery that has plagued historians. This time, Nicholas is transported back to the glittering, decadent court of the Hapsburgs in late-nineteenth-century Austria. Scandalized by the apparent murder-suicide of the Archduke Rudolph and his pregnant mistress, Maria Vetsera, the emperor and his minions destroy crucial evidence that could shed light on a heinous, ingeniously plotted crime. It is up to Segalla to fit together the remaining pieces of the puzzle, re-creating the actual events that culminated in the shocking murders of Rudolph and Maria. Another dark and intriguing thriller based upon an unsolved historical whodunit. Margaret Flanagan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312146760
• ISBN-13: 978-0312146764
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Third in the Series, November 14, 2006

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Time of Murder at Mayerling (Hardcover)

This is a novel by Paul Doherty writing under the pseudonym of Ann Dukthas. Paul Doherty is the consummate professional when it comes to writing historical mystery novels. I for one do not know how he can be so prolific with his offering of books and yet make sure that each of them is well researched. Whether they be 13th, 14th, or fifteenth century they are always true to the period. He also writes about Ancient Egypt and the Greek period in history of Alexander the Great.

The year 1889, the place Vienna, at the time of the Hapsburgs. The glitter and glamour of the court hides a sinister world of political intrigue and then the world is shocked to the very core by the news that the heir to throne, the handsome Archduke Rudolph has shot is young, aristocratic muster, Maria Vetsera, killing her and then turning the gun on himself at the imperial hunting lodge at Maverling.

The fact that Maria's body is hurridley buried in secret and that the government are keen to suppress any inquiry into the matter start rumours of foul play circulating. Scholar Nicholas Segalla put his own well being at risk to try to uncover the truth behind a spectacular cover up and attempt to expose a murderer with extremely intimate connections to the late Rudolph.

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but I couldn't quite believe it, August 23, 2000

By 

Ann E. Nichols (Sierra Vista, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Time of Murder at Mayerling (Hardcover)

I have not read the other books in this series, but it's difficult for me to see why Segalla would worry about other characters remarking that there have been much earlier records of a Segalla unless he's either immortal or incredibly long-lived. Certainly he doesn't spend any time worrying about how to get back to the future if the jig is up. (If he's so smart, why hasn't he had the good sense to change his name as needed through the centuries?) I wish the author hadn't used the word "teased" when she did -- it was so inappropriate to the situations that I had trouble believing in Segalla. "Jested" would have been a better choice. Part of my problem with this book is that I was raised mostly on Victorian and early 20th century-through World War II books. We didn't have much money and those books were just "old junk" then. I have the styles of those periods engraved in my brain. If a modern author wants me to feel "transported into the past", s/he needs to get the "feel" of the period. For me, Ms. Dukthas failed. Her solution really bothered me because there was no actual bibliography appended. What an author does with the characters s/he invented is his/her own business. If you're going to write a novel based on actual history, I think it only decent to try to portray figures of history as close to life as can be known of them. I know that if I were ever to become involved in what would become a famous unsolved mystery, I'd hate to have someone twist my character to fit his/her theory. I finished FEVER SEASON by Barbara Hambly last night and I appreciated the afterword in which she explained about the historical events used in her book. I'd have felt much better about this story had Ms. Dukthas done the same. However, if you aren't picky about the nuances of the English language and have no scruples toward the possibly unjust blackening of the name of someone who isn't alive to fight back, you should be able to enjoy this novel without the reservations that I have.