Fatal Lies: (Vienna Blood 3)

It was, in part, the inspiration of Robert Musil's novella, The Confusions of Young Torless, about a young cadet struggling toward self-definition while experiencing the erotic tensions of puberty, that led Frank Tallis to write the mystery novel Fatal Lies.
The heart of the mystery is the

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machinations a small group of cadets led by Kiefer Wolf, a precocious underclassman. They are attending a private boys' school, Saint Florian, that is replete with ancient traditions and eccentric teachers. It is this story line that draws on Musil's novella most directly with the addition of explicit Nietzschean influences on young Wolf. But the key to the success of Tallis' novel is his intelligent use of the setting of fin-de-siecle Vienna and the blend of medicine, music, psychology and history that makes this a satisfying read. The lead detective, Reinhardt and his ally, Dr. Max Liebermann, an expert in the new psychiatric methods of Sigmund Freud, are both intelligent and believable characters in this well-constructed mystery. Each of the main characters must deal with their own issues and their stories are only slightly less interesting than the primary mystery. I was eagerly apprehensive most of the novel as the plot and sub-plots moved forward with alacrity. The climax was also satisfying; So much so that I look forward to reading Tallis' two previous mysteries (also set in Vienna).

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Much more concise and taut than the previous two books in this series, Fatal Lies begins with the death of a student at a Viennese military academy. Police inspector Oskar Rheinhardt is called away from a ball to go to the scene; he enlists his friend Max Liebermann, a psychiatrist to go with him.

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Max has been helpful in the past with his experience in Freudian psychology, and Rheinhardt is all for employing new methods in police procedure to better root out crime. The two don't realize it yet, but they are stepping into a very troubled atmosphere in the academy, where odd things are occurring and everyone is doing their best to cover things up.

Tallis plies his readers once again with the culinary, musical and literary delights of early 20th-century Vienna, yet manages to interweave all of these with the darkness of international intrigue and the deep and brooding atmosphere of a group of troubled boys. It is a good read, and one that's hard to put down once you get started.

I'd definitely recommend this one to readers of historical mysteries, as well as to those who have started this series and are considering moving through it.

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Enjoyed this a good deal more than the first two and especially the second in the series. Still some far-fetched plotting and jamming-in-the-researched-facts, but in this one I found it to be fun and not annoying. It also definitely helped that I read this while on vacation in Vienna!

The saddest and most disturbing of Frank Tallis' series, The Lieberman Papers that chronicle the crime-solving adventures of Max Lieberman, the psychologist who serves as a police consultant for his friend Oskar Rheinhardt.

This story takes place in a boys school where students are programmed with

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the "wisdom" of Nietzsche just a bit too enthusiastically. Taking his work as not just justification, but almost a demand for bullying, some students are inflicting a reign of terror on the outcasts, the scholarship students and the Jews. Funny how Nietzsche continues to be an excuse for bullies to this day. Again, the roots of fascism are explored.

The solution, however, is more of a surprise than you might think. Just when you think you know the answer, well, you don't. As much as I love figuring out "whodunnit", I like it even more when I am outwitted.

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