It’s often said that sometimes when you fall, you fall hard. There are some books that make you fall hard, and the best part is that you have no regrets as a reader. When you get that book that takes you on a journey like no other, you find yourself on a high.
The first time I saw ‘Vienna Blood’ by Frank Tallis on the shelves, I thought it had the whole Sherlock vibe to it and even as I reached out to get it, I felt like it would take me to the 1900s. It took me to 1902.

Summary: A serial killer embarks upon a bizarre campaign of murder in the winter of 1902 in Vienna. Bodies are mutilated, arcane symbols are found in crime scenes and the victims are as random as they come. Detective Inspector Rheinhardt summons a young disciple of Freud, his friend, Dr. Max Liebermann to assist him with the case.

The book is 476 pages of clues and mysteries.
Mr. Tallis definitely did his research on Sigmund Freud because everything about the Professor is spot on, from his smoking and his take on Dream Interpretation.
Having a background in psychology, reading this book was like dying a sweet death and ,meeting Freud on a regular basis. It was heaven!

Favorite passage: Oskar, it has been an extraordinary night and if am unable to find a coffeehouse in the next half hour, I swear I shall expire.– Liebermann

Favorite scene: Has to be when Professor Freud makes an appearance, I reckon I’ve shared a screenshot up there.

Favorite character: Hausmann who happens to be the assistant detective who cannot hold a tune! I loved how hard he tried to keep up and present himself as a great partner in this book, made him more relatable.

This book is evenly paced and if there is one thing I learned from this story is how great research can build a story. Delving deeper into history is not easy, and writing about it is even harder because if you miss a fact or you misrepresent a fact it could ruin the story. Mr. Tallis was point on with his research, so much so that I enjoyed reading the story and felt comfortable with the flow. If you love classical music and operas, then you’d not miss Mozart here.

If I were to rate this book in terms of Smileys: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂