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Requiem In Vienna (2010)

by J. Sydney Jones(Favorite Author)

3.57 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0312383908 (ISBN13: 9780312383909)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Minotaur Books

series

Karl Werthen (Viennese) Mystery

review 1: ***SPOILER ALERT***Got annoyed with the sleuths for not investigating Tor earlier. Now, I realize that he was not the murderer, but so much pointed toward him, and of course it turned out that he was involved with the real murderer as a semi-unwitting accomplice. Berthe (fictional) was an interesting, if somewhat anachronistic, character, but the rest, other than maybe Mahler (real), did not resonate. I love Vienna, which was what attracted me to this historical mystery, but only the food descriptions brought the city alive for me. Perhaps, because I was nursing a bad cold and thus read it in too-small segments, I am not being entirely fair. Maybe I just wish it had diverted me more.
review 2: I really, really enjoyed this mystery set in turn-of-the-centur... morey Vienna, featuring appearances and cameos by all kinds of famous historical figures. The premise is that someone is trying to kill the composer Gustav Mahler. In the course of the investigation, we also meet Hugo Wolf (a great composer of art songs), the artist Gustav Klimt, the critic Eduard Hanslick, journalist Karl Kraus, and on and on. Of course, it helps that I was sort of familiar already with some of the historical framework - so I got the same sort of thrill from reading this as from watching the movie Midnight in Paris - seeing people you've only read about as historical figures come to life in a mystery novel (as on screen) was sort of like walking into a resaurant and recognizing a group of modern celebrities hanging out.I've sometimes thought turn-of-the-century Vienna was one of those golden ages and places that I'd like to go back to and visit with a time machine, just because it was such a hotbed of artistic and cultural and intellectual activity at the time. I finally got my wish, thanks to J. Sydney Jones. If you're not familiar with the era, Jones's book makes a fun introduction. As a book (vs. time machine), Requiem in Vienna is well-written and seemed decently plotted to me - I haven't read enough mysteries to compare it to others in the plot department, but it seemed to have the usual twists and turns, plus some unexpected ones, and the characters were likeable and charming. It was also interesting to how the historical issue of anti-Semitism was portrayed, since the main character is Jewish.I appreciated that this story was a bit less grisly and hard-boiled than some of the (few) contemporary mysteries/crime novels I've read. Yes, there is some violence and death, but it still made for a comfortable, pleasant read, and as I said, the characters were charming and I enjoyed getting to know them. I recommend this, especially for anyone who loves classical music or cultural history. less

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