Saturday, January 17, 2009

#92- The Interpretation of Murder


Book No: 92
Title: The Interpretation of Murder
Author: Jed Rubenfeld
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2007
Obtained: 2006/Audible
Completed: 12/30/2008
No. of Pages: N/A
Rating: 4/5*****

A very inventive and gripping psychological thriller, The Interpretation of Murder interweaves real life events and characters with fictional ones to create an engrossing and entertaining historical mystery.

In 1909 Drs. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung came to New York City on their way to Clark University in Boston. They are met by Dr. Sratham Younger, a young proponent of Freud’s controversial theories. When a young woman is found murdered and a few days later a daughter of a prominent family is also attacked it becomes clear the cases are connected. The woman, Nora Acton, has no memory of her attack and has lost her capacity to speak. When Dr. Freud is consulted on the case he determines the case will be too time consuming for him and turns the case over to Dr. Younger, remaining only as Younger’s advisor.

This novel was very intricate with multiple plot lines and intersecting stories. Nothing is as it seems and Dr. Younger eventually joins forces with Detective Jimmy Littlemore in an attempt to solve the mysteries of the murder and the attack on Ms. Acton.

There is a lot going on in this book, and some of the storytelling felt a little flat. The final explanation was a little long and convoluted, but overall I enjoyed this tale very much. The descriptions of New York, from architecture to society life were so good the city seems a character in the story too. In particular I loved the character of Jimmy Littlemore and would enjoy seeing him in another mystery. I listened to this on audio and thoroughly enjoyed the narrator; he really brought the story to life.

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