Fatal Lies [Paperback]

In the thid installment of the Lieberman papers, Vienna psychiatrist Max Lieberman again is called to assist his police detective friend, Oscar Rhinehardt solve a murder - this time at a military school. While the muder mystery itself is engrossing, the real gem here is the way in which the personal lives of Lieberman and Rhinehardt are woven into solving the crime.

That there is bullying and strong anti-immigrant (Slav and Magyar) sentiments at a military school is hardly surprising; that the headmaster tolerates said hazing is also not a surprise. This storyline, however, is almost a red-herring for a more subtle plot involving what initally appears to be an ancillary murder. As Lieberman and Rhinehardt gather clues, half-truths, deception and lies begin to unravel, each revelation resulting in another tragic death. The final resolution of the crimes had me picking through the book to find the critical clues that I missed. In many respects, Tallis' characters are reminiscent of Holmes and Watson, although the tenor here is much different.

As I have come to expect (and enjoy) in the Lieberman papers, there are abundant references to food (gugelhupf, ischer geback, and my favorite: dobos torte) as well as to music (Mendelssohn, Schuman, Brahms, Schubert - and new to me, Tartini). Given that the stories are set in early 20th century Vienna, Freud also makes the occasional appearance, as do oblique references to the fore-runner of the Rorschach test and to Freudian slips.

I recommend Tallis and this series; _Fatal Lies_ was a much more enjoyable read than the darker _Vienna Blood_.

"Fatal Lies," by Frank Tallis, is the third installment in his mystery series featuring Freudian psychiatrist Max Liebermann and his good friend, Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt. This time, the pair team up to investigate a strange death at St. Florian's, an elite military academy. One of the school's teachers finds a cadet, fifteen-year-old Thomas Zelenka, slumped over a laboratory workbench. The pathologist discovers scar tissue on the victim's body from healed wounds as well as a network of unhealed cuts, but he detects no obvious cause of death. Rheinhardt is not willing to let the matter drop. Why was Zelenka's corpse covered with gashes and why did he keel over for no apparent reason? In spite of pressure from higher-ups to close the case, Oskar stubbornly continues looking into the boy's background, habits, and close associates. He also consults Max, whose scientific knowledge and keen understanding of the human psyche have proved so helpful in the past.

Tallis fills his narrative with local color, highlighting the culture, cuisine, and political turmoil that made turn-of-the-century Vienna such an intriguing place. The author focuses on the claustrophobic atmosphere of St. Florian, a place where the stronger and more influential students viciously bully their weaker counterparts. The teachers, for the most part, turn a blind eye to this culture of cruelty and, in some ways, their perverse influence encourages the cadets' brutal behavior. Another subplot deals with Liebermann's romantic entanglements, as he juggles the two women in his life, the brilliant Amelia Lydgate and a beguiling violinist named Trezska Novak.

Unfortunately, "Fatal Lies" has a number of flaws, including an implausible and far too convoluted plot. When the tangled threads are at last unraveled, many readers will find themselves more exasperated than gratified. The dialogue is, for the most part, rather stilted, and the villains are almost all one-dimensional rogues (a student named Wolf Kiefer who has an affinity for Nietzsche lives up to his predatory name). This time, with Amelia Lydgate playing a cameo role, Max's confused love life fails to arouse much interest. The book is at its best when Tallis demonstrates Liebermann's uncanny powers of observation and his ability to rip off the façade that people use to conceal their true natures. Max mines useful information from such seemingly minor clues as slips of the tongue, body language, and conversational pauses. Using his extensive knowledge of physiology and psychology, Liebermann ruthlessly exposes the foul secrets that some of the book's characters will do anything to hide. "It is a world where nothing is as it seems and nobody can be trusted." Liebermann and Rheinhardt are an appealing pair who share a love of classical music and a passion for justice. However, even they cannot breathe life into "Fatal Lies," a novel that would have been better had it been more subtle and less overwrought.

"Fatal Lies" is author Frank Tallis' third installment of the Lieberman/Rheinhardt mystery series, and a inventive and entertaining story it is. The core of the book is the investigation of a student's death at a Viennese military school. It's soon clear that the institution fosters a lot of the most extreme kind of bullying and mistreatment that those schools were once notorious for. The classism and latent racism of the time (turn of the 20th century) are knowingly woven into the murder mystery as well as being secondary themes in the social portrait of Vienna that is skillfully built into this mystery series by author Tallis.

Protagonist Dr. Max Liebermann, the Freud-trained psychoanalyst, brings an interesting aspect to the police procedurals that are the main engine for much of this story. But in "Fatal Lies," Dr. Liebermann finds himself thrown off stride by a developing obsession with a beautiful and exotic Hungarian woman, who takes the good doctor on a sensual ride that he cannot resist but isn't wholly comfortable about.

In addition to a multi-layered murder mystery, "Fatal Lies" presents the reader with another delicious look at Vienna when it was nearing its cultural heyday. Interestingly, the focus here is more in the direction of the late 19th Century, before the full blooming and accomplishments of the Secessionist period. In any event, the reader gets a full picture of the city and the political and social backdrop of the time. Author Tallis does not stint on detailed descriptions of food and drink either. Heartening to know that some of the watering spots mentioned in this book and others in the series e.g. The Cafe Central, are still in business and flourishing without much change in menu or decor.

The Rheinhardt/Liebermann series is first rate--inventive and evocative. "Fatal Lies" is an excellent read and highly recommended.

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