Interpretation of Murder
On the morning after Sigmund Freud arrives in New York on his first – and only – visit to the United States in 1909, a stunning débutante is found bound and strangled in her penthouse apartment, high above Broadway. The following night, another beautiful heiress, Nora Acton, is discovered tied to a chandelier in her parents’ home, viciously wounded and unable to speak or to recall her ordeal. Soon Freud and his American disciple, Stratham Younger, are enlisted to help Miss Acton recover her memory, and to piece together the killer‘s identity. It is a riddle that tests their skills to the limit and lead them on a journey into the darkest places of the city, and of the human mind.
This book had all the right ingredients to be incredible. An interesting protagonist, an intriguing subject, murder, sex, crime, Freud…but I feel like it missed something. The first page lured me in with the beautiful written words and the opening line “There is no mystery to happiness” however, consistency is what was lacking. The book fell slow and left the reader hanging. The attraction between the two lead characters kept building and then fizzled out just when it was getting good and the mystery that began with Freud’s collegues strange behavior was left unexplored.
There were some really amazing parts in the book. I liked the twist with Ms. Acton’s character and think that her “psyche” could have been explored a bit more. I enjoyed the glimpses into NY social life and the descriptions of the “who‘s who” in the wealthy circles of early 1900′s America. The historical aspects and references were great and I loved seeing beloved New York landmarks sprinkled throughout the story.
Overall, I liked this book. I found it at the Dollar Store and feel like I totally got my dollars worth. In fact I went back and bought several copies for my friends and family that are psychologist or studying to be in the field. I figured it would be an interesting topic of conversation at the next reunion (instead of them discussing me;). I wanted to LOVE this book, but instead I just…liked it.
This book was purchased by Day.
