The Interpretation of Murder
by: Jed Rubenfeld
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
If you love historical mystery/thrillers you might want to check out The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld. The novel features Sigmund Freud and his only trip to New York (and the United States) in 1909.
On August 29, 1909, Dr. Stratham Younger met the Norddeutsche Lloyd steamship George Washington when it arrived in Hoboken Harbor. Sigmund Freud, accompanied by Sandor Ferenczi of Budapest and Carl Jung of Zurich, had been invited to speak at Clark University.
Across town in a ritzy apartment building, a beautiful young Elizabeth Riverford is found hanging from a chandelier. She had been strangled, whipped and cut. The following day, another beautiful woman, heiress Nora Acton, is attacked in her home by the same killer. Fortunately she survives the attack, but as a result of the trauma, she remembers nothing about the assault.
The young psychoanalyst, Dr. Stratham Younger, is called upon to help the Nora Acton regain her memory. Younger believes he might not be up to the task and enlists the aid of Sigmund Freud.
The body of the first woman mysteriously disappears from the morgue, indicating that there is someone lurking in New York with much to lose if the mystery of Elizabeth Riverford and Nora Acton is solved.
Dr. Younger, with input from Freud and help from Detective Jimmy Littlmore, must solve the murders before the maniacal murderer strikes again. But with characters like Coroner Charles Hugel, and husband-and-wife team George and Clara Banwell on the scene, things become even more complicated and dangerous. No one is who they seem to be and one doesn't know who is a friend and who is an enemy.
The Interpretation of Murder has a fascinating plot with an interesting view of the New York elite and the power they wield. It is an ingenious look at Freud's only trip to the United States and an interpretation of what might have happened while he was here. That said, unless you're really a hardcore historical fan, you might find the story bogs down with the historical information. It became more of a distraction than anything else.
Armchair Interviews says: For some, historical facts might tend to drag this otherwise good story down
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