Synopses & Reviews
In this ingenious, suspenseful historical thriller, Sigmund Freud is drawn into the mind of a sadistic killer who is savagely attacking Manhattan's wealthiest heiresses Inspired by Sigmund Freud's only visit to America, The Interpretation of Murder is an intricate tale of murder and the mind's most dangerous mysteries. It unfurls on a sweltering August evening in 1909 as Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington, accompanied by Carl Jung, his rival and protégé. Across town, in an opulent apartment high above the city, a stunning young woman is found dangling from a chandelier--whipped, mutilated, and strangled. The next day, a second beauty--a rebellious heiress who scorns both high society and her less adventurous parents--barely escapes the killer. Yet Nora Acton, suffering from hysteria, can recall nothing of her attack. Asked to help her, Dr. Stratham Younger, America's most committed Freudian analyst, calls in his idol, the Master himself, to guide him through the challenges of analyzing this high-spirited young woman whose family past has been as complicated as his own. The Interpretation of Murder leads readers from the salons of Gramercy Park, through secret passages, to Chinatown--even far below the currents of the East River where laborers are building the Manhattan Bridge. As Freud fends off a mysterious conspiracy to destroy him, Younger is drawn into an equally thrilling adventure that takes him deep into the subterfuges of the human mind. Richly satisfying, elegantly crafted, The Interpretation of Murder marks the debut of a brilliant, spectacularly entertaining new storyteller.
Review
"Rubenfeld renders rich, complex characters, vivid period detail, and prose riddled with heady references to Hamlet." Booklist
(Starred Review)
Review
"[A] gloriously intelligent exploration of what might have happened to Sigmund Freud during his only visit to America....Rubenfeld...shows great talent for psychological suspense....[H]ighly recommended..." Library Journal
Review
"Meaty and provocative, though also grandiose and calculated." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Readers who give this cerebral concoction even the slightest chance will be captivated by its myriad intrigues, its dubious cast of heroes and villains, and its palpable tension." Rocky Mountain News
Review
"[L]ong on period atmosphere and heady discussions of the Oedipus complex, short on thriller-crafting horse sense....Rubenfeld has both smarts and an admirably depraved imagination, but he needs to learn creative restraint. (Grade: B-)" Entertainment Weekly
Review
"Credit Mr. Rubenfeld with a smart, jocular approach to an elaborate undertaking....His book is a research-fueled, psycho-historical Shakespearean thriller with Da Vinci Code aspirations, and as such it is a bizarrely original hybrid." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
"[A] sprightly book that engages in an undemanding but handsome made-for-cable-movie sort of way....In other words, something has been accomplished, if hysterical ambition can be transformed into ordinary entertainment." Los Angeles Times
Review
"[A] good deal of fun. This is a genre novel and it will reward well enough those who seek to bask for some pleasant hours in the formula of the historically grounded mystery." Chicago Tribune
Review
"The novel is difficult to put down. Its ironclad, cliffhanger-rich, shooting-script structure makes it a page turner....But, as with a jaw-droppingly bad movie, just because it's riveting doesn't mean it's pleasurable." Ada Calhoun, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Given all the heady psychological and historical content, it is to Rubenfeld's credit that he still manages to propel the book along at a page-turner clip, without relying on the usual mystery formula." Dallas-Ft. Worth Star Telegram
Review
"This is a bold page-turner that propels us from the star with with a driving plot and intriguing characters, but also with ideas a whole history of ideas. It's a richly motivated thriller that will make you reconsider the mysteries of Freud and Hamlet. Here is a novel that you'll only want to put down in order to think more about the book." Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club
Review
"All the elements are here for a grand tale: the era of arrogant, grossly rich titans, the hovering presence of the man who cracked humankind's subconscious, and murder. Rubenfeld's novel is neatly structured, with slow reveals and cinematic twists, including trap doors and faked deaths. It might make a fine movie someday, but as a book it will leave readers cold." Anna Godbersen, Esquire (read the entire Esquire review)
Synopsis
In this ingenious, suspenseful historical thriller, Sigmund Freud is drawn into the mind of a sadistic killer who is savagely attacking Manhattan's wealthiest heiresses.
Inspired by Sigmund Freud's only visit to America, The Interpretation of Murder is an intricate tale of murder and the mind's most dangerous mysteries. It unfurls on a sweltering August evening in 1909 as Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington, accompanied by Carl Jung, his rival and protégé. Across town, in an opulent apartment high above the city, a stunning young woman is found dangling from a chandelier whipped, mutilated, and strangled. The next day, a second beauty a rebellious heiress who scorns both high society and her less adventurous parents barely escapes the killer. Yet Nora Acton, suffering from hysteria, can recall nothing of her attack. Asked to help her, Dr. Stratham Younger, America's most committed Freudian analyst, calls in his idol, the Master himself, to guide him through the challenges of analyzing this high-spirited young woman whose family past has been as complicated as his own.
The Interpretation of Murder leads readers from the salons of Gramercy Park, through secret passages, to Chinatown even far below the currents of the East River where laborers are building the Manhattan Bridge. As Freud fends off a mysterious conspiracy to destroy him, Younger is drawn into an equally thrilling adventure that takes him deep into the subterfuges of the human mind.
Richly satisfying, elegantly crafted, The Interpretation of Murder marks the debut of a brilliant, spectacularly entertaining new storyteller.
Synopsis
In this ingenious, suspenseful historical thriller, Sigmund Freud is drawn into the mind of a sadistic killer who is savagely attacking Manhattan's wealthiest heiresses.
Synopsis
International Bestseller#1 U.K. BestsellerThe Wall Street Journal BestsellerLos Angeles Times Bestseller In the summer of 1909, Sigmund Freud arrived by steamship in New York Harbor for a short visit to America. Though he would live another thirty years, he would never return to this country. Little is known about the week he spent in Manhattan, and Freud's biographers have long speculated as to why, in his later years, he referred to Americans as "savages" and "criminals."
In The Interpretation of Murder, Jed Rubenfeld weaves the facts of Freud's visit into a riveting, atmospheric story of corruption and murder set all over turn-of-the-century New York. Drawing on case histories, Shakespeare's Hamlet, and the historical details of a city on the brink of modernity, The Interpretation of Murder introduces a brilliant new storyteller, a novelist who, in the words of The New York Times, "will be no ordinary pop-cultural sensation."
About the Author
Currently the Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law at Yale University, Jed Rubenfeld is one of this country's foremost experts on constitutional law. As a Princeton undergraduate, he completed his thesis on Freud. At the Juilliard School, he studied Shakespeare. Rubenfeld lives in New Haven, Connecticut, with his wife and two children.