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A review by holly_117
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
4.0
The story begins with the bizarre murder of one wealthy young woman and an attack on another in early 20th century New York city. There are several suspects and several people working the investigation, including police, doctors and the coroner, each with their own theory on who killed Miss Riverford and when he may try to finish the job on Miss Acton.
This novel features Sigmund Freud as a character and incorporates many details of his one visit to the U.S. in 1909. The book starts off a little slowly, since there is a lot of character development going on in the early chapters. I really enjoyed the historical details that the author included, things like the technical innovations that made building of bridges across the Hudson river possible in the late 1800s. I didn't enjoy the psychological discussions between Freud and his disciples very much, mostly because they're so chauvinistic, but I understand that this was the mindset of men at the time and that these ideas about female weakness and Oedipal complexes hung on for a long time in psychiatry.
Overall, this book was a pretty quick read once it got going. The ending is pretty satisfying and I like that characters who seem minor in the beginning take on major roles toward the end. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery/thriller novels and can stomach the historically accurate (but infuriating) attitude of Freud.
This novel features Sigmund Freud as a character and incorporates many details of his one visit to the U.S. in 1909. The book starts off a little slowly, since there is a lot of character development going on in the early chapters. I really enjoyed the historical details that the author included, things like the technical innovations that made building of bridges across the Hudson river possible in the late 1800s. I didn't enjoy the psychological discussions between Freud and his disciples very much, mostly because they're so chauvinistic, but I understand that this was the mindset of men at the time and that these ideas about female weakness and Oedipal complexes hung on for a long time in psychiatry.
Overall, this book was a pretty quick read once it got going. The ending is pretty satisfying and I like that characters who seem minor in the beginning take on major roles toward the end. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery/thriller novels and can stomach the historically accurate (but infuriating) attitude of Freud.