Steve Thompson's "Vienna Blood"

[Carol the Dabbler 14,447]

How might Sherlock Holmes have been conceived if Arthur Conan Doyle's mentor Joseph Bell had been a psychoanalyst instead of a surgeon?

Alex found this on Radio Times:

Vienna Blood, a 1900s-set crime series from Steve Thompson – the man who penned several episodes of the hit Benedict Cumberbatch detective drama, including applauded series two finale The Reichenbach Fall – is set to air on BBC2 later this year.

 

Based on the best-selling Liebermann novels by clinical psychologist Frank Tallis, the three-part feature-length series will follow Max Liebermann (played by The Imitation Game’s Matthew Beard), an English doctor who becomes a student of acclaimed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in Vienna.

 

However, his studies are soon halted with the arrival of Oskar Rheinhardt (Austrian actor Juergen Maurer), a Detective Inspector struggling with an unusual case.  [You can read more at the link above.]

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[Arcadia 18,434]

Hmmm, the novels sound good. I've rejoined a book club and have been trying to think what to have them read when it comes my turn. Thanks for the idea!

[Carol the Dabbler 14,447]

Please let us know what you think of 'em!

And anyone who sees the adaptation on the BBC, please give us a review of that!

[Arcadia 18,434]

Well, the first one's not in my local library, 😞 and I hate to read a series out of sequence. Heading to the used book store tomorrow (we have an amazing used book store, it's huuuuge) see what I can find there. For some reason the description just really appeals to me.

[Carol the Dabbler 14,447]

I was briefly confused by all the novels with similar titles, till I started googling for ones written by Frank Tallis in, as the article mentions, his Liebermann Papers series.  For anyone else who's curious, here's a list in chronological order from GoodReads, which mentions that the first novel, A Death in Vienna is also known as Mortal Mischief (which explains why another chronological list starts with that title).

Anyhow, good luck!

[Arcadia 18,434]

Ah, thanks. I knew it had a second title but I couldn't find it again. Will be looking for both.

[Caya 4,292]

Husband and I watched the first episode of Vienna Blood yesterday - I was skeptical at first, but it soon won me over and I ended up really liking it. Disclaimer, though, I'm not sure if it offers quite the same enjoyment for someone not from Vienna, because it's done with a lot of love and respect as well as a critical eye for the city, and there are many little details that show this but can be easily missed if you're not familiar with the place. Like, when some chars talk about the mayor off-handedly and I was, 1906, that must have been - oh dear, Lueger (an infamous anti-semite; the "Sherlock" in this, Max, is Jewish and the series deals with the rising level of antipathy he has to face quite well, imo).

Anyway, it was an enjoyable episode overall and reminded me of what I loved of early-series Sherlock. Looking forward to watching the next two (there's just three episodes in this as well, though they're currently doing a second series afaik), will let you know how they compare to the pilot.

[Carol the Dabbler 14,447]

11 hours ago, Caya said:

Husband and I watched the first episode of Vienna Blood yesterday

Thanks for the review!

Where did you find it -- are you able to watch the BBC, or is it on a streaming service, or on DVD .... ?

 

[Caya 4,292]

ORF (local equivalent to the BBC), which is involved in that production. 

[Carol the Dabbler 14,447]

Well, it appears that Vienna Blood was shown here on PBS in January and February.  (Now I tell me!)  Anyone who's interested can watch out for reruns.

Also, there will apparently be another series, but I haven't yet found out when.

 

[Artemis 3,850]

I watched S1 on PBS when it aired.  I feel pretty neutral about it, but I’ll give S2 a shot.