Steve Thompson's "Vienna Blood"

[Carol the Dabbler 14,591]

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 18,538]

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 14,591]

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 18,538]

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 14,591]

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 18,538]

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

[Caya 4,361]

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 14,591]

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 4,361]

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

[Carol the Dabbler 14,591]

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 4,003]

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

 

[Caya 4,361]

I saw the third and so far last episode tonight (three new ones are in the works and scheduled for 2021, it said after the closing credits). Confirmed my first impression, this is a charming series and even more so if you're familiar with the setting. Beyond that, the two leads turned out to have amazing chemistry of the turning-from-barely-tolerated-strangers-to-genuine-friends kind (fwiw, I got zero vibes of the Johnlock kind, and both are shown in-series to be straight, anyway). Their interactions, which were still quite strained in the first episode (purposefully so), are a joy to watch now.

If I have a bone to pick, it's with the female roles who are, well, not that fleshed out really imo. But ah well, women in Vienna had only been admitted to universities for a couple of years at this point and wouldn't be allowed to vote for another dozen, so I admit it's not that easy in that setting.

tl;dr: Give it a try for that early-seasons-Sherlock feeling.

[Carol the Dabbler 14,591]

It's available on Region 1 DVD from US Amazon, and also via Amazon Prime streaming.  UK Amazon has even more options.

[Arcadia 18,538]

On 8/29/2019 at 9:17 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

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!

Apparently it's not popular around here, couldn't find in either the library or the used book store, and can't afford to purchase new books. *sigh* But I'm reading the Louise Penny series now anyway. Nothing Sherlocky about them but they're enjoyable.

[Carol the Dabbler 14,591]

7 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I'm reading the Louise Penny series now anyway. Nothing Sherlocky about them but they're enjoyable.

Are those mysteries?  Or what?

 

[Arcadia 18,538]

On 11/21/2020 at 4:10 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Are those mysteries?  Or what?

 

Yes, I think there's already 15 or so of them by now. I'm up to number six and it's been one of the better ones. Takes place in Canada, mostly in a small town, but the current one takes place in Quebec. They follow an Inspector Gamache and his team, plus a lot of the characters from the small town play big roles. They're an easy, pleasant read. First series I've been able to get into in a long time. Probably doesn't hurt than one of the main characters is an artist.  

[kimber8ada 111]

I've read the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. They are all good. I'm about two books behind, I think, so I better call the library and reserve them for pick up.

[Carol the Dabbler 14,591]

16 hours ago, Arcadia said:

They're an easy, pleasant read.

How would you compare them to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, if you're familiar with those?

 

[Arcadia 18,538]

On 11/25/2020 at 12:32 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

How would you compare them to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, if you're familiar with those?

 

I'm not familiar with those, sorry.

I'm actually not a big fan of mystery novels, as a genre ... I tend to fall for particular authors who happen to write mysteries,  rather than read mysteries because they are mysteries. (Does that makes sense?) The only other mystery "series" I've read are the (superlative) Tony Hillerman novels. I've also read every Dick Francis mystery, but most of those feature different characters, not a single detective.

At any rate, the Louise Penny books don't remind me of anything in particular. They're definitely a light read, and some of the plots are a little weak ... but the world she creates and the characters that inhabit it are enjoyable.

 

On 11/24/2020 at 11:51 AM, kimber8ada said:

I've read the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. They are all good. I'm about two books behind, I think, so I better call the library and reserve them for pick up.

I may never catch up ... the library was closed for months, and by the time they reopened I'd gotten too busy to read very often. Takes me about a month to finish a novel, these days. I can't believe I used to read a book a day. Where did I find the time? Have books gotten longer?

[Carol the Dabbler 14,591]

5 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I'm not familiar with those, sorry.

Well, if you like an "easy, pleasant read," you might want to check out the first book in the series, called simply "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."  There's a whole series now, and even though there isn't an actual story arc from book to book, background situations do change (as in real life), so best to start with the first book, I think.

The books are set in Botswana.  Even though the author is a Scottish man rather than an African woman, he did use to live in Botswana, so I must assume that his colorful descriptions are realistic, and I love the continuing characters.  Most of the cases are fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, but the detective uses a good bit of ingenuity to solve them.