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The summer of 1898 finds Austria terrorized by a killer whom the press calls “Vienna’s Jack the Ripper.” When the painter Gustav Klimt’s female model becomes the fifth victim, the police finger him as the culprit. Dr. Hanns Gross, the renowned father of criminology, agrees to assist Klimt's lawyer, Karl Werthen, in investigating the murders. Together, Gross and Werthen must not only clear Klimt’s name but also follow the trail of a killer that will lead them in the most surprising of directions.
Written by an acclaimed expert on Vienna and its history, The Empty Mirror introduces a new series of stunning historical mysteries that reveals the culture and curiosities of this fascinating fin de siècle metropolis.
"A colorful story that neatly combines fact and fiction.”
--The Washington Post
"Jones . . . deftly melds fact with fiction in a novel that will appeal to mystery aficionados as well as history buffs.”
--Richmond Times-Dispatch
“What Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did for Victorian London and Caleb Carr did for old New York, Sydney Jones does for historic Vienna. The Empty Mirror is a new classic mystery for discerning readers."
--Karen Harper, New York Times bestselling author of the Queen Elizabeth I mystery series“An intriguing, dark novel woven around historical facts and figures, set in the lush, breathing labyrinth of Klimt’s Vienna.”
--Noah Charney, author of The Art Thief“A rollicking roller-coaster ride through Vienna’s Prater Park complete with mysterious murders, a carload of famous names, and a pair of detectives who know enough about Viennese pastries to make your mouth water. History and fiction cleverly combined by a master storyteller.”
--Michael Gregorio, author of Critique of Criminal Reason
J. Sydney Jones is the author of twelve books, including the nonfiction Hitler in Vienna, 1907--1913, the guides Viennawalks and Vienna Inside-Out, and the suspense novel Time of the Wolf. In 1968 he was a student in Vienna and later returned to live there for almost two decades. He currently lives near Santa Cruz, California. For more information, please visit his Web site at www.jsydneyjones.com
ONE
Wednesday, August 17, 1898—Vienna
Damn that Gross, he thought as he sat restlessly in front of his untouched breakfast, a blank sheet of folio staring at him reproachfully from the desktop.
Advokat Karl Werthen was at loose ends this morning. The lawyer usually reserved the breakfast hour for writing. To date he had published five short stories, tales of "interrupted lives," as he liked to describe them.
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