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The Interpretation of Murder

The Richard and Judy Bestseller

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The Interpretation of Murder

By: Jed Rubenfeld
Narrated by: Ron Rifkin
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A dazzling literary thriller - the story of Sigmund Freud assisting a Manhattan murder investigation. Think SHADOW OF THE WIND meets THE HISTORIAN.

THE INTERPRETATION OF MURDER is an inventive tour de force inspired by Sigmund Freud's 1909 visit to America, accompanied by protégé and rival Carl Jung. When a wealthy young debutante is discovered bound, whipped and strangled in a luxurious apartment overlooking the city, and another society beauty narrowly escapes the same fate, the mayor of New York calls upon Freud to use his revolutionary new ideas to help the surviving victim recover her memory of the attack, and solve the crime. But nothing about the attacks - or about the surviving victim, Nora - is quite as it seems. And there are those in very high places determined to stop the truth coming out, and Freud's startling theories taking root on American soil.©2006 Jed Rubenfeld Genre Fiction Historical Mystery Psychological Traditional Detectives Crime Murder Fiction Suspense
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Critic reviews

'A spectacular debut... fiendishly clever... a fascinating recreation of a golden age in which much of the New York of today is recognisable'
'Rubenfeld writes beautifully, his style skillfully evoking the period, as he weaves all these threads into an intriguing mystery with a fascinating glimpse into the early days of psychoanalysis'
'An unusually intelligent novel which entertains, informs and intrigues on several levels'
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I now would like to try more of this writer's projects. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of murder mysteries.

Very good. Well read and written.

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Great book, well written and well read. I really enjoyed this story of historical interest and it was really well read!

Sherlock, eat your heart out!

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A must for any psychology fan. I love fiction based on real people, it really brings the story to life. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, something I don't say very often! Would definitely recommend.

Fiction meets Psychotherapy

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The is not the whole book. If you check it against a real copy it has A LOT of parts missing almost every other paragraph has been cut out of the audiobook it's so disappointing. It's over 500 pages long and it has been condensed down into a 6hr read. Hopefully this will give you an idea of exactly how much has been cut, I'll say it again... A LOT.

Parts of the story are missing.

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The idea of using new psychological concepts to solve a murder in 1909 sounds good but that is not what this story does.
‘Freud’ is dropped into the plot but then does little except repeatedly go on about the Oedipus complex.
‘Jung’ does little except chat to witnesses while a detective (with a very annoying voice) solves the case.
Period NY detail is interesting and makes a good backdrop to events, but the quippy dialogue throughout is hugely distracting.
Ultimately the story was contrived and silly, centred around cardboard historical characters and freshman psychiatry.

Oedipus Oedipus Oedipus

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