I suspect that even Robert Macdonald, Senior Superintendent, C. I. D., Scotland Yard, would tell you that his plans for a quiet holiday in Vienna, Austria, did not work out exactly as planned. Instead of a pleasant and relaxing vacation among old friends in a city he had come to know and love when he had visited frequently before World War II, Macdonald found himself helping the local Viennese police deal with a couple of nasty murders. The story will be found in Murder in Vienna, written by E.C.R. Lorac in 1955. It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the original podcast by clicking here.
E.C.R. Lorac was one of several pen names used by Edith Caroline Rivett in writing dozens of mystery novels. One of the many things I admire about E.C.R. Lorac’s books is her ability to develop realistic characters, along with her evident fondness for the places she visits in her books. That’s certainly true of Murder in Vienna; her fondness for Vienna – at least the Vienna that still existed a decade after the terrible events of the Second World War – shines through her writing.
Intrigue really wasn’t on Macdonald’s mind at all when he flew into Vienna, idly observing the faces of some of his fellow-passengers – all of them unknown to him. He was going on vacation, to see friends, and – above all things – to enjoy Vienna.
And yet, sometimes – in places where intrigues are perhaps more common, especially in mystery fiction – those places may be more interested in you than you are in them. And that may explain why Viennese police turned to Macdonald for help, when some of the other people who had been on Macdonald's plane from London to Zurich and on to Vienna, began having suspicious accidents…with at least one of the attacks culminating in murder.
It's a story about clever detective work, married to a story which occasionally veers over into thriller territory. And it certainly provides a quick and enjoyable read. I think you'll enjoy it.
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