Someone is trying to kill Gustav Mahler the fiery conductor and composer. A fun read with people and places that really existed in late nineteenth century Vienna. ( )

Took a while to read this, have a zillion books going at the same time right now.

Solid like the first one, workmanlike historical fiction. Having all the real life characters is always tough to pull off, but Jones does a nice job. Will eventually read the others in the series. ( )

I've read three in this series, though not in timely order. What a fascinating portrait of the time and place. I'm just starting to appreciate Vienna as a world capitol. The details about the famous people that appear in these novels is wonderful. ( )

Lawyer and private investigator Karl Werthen looks into a series of "accidents" that seems to be attempts on Gustav Mahler's life after being requested to do so by Alma Schindler. There is a rather large cast of suspects which seems to grow after each new attempt on Mahler's life. While the mystery itself is not bad, the writing does not flow as smoothly as it should. The author did a wonderful job in the historical research for the novel, but it reads more like a work of non-fiction (minus the footnotes) than it does as a work of fiction. Still, however, those who appreciate the music of the period of Brahms, Mahler, and Strauss should enjoy this mystery. ( )