The Third Place: A Viennese Historical Mystery
Sydney Jones’s sixth novel in the Viennese Mystery series is set in the waning days of winter in 1902. Private enquiries agent Karl Werthen is asked to investigate the death of the headwaiter of the Café Burg, a death that, at first glance, looks like an accident. While pursuing leads in that case, he is engaged, along with renowned criminologist Dr. Hanns Gross, to find a missing letter from the emperor to his mistress. As the investigations unfold, it becomes clear the two cases are related and that the emperor’s life—and the future of the empire—are at stake.
The Third Place is full of incendiary politics, assassination plots, and a race against time to protect Vienna from a catastrophe, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Karl Werthen, a wonderful protagonist who is smart, worldly, and a genuine good guy and loving family man, is perfectly matched with the no-nonsense Dr. Gross. The two make a great investigative team who, nonetheless, face a daunting challenge in tracking down the ruthless assassin who intends to wreak havoc on the empire at any cost. Watching them match wits as the clock ticks toward disaster is exciting, and the Viennese setting and rich period details only add to the enjoyment.
