Ratings2
Average rating3.5
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Vienna, 1913. Lysander Rief, a young English actor, sits in the waiting room of the city's preeminent psychiatrist as he anxiously ponders the particularly intimate nature of his neurosis. When the enigmatic, intensely beautiful Hettie Bull walks in, Lysander is immediately drawn to her, unaware of how destructive the consequences of their subsequent affair will be. One year later, home in London, Lysander finds himself entangled in the dangerous web of wartime intelligence - a world of sex, scandal and spies that is slowly, steadily, permeating every corner of his life...
Reviews with the most likes.
I had paradoxical reactions to this book. I found the writing somewhat flaccid, but even so, the book was a compelling read, largely because of the period atmosphere and the exotic locations. At the end of the book, I felt cheated, because the massive plot holes were never filled and the story line didn't really make sense.
The ludicrous coincidences are never explained and the plot more or less dissolves into an unsatisfying and illogical mess.
The only way to redeem this story would be if it turns out to be a setup for a sequel that would cleverly resolve the outstanding problems. Short of that, I think the book is not really a complete novel.