Quiet Twin
-
-
3.5 • 6 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Vienna under the Nazis. A string of murders throws the city into a state of anxiety. Anton Beer, a young doctor who has made a study of forensic psychology, is asked by the retired Professor Speckstein to investigate the slaughter of his dog, which may or may not be related to the murders. It is an unwelcome request: Speckstein’s job is to spy on the building’s residents for the Party, and Doctor Beer has his own reasons for keeping his private life hidden from public scrutiny. Beer’s life becomes further complicated when in a neighbour’s apartment he discovers a paralyzed young woman, deathly ill from a mysterious ailment, and smuggles her into his home to nurse her in secret.
In a story that is gripping from start to finish, Dan Vyleta deftly captures the paranoia of totalitarian Austria. Imbued with menace and uncertainty, The Quiet Twin reveals the temperament of a diseased society where all actions are coloured by the possibility of evil.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in Vienna during the first weeks of WWII, Vyleta's captivating detective story, told from multiple perspectives, examines the paranoia and mistrust of neighbors during the height of Hitler's regime. Neighborhood physician Dr. Anton Beer, a specialist in nervous disorders and forensics, is asked by his colleague, Dr. Speckstein, to investigate the death and disembowelment of his beloved pet dog. As the mystery of the slain dog deepens, it becomes apparent that the animal's death may be tied to a serial killer in the city, or perhaps something even more sinister. Also central to the plot are Zuzka, Speckstein's hypochondriac niece, who becomes fascinated with a mime living across the courtyard, and Anneliese Grotter, a hunchbacked seven-year-old with an alcoholic father. Anton and the two girls are on the verge of unraveling the mystery when Det. Franz Teuben, a zealous Nazi, begins to investigate the killings. Vyleta (Pavel & I) carefully provides political and historical context, resulting in a plot that takes a while to get going. However, when the pace picks up, readers will appreciate the novel's well-crafted pathos, dark humor, and chills.
Customer Reviews
A Not So Quiet Writer
Author Dan Vyleta's sophomore work lives up to the rich, irreverent tapestry laid bare in it's predecessor Pavel & I. Dappling his canvas in the "noirish" cinematic pallet of Carol Reid and David Lynch, The Quiet Twin crackles with life thanks to Vyleta's poetic surfeit's and flourishes. A must read for fans of a good mystery, lacquered in the beauty of the absurd.