The Death Instinct
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4.2 • 25 Ratings
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
A spellbinding literary thriller about terror, war, greed, and the darkest secrets of the human soul, by the author of the million-copy bestseller, The Interpretation of Murder. September 16, 1920. Under a clear blue September sky, a quarter ton of explosives is detonated in a deadly attack on Wall Street. Fear comes to the streets of New York. Witnessing the blast are war veteran Stratham Younger, his friend James Littlemore of the New York Police Department, and beautiful French radiochemist Colette Rousseau. A series of inexplicable attacks on Colette, a secret buried in her past, and a mysterious trail of evidence lead Younger, Littlemore, and Rousseau on a thrilling international and psychological journey -- from Paris to Prague, from the Vienna home of Dr Sigmund Freud to the corridors of power in Washington, DC, and ultimately to the hidden depths of our most savage instincts. As the seemingly disjointed pieces of Younger and Littlemore's investigations come together, the two uncover the shocking truth about the bombing -- a truth that threatens to shake their world to its foundations.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The 1920 bombing of Wall Street, the most deadly act of terrorism in the United States until the Oklahoma blast of 1995, provides the framework for Rubenfeld's excellent follow-up to The Interpretation of Murder. The sweeping plot details the baffling hunt for those responsible for the death and injury of more than 400 New Yorkers. Numerous intriguing subplots snake out from the main story line, several of which bring such historical figures as Marie Curie, famous for her radium experiments, and Sigmund Freud, who had a significant role in the previous book, to life. Rubenfeld deftly wends his way through the shifting landscape with a historian's factual touch and a storyteller's eye for the dramatic and telling. Readers will be enthralled as Dr. Stratham Younger, the hero of The Interpretation of Murder aided by his beautiful fianc e, scientist Colette Rousseau, and Det. James Littlemore manages to solve the Wall Street bombing, something that the real authorities never did.
Customer Reviews
Excellent
A very enjoyable second outing for Younger and Littlemore. The background is extensively researched and very convincing and the main characters entirely absorbing. The plot thunders along whilst being complex, absorbing and wide-ranging. My only slight annoyance was the over use of parallels to the 9-11 terrorist attacks. A rattling good read, especially if you liked the intellectual games in "The Interpretation of Murder".
Just Brilliant
I really loved this book - even more than the first which I also loved - but in this book the characters are really well developed and the story is fascinating. I really appreciate Jed's intellect which shines through in the whole book, the characters and scenery are rich and textured and the historical accuracy very satisfying, I could imagine this making an excellent film!