The Fig Eater

Vienna, 1910 -- Freud's city hovers on the threshold between darkness and light, superstition and science. The murder of Dora, the daughter of a respectable bourgeois family, is being investigated by the Inspector, newly schooled in rationalist criminology. Almost every aspect of the crime remains hidden, untouchable. He recognizes uncertainty as part of solving the crime; he tries to find the "error in the situation" -- that small link that will lead him to the truth. His wife, Erszebet, a Hungarian steeped in Gypsy mysticism, becomes obsessed with the murder and launches her own parallel, secret investigation. She is sure that the figs found in Dora's stomach are a clue to the identity of the murderer -- for there are no fresh figs in Vienna at this time of the year. The Fig Eater is a great suspense puzzle in which each piece gathered challenges our perceptions and leads us to the novel's shocking climax.