Rubenfeld is a clever man undoubtedly. This is a clever book - and it is a page turner. So why only three stars when I am usually a generous soul with books I actually finish. Well, to fully explain would be to give away the plot; however, I think Mr. Rubenfeld allows his academic interests to trip up his plot and his intricate plot to get in the way of his academic acumen. In other words the book falls between two stools, being neither completely satisfactory about the way Freud and Jung fell out, nor at the end of the book, is there a feeling of "wow that was clever and all made sense". Rather it's "that has been written by a clever man . . ." which is not the same thing at all.

So is it worth reading - yes, if you are already informed about psychoanalysis . . .

It was alright. Entertaining but nothing that stands out. Have never read much of psychoanalysis or Freud so this was a first. To be honest did find it rather weird but it served a purpose. The writing itself was good and picturesque description of New York on the turn of the last century was rather romantic. I'm always a sucker for historical fiction. All three combined kept me going and I managed to finish it in one sitting. This would make a fine web series on Netflix or Hulu but that's about it

I was very curious about this book. I mean, a murder mystery involving Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung? Now that’s an interesting premise. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to its promise. It was cheesy and contrived and Rubenfeld’s attempt to recapture the writing style of the time was only sporadically effective.

For the most part it was just too much: too many characters, too many sub plots, too many plot twists and waaaaaay too much analysis of Hamlet. Yes, I said analysis of Hamlet. By the time I was three quarters of the way through I realized that I didn’t really care whodunit.

This is a good mystery, but I think the characters need some work. Good use of atmosphere and it's interesting to see the early days of criminal psychology. Not a bad book, but it just needs some fine tuning.

Unbelievably well written. While not my normal pick, I have no regrets. Would read and recommend this book 1000 times over.

Started in 2009.

Wasn't THAT good. The mystery wasn't engaging and the characters didn't seem... real, somehow.

I have a mixed opinion about this book. On the one hand, it was an excellent murder mystery. I was constantly changing my mind about who did it and trying to pick up clues along the way. It pulled me in right up to the end when I discovered that not only was I wrong about who did it but exactly what was done.
But, I felt that the book had way too many characters. My reading was prolonged because I was constantly trying to figure out who was who and how they fit in. And I have to admit that I got real tired real fast of the Frued/Jung storyline.