The Luzern Photograph

An infamous nineteenth-century photograph is the key to a modern murder mystery in this “clever psychological thriller” from the Edgar Award winner (Library Journal, starred review).

In 1882, the young Lou Andreas-Salomé—writer, psychoanalyst and femme fatale—appears with Friedrich Nietzsche and another man in a bizarre photograph taken in Luzern, Switzerland. Over thirty years later, an art student in Freud’s Vienna presents Lou Salomé with his own drawing based on the infamous photograph.

In present-day California, performance artist Tess Berenson learns that the previous occupant of her downtown Oakland loft was a professional dominatrix named Chantal—who apparently left in a hurry. Instantly fascinated, Tess’s curiosity only intensifies when Chantal’s body is discovered in the trunk of a stolen car at Oakland airport.

Embarking on an obsessive investigation, Tess discovers a link between Chantal and the original Luzern photograph. But as she gets closer to the shocking truth, Tess finds that she too is in jeopardy …

“Edgar winner Bayer continues his romance with psychoanalysis with a riff on Lou Andreas-Salomé’s persona as analyst and femme fatale … Nazis, sadomasochism, and psychoanalysis always provide a heady mix, and a little murder thrown in pushes Bayer’s latest into the radioactive zone. ” —Kirkus Reviews

“Bayer chillingly and skilfully depicts the divide between good and evil. Suggest to Thomas Harris and Michael Connelly devotees. ”—Library Journal (starred review)

“A crafty whodunit … Bayer keeps the suspense high as he artfully toggles among story lines and thoughtfully develops his characters” —Publishers Weekly

© 2015 Severn House (Ebook): 9781780107080

Release date

Ebook: December 20, 2015