Howland Weston Witherell is a debonair well-to-do American, who finds himself in Vienna undergoing psychological counselling after a howler of a sailing accident takes the life of his best friend. Enrolling himself as a patient in the clinic of the famed psychoanalyst Dr. Birnbaum, Witherell also becomes a regular at the Café Sisi, a watering hole for the foreign correspondents in Vienna to trade stories, scoops, and alcoholic spirits.
On an uneventful morning, the police in the village of Grinzing discover the smouldering remains of a car, with the driver burnt to cinders. The cops are aghast to find out that the unfortunate victim who had driven his automobile off a bend on the tricky Cobenzl terrain, is none other than Howland Witherell. A suicide note addressed to his girlfriend back home, and left behind at his lodgings in Vienna, confirms the finding of the Grinzing police.
Aspiring foreign correspondent Esme Carmichael, however, believes that there is much more than what meets the eye in the supposed suicide of Witherell. Determined to investigate further, she requests historian Sir Archiebald Laverick (Archie) to assist her on her impetuous endeavour, by accompanying her to Austria. Archie after much persuasion decides to indulge Esme and, in the process, expedite his ongoing work of a biography of Prince Eugene.
Michael Ridpath’s Operation Vienna the latest in the foreign correspondent series, is a tale of intrigue, emotions, and conflicting human identities. Elitist characters traversing he upper echelon of Viennese society put up a spectacle of deceit and dependencies, magnanimity and monstrosity, and harmony and discord. What begins as an innocuous series of questions, leads, and clues, turns into a murky maze of dangerous possibilities. Esme and Archie find their investigations impeded at every move. The interferences assume such grave proportions as to even pose a danger to their lives.
Whether or not the intrepid duo succeeds in unravelling the supposed mystery behind the death of Witherell forms the core and crux of Ridpath’s arresting work. The author demonstrates with startling clarity that a thriller can still hold its readers in virtual thrall without going overboard in terms of over-the-top action, gore, grist and thrill-a-minute chases and escapes.
The post World-War 1 setting with the prospects of fascism looming large like the sword of Damocles over Austria makes for a gripping and anticipatory read. People carry on with their activities with an oblivion that is part deliberate and part contrived. The country’s biggest bank, Credit Anstalt is teetering on the brink while its depositors have absolutely no clue about the parlous state of their savings locked up within the financial institution.
Esme stumbles upon this explosive fact by sheer and stupendous coincidence, but she is prevented from exposing this publicly by many a vested interest. Ridpath illustrates the tough conundrum that makes a journalist walk a veritable tightrope. Should one be true to one’s profession and disclose facts in totality to the public at large whose interest would otherwise be impacted adversely by any withholding of information, or should the interests of a nation take priority over the prospects of its citizenry?
The ending is typical Ridpath. Unexpected, unconventional, and unpredictable.
Operation Vienna – a breezy, gritty, and fulfilling read.
Operation Vienna – A Foreign Correspondent Mystery is published by Boldwood Books and will be available on sale beginning 5th October 2026.
Thank you, Net Galley for the Advance Reviewer Copy.