Master of the Day of Judgment: A Novel

Vienna, 1909. When the celebrated actor Eugen Bischoff is found dead in his garden pavilion, suspicion falls immediately on Baron von Yosch, a well-to-do army officer who was once the lover of the dead man�s wife. By all appearances�the door was locked from the inside when the two shots rang out�the actor took his own life, but someone, or something, drove him to it. The baron sets out to learn all he can about the actor�s death in order to clear his name. Meanwhile, within a few days, similar apparent suicides are reported. What started out as a straightforward quest to establish Bischoff�s last deeds and discover the truth of his death becomes a search through the ages for an invisible enemy identified only by the actor�s dying breath, when he whispered: �. . . the Day of Judgment.� Leo Perutz combines his hallmark blend of suspense and the fantastic in this spine-tingling mystery. Vienna, 1909. When the celebrated actor Eugen Bischoff is found shot dead in his garden pavilion, suspicion falls immediately on Baron von Yosch, a well-to-do army officer who was once the lover of the dead man's wife, Dina. By all appearances, the actor took his own life - two shots had rung out, and the door was locked from inside - but clearly someone, or some thing, drove him to it. While Dina's brother prepares to expose the baron, two of the actor's friends accept his claims of innocence and lend their support to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, within a few days other, similar suicides are reported. And what started out as a straightforward effort to establish the actor's last deeds becomes a search through the ages, in an atmosphere of deepening terror, for an invisible enemy identified only through the actor's dying whisper, "...the Day of Judgment." . In this probing mystery, Leo Perutz combines his hallmark blend of suspense and the fantastic in a tale that leads back into history and forward to the bloodred trumpets of the Apocalypse, to a day of judgment that each of us carries within himself. In Pre-world War I Vienna, An Actor Is Shot During A Musical Performance And Suspicion Falls On Baron Von Yosch, Whose Mistress Left Him For The Actor. The Baron Sets Out To Clear His Name Himself. By The Author Of The Swedish Cavalier. Leo Perutz ; Translated From The German By Eric Mosbacher. First Published As: Der Meister Des Jüngsten Tages. 1921.