本書書名彷自佛洛伊德代表作《夢的解析》（The Interpretation of Dreams），書中受害少女諾拉（Nora）的名字靈感則來自佛洛伊德的臨床案例《少女杜拉的故事》。佛洛伊德一九○九年的訪美之行可說是歷史之謎。儘管訪問極其成功，但日後佛洛伊德每一提及，卻總似在美國受過某些精神創傷。「我的小說對這個問題提供了一個虛構的答案。」魯本菲爾德如是說。 

一九○九年，佛洛伊德抵達紐約，展開畢生唯一的訪美之行。與此同時，一樁撲朔迷離的豪門少女連續殺人疑案，震驚了紐約市政當局。年輕的美國心理醫師楊格在佛洛伊德的指導下，運用心理分析學說，協助警探黎特摩爾破案…… 

在找尋凶手、探析懸疑案情的過程中，作者還原了二十世紀初曼哈頓的輝煌時期全景。在回顧歷史的同時，讀者得以一窺心理分析理論初現之時的景況，也可看出佛洛依德與門徒卡爾‧榮格之間亦師亦敵的關係。 

傑德‧魯本菲爾德 

耶魯大學法學院教授。在華府長大的他，父親是心理醫師，母親是藝術評論家，大學在普林斯頓主修哲學，畢業論文寫的是佛洛伊德，之後在茱莉亞學院研習戲劇。接著，他進入哈佛法學院，取得博士學位，成為聲望卓著的憲法學家。 

　In this ingenious, suspenseful historical thriller, Sigmund Freud is drawn into the mind of a sadistic killer who is savagely attacking Manhattan’s wealthiest heiresses.

　　Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s only visit to America, The Interpretation of Murder is an intricate tale of murder and the mind’s most dangerous mysteries. It unfurls on a sweltering August evening in 1909 as Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington, accompanied by Carl Jung, his rival and proceeder?. Across town, in an opulent apartment high above the city, a stunning young woman is found dangling from a chandelier-whipped, mutilated, and strangled. The next day, a second beauty-a rebellious heiress who scorns both high society and her less adventurous parents-barely escapes the killer. Yet Nora Acton, suffering from hysteria, can recall nothing of her attack. Asked to help her, Dr. Stratham Younger, America’s most committed Freudian analyst, calls in his idol, the Master himself, to guide him through the challenges of analyzing this high-spirited young woman whose family past has been as complicated as his own. The Interpretation of Murder leads readers from the salons of Gramercy Park, through secret passages, to Chinatown-even far below the currents of the East River where laborers are building the Manhattan Bridge. As Freud fends off a mysterious conspiracy to destroy him, Younger is drawn into an equally thrilling adventure that takes him deep into the subterfuges of the human mind. Richly satisfying, elegantly crafted, The Interpretation of Murder marks the debut of a brilliant, spectacularly entertaining new storyteller.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
It has been said that a mystery novel is "about something" and a literary tale is not. The Interpretation of Murder has legitimate claims to both genres. It is most definitely about something, and also replete with allusions to and explications of Shakespeare, to the very beginnings of psychology, to the infighting between psychoanalytic giants--all written in a style that an author with literary aspirations might well envy.

In 1909, Drs. Freud and Jung visit Manhattan. They no sooner arrive when a young socialite is murdered, followed by another attempted murder, bearing the same characteristics. In the second case, the victim lives. She has lost her voice and cannot remember anything. The young doctor, Stratham Younger, who has invited Freud to speak at his University, soon involves Dr. Freud in the case. Freud, saying that Nora's case will require a time commitment that he does not have, turns her over to Younger. The rudiments of Nora's case are based on Freud's famous Dora, complete with sexual perversions, convoluted twists and turns and downright lies.

That is just one of the myriad plot lines in the novel, all of which are intricate, interesting and plausible. All it takes for all of the incidents to be true is a great deal of bad will--and it is abundant here! There are politicians who are less than statesmen, city employees at work for themselves and not the city, doctors who will do anything to undermine Freud's theories, thereby saving the neurotics for themselves, and opportunists at every level of society, seeking psychological or material advantage. Carl Jung is portrayed by turns as secretive, mysterious, odd, and just plain nuts, while Freud remains a gentleman whose worst problem is his bladder.

Not the least interesting aspect of the book is all the turn-of-the-century New York lore: bridge building, great mansions, the Astor versus Vanderbilt dustup, immigrant involvement, fabulous entertaining, auto versus carriage. Despite the tangle of tales, debut author Jed Rubenfeld finishes it with writerly dexterity--and the reader is sorry to see it all end. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Turning a psychological thriller with a cast that includes Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and several important American politicians and millionaires from a rich textual experience to a gripping and exciting audio event requires a reader with many skills. Heyborne knows how to use just his voice to bring a variety of nationalities and social classes to life. He can catch the inherent smartness of a working-class detective in a phrase, and can as quickly mark a pioneering medical examiner as a dangerous crank. But where he really succeeds is in the three very different psychoanalysts who move Rubenfeld's story of murder and psychosis down its distinctive road. Heyborne's Freud is an all-too-human man of obvious charm and originality; Freud's disciple Jung is cold, calculating and obviously envious; and fictional narrator Dr. Stratham Younger is a bright and admiring early Freudian who is also somewhat skeptical about some of the Viennese master's theories. This goes a long way in easing listeners through some of Rubenfeld's longer monologues about life and architecture in New York in 1909—passages that readers had the option of skimming without missing any vital nuances.
Copyright© American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.