The Fig Eater, by Jody Shields
Little, Brown & Company, 2000
If you prefer your whodunits to be fast-paced, The Fig Eater, by Jody Shields, is not for you. While the novel is a quick read, the pacing takes its sweet time, building up the suspense as it goes along.
A young woman, Dora, is found murdered in a public park in Vienna, Austria. In her stomach are partially digested figs hence the title of the story. Unfortunately, the figs are pretty much a red herring and are barely mentioned as the murder investigation ensues. In the end, they've had absolutely nothing to do with the tracking of the murderer whatsoever. This is just the first and slightest fault I have with this novel.
Dora is the daughter of a respectable upper class family. The Inspector on the case moves methodically in his investigation. Unfortunately, his Hungarian wife, Erszebet, believes that with her Gypsy mysticism and womanly ways she can solve the murder before her husband can.
Erszebet and Wally, the young British governess whose help she enlists, set about on an investigation that not only withholds important evidence from her husband, but distracts those who could provide useful information to the Inspector. It happens that these people seem to assume Erszebet is the only person asking questions about the murdered girl and the circumstances that may have led to her death. Dora's family members and friends provide more clues to Erszebet and Wally than they do to the Inspector.
Perhaps Shields meant this to be a statement about that particular Viennese period, circa 1910, when the dalliances of members of the upper class were meant to be hushed, swept under a carpet. Unfortunately, Erszebet's apparent desire to solve the murder herself, with complete disregard of her husband's position as chief Inspector on the case, makes this a frustrating story.
Additionally, the cloying mysticism and spells used by Erszebet, along with her callous emotional stringing-along of an utterly besotted Wally, makes her a less than sympathetic character willing to use anyone for her own ends. Especially at the ending of the story where she arranges her own heavily foreshadowed tete-a-tete with the murderer.
