Dimensions
135 x 204 x 20mm
In October 1936, Hungary's prime minister dies before his dream of building a fascist state can be realized. But on the streets of Budapest, life goes on for the city's premier crime reporter Zsigmond Gordon as he checks in at police headquarters for any updates. While waiting for his friend, an inspector, Gordon can't help but notice two photographs of a beautiful nude woman peeking out of the inspector's desk drawer. He doesn't think much of it until a tip later that night leads him to a crime scene where that very woman has been found dead with only a Jewish prayer book in her purse.
Gordon is too intrigued not to take on the case. He soon learns that the girl was four-months pregnant and murdered by a single blunt force to her abdomen. But this sick news only motivates him to discover the truth and bring justice upon the killer.
Gordon's investigation brings him from Budapest's dark underbelly -- the pornographers and crime syndicate
running a prostitution ring catering to elite clients -- to the highest echelons of power with corrupt politicians and desperate businessmen linked to the syndicate. A love letter found amongst the girl's possessions leads Gordon to a local rabbi, whose son is the girl's lover. The victim is identified as Fanny, scion of the popular Arabs Coffee Trading Company. Fanny's father is well-connected in Europe -- with political and economic ties to leaders in Hungary and Germany -- so long as he keeps secret the fact that he was once Jewish.
Budapest Noir is a richly atmospheric tale of murder, mystery, and intrigue. Vilmos Kondor artfully captures pre-war Budapest, its social strata, politics and bustling street life. It portrays Europe on the brink -- of what, Gordon and his countrymen don't yet know -- and the political machinations filtering down to Budapest's common people. Riveting, dark, and swift, Budapest Noir is a fantastic debut from a promising new writer.
