Budapest Noir

Set in the fall of 1936, Hungarian author Kondor’s atmospheric debut introduces Zsigmond Gordon, the crime reporter for the Evening, a Budapest newspaper. Gordon is less interested in covering the funeral of real-life Hungarian prime minister Gyula Gömbös (who had been “a sincere friend of Italy. And, of course, of Mussolini. And Hitler”) than in investigating the murder of a young prostitute found on a seedy neighborhood street with a Jewish prayer book in her purse. Gordon works his contacts in the police force, including homicide head Vladimir Gellért, who happens to possess a photo of the victim naked, and sleuths his way into the cigarette-littered lair of a voluptuous courtesan known as Red Margo. In classic noir fashion, he even takes a savage beating and keeps on ticking. Fans of Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series (Field Gray, etc.) will find a lot to like. (Feb.)