Walls Became Windows: A Ringstrasse Tribute

I  had the honor to contribute an essay to a Festschrift for the 150th anniversary of the opening of Vienna’s Ringstrasse, the grand boulevard that encircles the Inner City: Vienna’s Champs-Élysées.

Recently, I read this essay at a Vienna Salon organized by the Vienna Tourist Board at San Francisco’s Ritz Carlton. I include the essay below for those interested.

My connection to Vienna has always been a visceral one: I came of age in that city; it is my second home. Thus, my addition to the essays from thirteen writers around the world is much more of a personal anecdote than a historical reflection.

Read Full Post »

“Basic Law” to Be Published in the Spring

My newest mystery/thriller comes out this April, the first of a new series set in Europe in the 1990s.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

Expat American journalist Sam Kramer is burned out: too many dead bodies, too many wars covered, too little meaning in it all. He’s got a dead-end job at the Daily European as the correspondent for Vienna, where nothing happens now that the Cold War is over. And that is exactly how Kramer likes it.

But his private neutral zone is shattered with news of the suicide of Reni Müller, a German left-wing firebrand and Kramer’s long-estranged ex-girlfriend. To his surprise, Kramer suddenly finds himself the executor of Reni’s literary estate—but the damning memoir named in her will is nowhere to be found. Tracking down the manuscript will lead Kramer to the unsettling truth of Reni’s death, drawing him back into the days of the Cold War and showing him the dark side of the woman he loved.

Read Full Post »

Ruin Value Reduced for Cyber Monday

If you have not yet had the chance to read my WWII thriller, today would be a good day to pick up an e-book version. My publishers, Mysterious Press/Open Road, are offering it–and a couple hundred other titles–at 80% off.

Click on it here

 

REVIEWS:

“The story is solid and suspenseful …but it’s the relationship between Morgan and Beck, two men who don’t like or trust one another, that makes the book such a rich, powerful read. Fans of WWII mystery fiction should consider this one mandatory reading.” David Pitt, Booklist

“Capt. Nathan Morgan, an NYPD homicide detective, and Chief Insp. Werner Beck, a former German Kripo investigator … make a promising sleuthing pair.”   Publishers Weekly

Included in Kirkus Review’s “Last Chance: 10 Criminoous Yarns to Get You Through 2013″

“Ruin Value remains a bold piece of writing and a very pleasing serial killer investigation and thriller. It’s well worth reading.” Thinking about Books

” I could almost taste the fear and dust and decay as I read it. … Definitely a case of right book at the right time!” Col’s Criminal Library

“Perfect for  readers of  historical crime fiction who like mysteries set in immediate postwar Europe and for readers who might be looking for a new crime writer who can whip up a good plot and keep it going consistently throughout the book… it’s rich in setting and the crime is well plotted.”      Crime Segments

“The unlikely duo of Morgan and Beck get the job done despite some friction in their teamwork. The writing is terrific and brings post-war Nuremberg vividly to life. The main characters are interesting and likeable, and the author does a very good job of working with the post-war setting instead of disguising modern characters and attitudes in 1945 attire.”    At the Scene of the Crime

Read Full Post »