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CAFÉ EUROPA: AN EDNA FERBER MYSTERY
by Ed Ifkovic
Poisoned Pen, May 2015
278 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 1464200483


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Often the problem with historical fiction is that the history overtakes the tale. In the case of the latest in the Edna Ferber mystery series, Ed Ifkovic knows how to find just the right balance between items of historical interest and a rip-rousing tale. In this case, it's the eve of World War I in Budapest when the short story writer and her companion Winifred Moss, a British suffragette, arrive.

English-speaking tourists have gravitated to a slightly down-on-its-heels Hotel Arpad and its accompanying Café Europa. The café and the city are a hotbed of spies, illegal financial dealings, and unsavory acts by end-of-empire rebels, who seek to overthrow the Austro-Hungarian ruling force. Title rich, but penny poor, local nobles make contracts to marry rich Americans. Life is changing all around, and the arts and artists of Budapest reflect that.

Into this melee come Ferber and Moss and while taking in the sights and delights of the city, a young American heiress, engaged to marry a local royal, is mysteriously murdered in the hotel's gardens late one night. A Hearst yellow journalist, Harold Gibbon, is hot on the trail of death and politics and befriends Ferber, Moss, and everyone else at the Café Europa. However, Gibbon is playing with fire as he pursues these stories, despite warnings from many sources (Ferber included).

As Ferber learns more about the city and its quirky inhabitants, she grows more interested in what is truly behind the, by now, two murders of Café Europa patrons. The revelation of the muderer's motivation nicely wraps up the tale, while readers remain engaged throughout. The book's characters are as idiosyncratic as they are charming, and truly bring real joy to the story. In this book, Ed Ifkovic takes his readers on an enjoyable journey through history, while never failing to entertain along the way.

§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.

Reviewed by Christine Zibas, June 2015

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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