Synopses & Reviews
Eastern Europe, 1956: Comrade Inspector Ferenc Kolyeszar, who is a proletariat writer in addition to his job as a state militia homicide detective, is a man on the brink. Estranged from his wife, whom he believes is cheating on him with one of his colleagues, and frustrated by writer's block, Ferenc's attention is focused on his job. But his job is growing increasingly political, something that makes him profoundly uncomfortable.
When Ferenc is asked to look into the disappearance of a party member's wife and learns some unsavory facts about their lives, the absurdity of his position as an employee of the state is suddenly exposed. At the same time, he and his fellow militia officers are pressed into service policing a popular demonstration in the capital, one that Ferenc might rather be participating in. These two situations, coupled with an investigation into the murder of a painter that leads them to a man recently released from the camps, brings Ferenc closer to danger than ever before from himself, from his superiors, from the capital's shadowy criminal element.
The Confession is a fantastic follow-up to Olen Steinhauer's brilliant debut, The Bridge of Sighs, and it guarantees to advance this talented writer on his way to being one of the premiere thriller writers of a generation.
Review
"Bigger scope...than The Bridge of Sighs...Steinhauer's original and mesmerizing first mystery....[The Confession] makes readers wonder just what Steinhauer will do for the next book in the series." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"[M]esmerizing and richly atmospheric....Though it often moves at a frustratingly slow clip, The Confession entertainingly captures the fear and frustration of a 'society of discontent with its hand on its only pistol, waiting to fire.' (Grade: B+)" Entertainment Weekly
Review
"Good enough to suggest comparison with Graham Greene: place the author in the forefront of contemporary suspense writers, and make your mouth occasionally go dry." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"The story of a troubled homicide detective wrestling with internal and external demons is hardly new, but seldom is it presented with such depth and personal intensity....Enthusiastically recommended." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"[S]imply brilliant. It is not your usual police procedural but a well-crafted mystery that mixes murder and political intrigue with the human element." Library Journal
Review
"[A] clever reworking of the police procedural: The narrative-within-a-narrative exposes multiple levels of complicity and guilt that make this an affecting, sobering entry in one of the most inventive series around." Los Angeles Times
Review
"A wonderfully taut tale that is part police procedural, part political thriller, part love story....Steinhauer has created a vivid world in a lost time." The Washington Post Book World
Synopsis
A taut, commercial follow-up to Steinhauer's Edgar-nominated debut The Bridge of Sighs.
Synopsis
From the author of New York Times bestseller The Tourist...
Eastern Europe, 1956: Comrade Inspector Ferenc Kolyeszar, who is a proletariat writer in addition to his job as a state militia homicide detective, is a man on the brink. Estranged from his wife, whom he believes is cheating on him with one of his colleagues, and frustrated by writer's block, Ferenc's attention is focused on his job. But his job is growing increasingly political, something that makes him profoundly uncomfortable.
When Ferenc is asked to look into the disappearance of a party member's wife and learns some unsavory facts about their lives, the absurdity of his position as an employee of the state is suddenly exposed. At the same time, he and his fellow militia officers are pressed into service policing a popular demonstration in the capital, one that Ferenc might rather be participating in. These two situations, coupled with an investigation into the murder of a painter that leads them to a man recently released from the camps, brings Ferenc closer to danger than ever before-from himself, from his superiors, from the capital's shadowy criminal element.
The Confession is a fantastic follow-up to Olen Steinhauer's brilliant debut, The Bridge of Sighs, and it guarantees to advance this talented writer on his way to being one of the premiere thriller writers of a generation.
Synopsis
From the author of New York Times bestseller The Tourist, The Confession is a fantastic follow-up to Olen Steinhauer's brilliant debut, The Bridge of Sighs, and it guarantees to advance this talented writer on his way to being one of the premiere thriller writers of a generation.
Eastern Europe, 1956: Comrade Inspector Ferenc Kolyeszar, who is a proletariat writer in addition to his job as a state militia homicide detective, is a man on the brink. Estranged from his wife, whom he believes is cheating on him with one of his colleagues, and frustrated by writer's block, Ferenc's attention is focused on his job. But his job is growing increasingly political, something that makes him profoundly uncomfortable.
When Ferenc is asked to look into the disappearance of a party member's wife and learns some unsavory facts about their lives, the absurdity of his position as an employee of the state is suddenly exposed. At the same time, he and his fellow militia officers are pressed into service policing a popular demonstration in the capital, one that Ferenc might rather be participating in.
These two situations, coupled with an investigation into the murder of a painter that leads them to a man recently released from the camps, brings Ferenc closer to danger than ever before--from himself, from his superiors, from the capital's shadowy criminal element.
Synopsis
Eastern Europe, 1956: Comrade Inspector Ferenc Kolyeszar, who is a proletariat writer in addition to his job as a state militia homicide detective, is a man on the brink. Estranged from his wife, whom he believes is cheating on him with one of his colleagues, and frustrated by writer's block, Ferenc's attention is focused on his job. But his job is growing increasingly political, something that makes him profoundly uncomfortable.
When Ferenc is asked to look into the disappearance of a party member's wife and learns some unsavory facts about their lives, the absurdity of his position as an employee of the state is suddenly exposed. At the same time, he and his fellow militia officers are pressed into service policing a popular demonstration in the capital, one that Ferenc might rather be participating in. These two situations, coupled with an investigation into the murder of a painter that leads them to a man recently released from the camps, brings Ferenc closer to danger than ever before-from himself, from his superiors, from the capital's shadowy criminal element.
The Confession is a fantastic follow-up to Olen Steinhauer's brilliant debut, The Bridge of Sighs, and it guarantees to advance this talented writer on his way to being one of the premiere thriller writers of a generation.
About the Author
Olen Steinhauers widely acclaimed Eastern European crime series, which he was inspired to write while on a Fulbright fellowship, is a two-time Edgar Award finalist and has been shortlisted for the Anthony, the Macavity, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, and the Barry awards. The series includes
36 Yalta Boulevard, The Bridge of Sighs, Liberation Movements, and
Victory Square. Steinhauer is also the author of the bestselling Milo Weaver series, including
The Nearest Exit and
The Tourist. Raised in Virginia, Steinhauer lives with his family in Budapest, Hungary.
Reading Group Guide
This Reading Group Guide refers to Olen Steinhauer's first three books:
The Bridge of Sighs,
The Confession, and
36 Yalta Boulevard.
1. Discuss the concept of right and wrong in Olen Steinhauers Eastern Europe. Consider how each main character defines right and wrong, and how those definitions change over the course of each novel, and the series.
2. Explore how Olen Steinhauer plays with the conventions of the genre in each book, i.e., following the form of a police procedural in The Bridge of Sighs, a psychological thriller in The Confession, a spy novel in 36 Yalta Boulevard. Are his heroes—Emil Brod, Ferenc Kolyeszar, and Brano Sev—traditional crime novel heroes? Why or why not?
3. How does setting contribute to the success of the books as crime novels? How do the realities of life at each time—political, economic, social—change the nature (or difficulty) of a policemans job? Consider the question for each book in the series.
4. Contrast Emils youth in The Bridge of Sighs with Branos experience in 36 Yalta Boulevard. How does Emils naïveté and Branos world-weariness influence the course of their investigations? How are Emils youth and Branos experience related to the countrys politics at that particular time? How do their respective ages shed light on their respective times?
5. What does Lena represent for Emil in The Bridge of Sighs? What about Vera and Magda for Ferenc in The Confession and Djana for Brano in 36 Yalta Boulevard? Compare and contrast the womens roles in each novel.
6. In The Confession, do you believe that Ferenc has done something wrong in helping Svetla Woznica to escape? Or in causing the death of Malik Woznica? Is Ferenc to blame, and should he have been punished? How would Brano Sev answer these questions?
7. How does the Afterword in The Confession change your feeling about the novel, if at all? How does it change the story to know that Ferenc is its author? Learning what happened to Ferenc in the years after the events took place, are you surprised?
8. In 36 Yalta Boulevard, how do Branos feelings about family influence his actions? About his father in particular? Do his feelings affect him more than he admits? What about Emil, in The Bridge of Sighs—how are his feelings about his family similar or different from Branos? How have his grandparents and their experiences influenced him?
9. Brano Sev is a secondary character in The Bridge of Sighs and The Confession, but the main viewpoint character in 36 Yalta Boulevard. How does the readers opinion of him change from book to book? Does the more intimate viewpoint in 36 Yalta Boulevard increase the readers sympathy for Brano or simply intensify her distrust of him?
10. Why does Brano return to the capital at the end of 36 Yalta Boulevard? Is it the right thing to do?
11. How do the various characters pay for their loyalty—or disloyalty—to the government? How does the governments power change over the course of the three novels? How do the characters expectations about their country change?
12. Over the course of the three novels, how surprised have you been about the turns taken in the lives of the recurring characters?
13. To what extent are the criminal acts in Steinhauers novels influenced by the politics—by turns either the revolution, or the government? When the party protects Malik Woznica, is the party to blame? When an innocent man is sent to the camps for a decade, who is to blame for his acts of revenge? How much do the politics cloud the question of justice?
14. The relationships between colleagues in the Peoples Militia play an important role in Steinhauers novels. Examine the ways in which they trust each other, and the ways in which they betray each other. How do the dynamics of the group change from book to book? How are their relationships altered by the injury or death of one the departments members, as happens several times?