Authors: Éva Cserháti
Original title: A sellő titka
Title in English: The Fourth Murder
Publisher: Prae.hu, General Press
Year of publication: 2019
Number of pages: 360
Éva Cserháti’s novel is one of the most exciting Hungarian crime fictions of recent years, the first volume of a series. Team C, made up of novices and people close to retirement age, proves, in the course of an investigation into a serial killing, it is far more capable than anyone had thought. We are introduced to a tough, determined detective, a woman who must forge members of this ragtag group into an effective team. Not an easy task, given the idiosyncrasies of the outstanding ballistics expert who has formed a close bond with alcohol. There’s the father of twins whom the boss is pushing to take paternity leave. As well as the human rights expert, an eager young woman who for some reason always wraps her head in a shawl. And then there’s Data, the most reliable, whose name clearly indicates that her talents and passion lie in informatics. They are investigating a serial murder, and as they gradually form a strong team, they learn a great deal about each other and themselves, despite their clashes, typical of any team with at least one feminist and one conservative male. The novel ushers us into an exciting moment of history. During the last years and the aftermath of the Greek Civil War in 1948-1949, Greek children and supporters of the Democratic Army of Greece were evacuated to Hungary. But were they all ethnic Greeks? And what does this have to do with the murders? Was the murderer motivated by a personal grudge or a desire to right a historical wrong? And what does any of this have to do with the Fountain of the Mermaid on one of the main squares of Budapest, created by the Greek sculptor Memos Makris and his wife, the artist Makri? The novel answers these questions as it guides us through one of the most mysterious periods of the twentieth century.