Murder On The Danube: A Robbie Cutler Diplomatic Mystery [Paperback]

William Shepard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2001

Robbie Cutler, American Embassy political officer in Budapest, must solve a ghastly sabre murder before the Mafia murders him. The clue lies in finding out which person betrayed his group of Freedom Fighters in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. But they were all patriots, weren't they? The answer involves sorting through the past, finding the traitor, and unearthing a special love story, deepened by conflict against hopeless odds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Devastating logic and deduction. Very well written, informative, and entertaining. It reminds me of Eric Ambler's "A Coffin For Demetrios." -- John Goodspeed, Star-Democrat, June 13, 2003

From the Author

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 blazed across the world like a comet of freedom. Fighting against hopeless odds, the Freedom Fighters provided the spark that eventually tore down the Iron Curtain. This is my salute to them.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Writers Club Press (November 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595207405
• ISBN-13: 978-0595207404
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,722,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have enjoyed writing about wine, and diplomacy. But one night, when I was on duty in the Executive Secretariat of the State Department,I wondered why there had been no diplomatic sleuths. Career diplomats see so many sources of information, that the connection of diplomacy and crime solving seemed natural. And so, on retiring after service at five diplomatic missions abroad, and a number of Washington assignments, I created a new mystery genre, the "diplomatic mystery."
There are now four novels in the series, with Robbie Cutler, a career diplomat, as the protagonist. In "Vintage Murder," set in Bordeaux, leaders of the Basque terrorist group ETA attempt to blackmail the great Bordeaux wine estates, as Robbie Cutler, assigned to the Bordeaux Consulate General, and his girlfriend Sylvie Marceau, race against time to uncover the terrorist plot. In "Murder On The Danube," Robbie Cutler is transferred to our Embassy in Budapest, where an old crime, treachery during the 1956 Revolution, is the motive for current murders. In "Murder In Dordogne," Robbie and Sylvie are on their honeymoon - while murderers attempt to crash the festivities. And now in "The Saladin Affair," Robbie Cutler is Special Assistant to the Secretary of State, whose initial trip to European gives rise to an Al Qaeda murder plot. And that Elizabethan desk in the residence of our Ambassador in Dublin - can it really contain documents hidden since the time of Shakespeare?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than a murder mystery, April 25, 2004

By 

Istvan B. Gereben (Duluth, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder On The Danube: A Robbie Cutler Diplomatic Mystery (Paperback)

The author knows Hungary, her people and their oft-tried emotions, aspirations, accomplishments,failings and history, thus their character. He blends this knowledge with extraordinary skill into the background of an intriguing murder mystery. The story is exciting, unique, placed in Hungary before, during, and after its revolution of 1956. Murder on the Danube addresses the question how a newly liberated nation deals with corruption, betrayal, with newly acquired freedom and love, all ingredients of tragedy. But Murder on the Danube is more than a story of a murder. The examination of the difference between the basic tenets of closed and democratic societies through confrontations between the political officer of the American Embassy of Budapest and Communist Hungarian government officials is just as revealing as the scrutiny of the motivations for the murder itself. Mr. Shepard masterfully employs his diplomatic experience in Hungary and elsewhere in creating a story, which is not only entertains superbly but also educates about the intricate diplomatic efforts that resulted in the liberation of Eastern Europe. The circumstances, the pain, oppression that Hungary and other nations in Eastern Europe had to endure and the joy, difficulties and challenges of freedom in the later part of the twentieth century are known by Mr. Shepard not from second hand analysis but on the ground observation. I know that, I was in Hungary at that time. You will agree with me after you close the book and realize that the night is over, it is time to prepare to go to work. You lost a good night sleep but you were entertained exquisitely and your understanding of a distant part of the world is clearer. Be ready for this experience, read Murder on the Danube.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Screen Material, March 31, 2004

By 

Charlotte (Nebraska, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder On The Danube: A Robbie Cutler Diplomatic Mystery (Paperback)

Robbie Cutler, Diplomat and finder of the hidden Freedom Fighters of Hungry. An easy read, a must read, after Consular Tales and Vintage Murder. Mr. Shepard's experiences as a diplomat is obvious through-out his writings. Believeable and exciting tales. Murder on the Danube should show up on the big screen real soon.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting Iron Curtain thriller with a twist, January 31, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder On The Danube: A Robbie Cutler Diplomatic Mystery (Paperback)

Wow! The first work of fiction from the author of the real-life Consular Tales gives us a fast-paced history/mystery set in modern Budapest with breathtaking flashbacks to the harrowing hours of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, told through the eyes of a group of students who took part. The surviving Freedom Fighters are now successful businesspeople, and are gathering to meet for the first time in 35 years. But before they can do so, one is murdered - by sabre! It falls to likeable Foreign Service officer Robbie Cutler to investigate. Suspense and human interest combine in a thoroughly exciting tale. The author is a career foreign service officer, and he knows his ground. I'm impressed. Could this be the start of a series?