Franz Escher is waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. To pass the time, he buries himself in a book about a Mafioso-turned-informant, Elio Russo. Elio is in jail, awaiting his imminent release into witness protection. He has betrayed so many people that he fears for his life. Unable to sleep, he lies awake at night reading a book about a man named Franz Escher, who's waiting for the electrician. His power outlet has a loose connection. So begins SHORT CIRCUIT, an inventive new take on the detective novel. Styled after one of M.C. Escher’s impossible drawings, its two stories gradually intertwine only to solve each other, culminating in one final short circuit.
THE CAPITAL transports readers to the cobblestoned streets of 21st-century Brussels. Fenia Xenopoulou is a Greek Cypriot who was recently “promoted” to the Directorate-General for Culture. When tasked with revamping the boring image of the European Commission with the Big Jubilee Project, she endorses her Austrian assistant Martin Sussman’s idea to proclaim Auschwitz as its birthplace. Meanwhile, Inspector Émile Brunfaut attempts to solve a gritty murder being suppressed at the highest level; Matek, a Polish hitman who regrets having never become a priest, scrambles after taking out the wrong man; and outraged pig farmers protest trade restrictions as a brave escapee squeals through the streets.
