Crime/Detective, Prose, Thriller  |  English sample translation available

A classic hard-boiled detective story by an expert in the genre, which has been nominated for the best Czech detective novel of the year award. Kopřiva is a freelance author and screenwriter, co-author of Nitro (Nitro těžkne glycerínem), the first Czech comic book to achieve success abroad, and co-founder of the Crew magazine and publishing house. What would you do if the police rang your doorbell one evening and told you that for years you had been unknowingly hurting your child? Or if psychiatrists told you that you suffer from a personality disorder and sent you to an insane asylum? That’s exactly what happened to Olga Turnečková. And although the people around her initially supported her, they eventually accepted that she really did torture her own daughter. But then Olga’s brother discovers a clue that things might not be quite as they seem and hires a detective who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

Praise

“An unexpectedly credible and well-structured hard-boiled novel.”

— Pavel Mandys, Hospodářské noviny

“Alongside an ordinary police patrolman we delve into an inner labyrinth, into a darkness which chills to the bone. For the author to be able to create this journey with such ease and trenchant humour is exceptional.”

— David Jan Žák, Českobudějovický deník

“If you’re looking for a Czech detective novel, then it has to be Štěpán Kopřiva’s Quick-fire.”

— Iva Lutonská, Kultura21.cz