One Day In Budapest (ARKANE)

This is a riveting, fast-paced thriller that blends a view of modern-day Hungary with ghosts of the past. The book evokes memories of my student days in Vienna when I visited Budapest, formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The book is written from the perspective of psychologist Dr. Morgan Sierra, who grew up in Israel. Her father was a Sephardic Jew who died in an act of terror. Dr. Sierra was visiting Budapest on a humanitarian mission to return a stolen painting and Torah to the Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest. Dr. Sierra gets caught up in an outburst of anti-Semitic terrorism from an extremist group that evokes nightmares of the Nazi era. The story ends in suspense when Dr. Sierra receives a cell phone message that a package from her late father awaits her. I look forward to learning more about this development in another book by J.F. Penn.

As my first order of business, I would like to thank Joanna Penn (aka J. F. Penn) for giving me the opportunity to read One Day in Budapest, the fourth thriller in the ARKANE series. You may already know Joanna from the New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists, or her public speaking, YouTube channel, blog, website (thecreativepenn.com) and totally awesome The Creative Penn podcast. What can I say? The woman gets around, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. In a recent episode of her podcast, Joanna mentioned One Day in Budapest and said she was looking for people to review the new audio version. I jumped at the chance. I've listened to well over a thousand audio books in my lifetime and consider myself something of an expert on the subject. I'd also been listening to Joanna for over a year and I was anxious to read some of her work. I must say though, I was a bit nervous. It's one thing to write a book review. It's another matter entirely if you know the author is actually going to read it. What if the book sucked? No worries there. To borrow one of Joanna's favorite words, I thought it was "brilliant!"

Dr. Morgan Sierra, a psychologist and ARKANE agent, travels to Budapest to return a couple religious relics. She is shocked to discover a city in turmoil following the brutal murder of a priest and the theft of the Holy Right. Members of the ultra-nationalist Eröszak party react violently, demanding retribution and sparking a wave of anti-Semitic aggression. It's up to Morgan, along with Zoltan Fischer, a Hungarian Jewish security advisor, to find the Holy Right and expose the terrorists, hopefully in time to avoid further bloodshed.

We recently celebrated, if that's even the right word, the 70th anniversary of D Day. Also known as Operation Neptune, the Allied invasion at Normandy was the largest sea born invasion in history and marked the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. It would be nice to think anti-Semitism died on that day as well. Tragically, it's still out there, as Joanna Penn points out in this passage from her author's note. "This novella is a work of fiction, but the inspiration for it comes from actual events and real places. I visited Budapest in November 2012 and was deeply affected by the horrific layers of history that the city has endured. The Dohany Street Synagogue and the House of Terror were devastating, and once I saw the Holy Hand of St Istvan in the Basilica, I knew what the crux of my story would be. I wanted to give a taste of the grand city in the book but also evoke visions of a day that seemed all too possible given the political situation." She continues, " European genocide happened as recently as the Bosnian War in the 1990s, so we can’t believe that such violence remains in the past or just in ‘other’ areas of the world. With this novella, I wanted to highlight the disturbing political situation, as well as the dark history of Budapest, whose people have suffered so much."

Joanna was looking for people to review the audio adaptation of One Day in Budapest so let me say a few things about that specifically. First, Veronica Giguere did a wonderful job with the narration and provided what I felt was a perfect voice for the story's kickass protagonist. Second, and this is the only remotely negative thing I have to say about any of it, it was a little disappointing that the author's note was not included. I didn't realize anything had been omitted, but then Joanna sent me her author's note in an email. Once I read it and had a better/fuller understanding of the political climate, I had to listen to the book a second time. I rarely read anything twice, although I may need to rethink that policy because, if anything, One Day in Budapest was even more powerful the second time around. The book was excellent and I absolutely plan on reading more from the ARKANE series. I want to learn more about Morgan Sierra and I really need to know what happens to her next. I'd be saying that even without the tasty carrot dangling at the end of the final page. Day of the Vikings, the latest ARKANE thriller, is out now and available for just $.99.

*A free copy was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Originally seen at The Bookish Owl [...]
The best way to describe One Day in Budapest would be to say that it was gripping. From start to finish, I was on the edge of my seat, hooked on the thrilling story the author offered. Marketed as a suspenseful thriller, One Day in Budapest definitely did not disappoint.

Based on my previous experiences with thriller novels, steamy sex scenes are always a must to keep the story moving alone. One Day in Budapest was different since the book was very plot-driven, without much emphasis on the romantic relationship aspect. It was implied but not overpowering but this approach did not exactly allow space for character growth. Nevertheless, the characters, especially Dr. Morgan Sierra, already had strong personalities so it was only fitting that the plot would be the only one moving forward.

The main issue I had with One Day in Budapest was its supernatural plot twist. Knowing the author’s writing background, paranormal elements would have been unsurprising but they failed in this book. Simply put, the lack of the occult during the first half of the story and its sudden inclusion in the climax made the plot implausible and fake. Had the supernatural twist been introduced early on then I think that the story’s turning point would have seemed more conceivable.

One Day in Budapest had an excellent theme, one that would never fail to resonate with modern readers. Early on in the story, it was obvious that the past was being repeated once more, further putting significance on the saying that history does not repeat itself but rather, that man in his failure to learn about the past and his place in it, is doomed to repeat his own mistakes.

I listen to Joanna's podcast ("The Creative Penn" on iTunes) every week. Through that show I found out about the Deadly Dozen boxed set (thetwelvexii.com), which includes this book. I loved it! She's woven history of Budapest and Hungary into a captivating thriller, and it's fantastic. I think Morgan Sierra is an intriguing character, and now I can't wait to read about her other exploits in the ARKANE series.