The Quiet Twin: A Novel

Dan Vyleta

feb 2012 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA

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Vienna, 1939. Professor Speckstein's dog has been brutally killed, the latest victim in a string of unsolved murders in the area. Speckstein wants answers-but these are uncharitable times, and one must be careful where one probes...
When an unexpected house call leads Doctor Beer to Speckstein's apartment, he finds himself in the bedroom of the professor's flirtatious niece, Zuzka. From her window, the girl gives Beer a view of their apartment block that he has never known. Across the courtyard there is nine-year-old Anneliese, the lonely daughter of an alcoholic. Five windows to the left lives a secretive mime who comes home late at night and keeps something - or someone - precious hidden from view. From the garret drifts the mournful sound of a trumpet player, and a basement door swings closed behind the building's inscrutable janitor.
Does one of these enigmatic neighbors have blood on their hands?
Doctor Beer, who has his own reasons for keeping his private life hidden from public scrutiny, reluctantly becomes embroiled in an enquiry that forces him to face the dark realities of Nazi rule. Thrilling and deftly told, The Quiet Twin explores a dystopian world of social paranoia, mistrust, and fear-and the danger of staying silent.

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Dan Vyleta is the son of Czech refugees who emigrated to Germany in the late 1960s. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge. His first novel, Pavel & I, was published to international acclaim. He lives in Wisconsin.