New series of detective fiction set in Prague will thrill lovers of the crime genre

Fans of mystery novels, as well as all things Czech, will welcome a thrilling new detective series set in Prague.

The Honza series, by British-born author Andrew Pratt, is the first modern-day crime series written in English set among the cobbles and spires of the atmospheric Czech capital.

Pratt explained his inspiration behind the book: “All expats living in Prague have fallen in love with the city at some point, exactly as happened to me. I wanted to bring this same feeling to the books. Writing a story where the main character, Jonny Fox, falls for the city in the same way  – beguiled by the history, architecture, and the people – brought it all back, and was so much fun.

So, who is Jonny “Honza” Fox, and what brings him to Prague? The book’s plot focuses on a successful DCI in the London Metropolitan Police, who decides to take early retirement after a haunting final case leaves him burnt out. In need of some distance, he heads to Prague, the birthplace of his late mother. Despite his mother’s pride in her Czech heritage, she had never spoken to Fox about her family nor taken him to Prague.

Early on in his vacation, Fox is relaxing in a restaurant on Old Town Square when a customer is mysteriously murdered. Initially interviewed as a witness, he finds himself pulled into the murder investigation by eccentric Czech police detective Felix Mikeš. Embroiled in a new case, and quickly dubbed "Honza," Jonny is prompted to reassess his previous life and his place in a city that has already begun to feel like home.

The first two books in the series have already been published. The first book, In the Heart of Prague, follows Jonny as he chases down the murderer in a new city full of welcomes at every corner. His challenge is to process all the new experiences thrown at him at the same time as catching the killer.

In the second book in the series, Head to Head, Jonny is settling into a new life in Prague, starting to look for his Czech family. Just when he's starting to feel comfortable, a mysterious missing persons’ case leads to a murder hunt full of deceit, twists and turns. 

Pratt believes that readers familiar with Prague will enjoy the book’s interactive nature, as it puts the reader in the place of the detective as the investigation unfolds. “The crime aspect of the story was also important because I wanted to create something different: the first modern-day crime detective series set in Prague. The nature of the crime in each book is unique to the city, with the subsequent murder investigation providing a tour around Prague’s sights. The reader is placed in the position of detective, presented with the same evidence Honza discovers in his search for the truth.”

Book 3 in the series is due to be published later in 2023. More information on the Honza series and the author is available here.

Readers in Prague can buy the Honza books from the Megabooks bookshop (formerly Oxford Bookshop) in Prague 2, or online at megabooks.cz. The books are also available in paperback and ebook/kindle format from any Amazon domain. Delivery to addresses in the Czech Republic is possible with orders from amazon.de.