Murder in the Garden

Independently published · 2025

Three self-contained detective stories — "Murder in the Garden," "Murder in the Office," and "Murder in the Village" — introducing Prague private detective Pavel Havránek, who solves each case through simplicity, intuition, and common sense. A classic whodunit steeped in Czech culture and the atmosphere of Prague, now available in print, e-book, and audiobook editions.

Murder in the Garden is built as three separate mysteries rather than one long investigation. In the first, a sudden death during a garden party raises the question of accident or murder; in the second, a department head dies after an office farewell and a second body is found nearby; in the third, the suspicious death of a successful business owner draws the detective into the countryside.

In every case the police cannot reach a satisfactory conclusion, so those involved turn to private detective Pavel Havránek — a former police officer with a mathematician's mind and a chess player's patience, who prefers to think several steps ahead over a Czech beer in a Prague pub. Bálek invites the reader to sit beside Havránek, weigh the clues, and try to reach the answer first. An audiobook edition read by Connor is also available.