THE ZERO BOOK / A NULLADIK KÖNYV
The book that was never meant to be found.
An art mystery thriller · a 1994 murder · six students in Budapest · a black book · planned trilogy.
Read the prologue →
A GLIMPSE OF THE PROLOGUE
The book would not fit.
Budapest, 12 November 1994. András Szalai is trying to hide a black book. Then a door slams at the far end of the corridor.
Read the prologue →THE STORY
What happens when a buried past reaches people who were not there?
During a school research project in Budapest, six students discover strange markings in a reproduction of Picasso’s Weeping Woman. The trail leads to a black book, concealed documents and the death of physicist András Szalai in 1994.
For Tündi, the investigation becomes deeply personal: the physicist’s name emerges from her father’s past. Family silences, art-historical clues and the mysterious manuscript begin to connect.
Soon the students are no longer searching merely for a book. They want to know who tried to hide it, why it mattered, and who might still guard its secret. Their investigation reaches beyond Budapest, while the text itself hints at the origin of a place known as Zero Space.
Whose truth does the book protect — and whose life will change if it is opened?
THE MYSTERY
Three clues. One growing danger.
01
The painting
Strange marks on a reproduction of Picasso’s Weeping Woman start the investigation.
02
The date
12 November 1994. A concealed event and the traces of a hidden book.
03
The family
Tündi’s father has a past linked to secrets that change the course of the search.
READ AN EXCERPT
A name her father will not explain.
Tündi asks her father about a name connected to an old death. His reply raises a more troubling question.
“Who have you talked to about this?”Read the excerpt →
THE PLANNED TRILOGY
The first doorway into a larger story
Titles and full outlines of volumes two and three are still in development.
I. · MANUSCRIPT COMPLETE
The Zero Book
The art mystery and its buried past. Prologue and 48 chapters.
II. · PLANNED SEQUEL
Origins of the Text
Working description: the text’s origin and the larger mythology.
III. · PLANNED FINALE
Beyond the Secret
Working description: the resolution of personal and mythic mysteries.
RIGHTS & ADAPTATIONS
A story with adaptation potential
The manuscript is in editorial preparation. Publishing, film and television opportunities can be discussed with qualified partners.
Six young people. Six perspectives.
Tündi, Nóra, Dávid, Gábor, Bálint and Eszter form the research group. Their friendships, resources and ambitions shape how they follow the evidence. For Tündi, the question is also personal: what can she believe about her father?
An author’s note
I am interested in the moment when research becomes a personal decision. My characters must distinguish a compelling claim from what evidence can actually support. Alongside the mystery, I want to leave room for friendship, doubt and the slow rebuilding of trust.