Zagreb Noir follows in the footsteps of Moscow Noir and St. Petersburg Noir as the Noir Series delves into Eastern Europe. "A must-read book by Croatian authors available in English. A collection of crime stories set across Zagreb, each one by a different Croatian writer." ―Time Out (Croatia) Featuring brand-new stories translated from Croatian by: Ivan Vidic, Josip Novakovich, Andrea Žigic-Dolenec, Robert Perišic, Mima Simic, Pero Kavesic, Nada Gašic, Zoran Pilic, Ružica Gašperov, Darko Milošic, Nora Verde, Ivan Sršen, Neven Ušumovic, and Darko Macan. Eastern European history is filled with noir-ish and harrowing tales, and Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, certainly has its fill. Editor Sršen has curated a diverse, powerful, and dramatic group of stories that offer tremendous insight into the perspectives of contemporary Croatians. "Zagreb, Croatia―its culture and its touchstones―will be terra incognita for many US readers . . . Notable is Nora Verde's 'She-Warrior,' in which a young woman's carefully planned anarchist activities are smacked down by a triple helping of reality." ― Publishers Weekly "The stories shed light on a sickness that stirs within society’s boundaries. Readers will easily glean that this sickness is not exclusive to Zagreb. Sršen reveals the ugly truth about human nature that burrows under the surface in war-torn countries." ― Examiner "Zagreb’s noirish underbelly comes from a new nation familiar with both war and war crimes. Mr. Sršen’s handpicked selections are anything but ordinary." ― New York Journal of Books "An inherently fascinating and entertaining read from beginning to end." ― Midwest Book Review "These [stories] . . . do have the flavor of what the country and its people are like." ― Journey of a Bookseller IVAN SRŠEN is an editor, translator, and writer. In 2007 he started the Zagreb-based independent publisher Sandorf, presenting quality nonfiction in translation and ex-Yugoslavian fiction writers. He published a novel,  Harmattan, and a collection of short stories,  Fairy Tales from the Coffee Machine. He has translated a range of authors from English to Croatian including Frank Zappa, Henry Rollins, and Robert Graves. He lives in Zagreb, Croatia. He is the editor of  Zagreb Noir. Zagreb Noir By Ivan Sr?en Akashic Books Copyright © 2015 Akashic Books All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61775-308-4 Contents Introduction, 11, PART I: A PERFECT OUTING, Darko Macan A Girl in the Garage Travno, 21, Josip Novakovich Crossbar Maksimir, 41, Ivan Vidic The Old Man from the Mountain Jarun, 51, Ruzica Gašperov The Gates of Hell Downtown Central, 70, PART II: KNOCKING ON THE NEIGHBOR'S DOOR, Mima Simic Horse Killer Dubrava, 87, Robert Perisic It All Happened So Fast Crnomerec, 102, Pero Kvesic Night Vision Tuškanac, 119, Nada Gašic Numbers 1–3 Zvonimirova, 146, Part III: DOWNTOWN FREAKS, Zoran Pilic Wraiths Downtown East, 163, Andrea Zigic-Dolenec Slices of Night Borongaj, 183, Darko Milošic Headlessness Mirogoj, 196, PART IV: ON THE LOOSE, Nora Verde She-Warrior Lanište, 213, Ivan Sršen Wiener Schnitzel Rudeš, 233, Neven Ušumovic Happiness on a Leash Trešnjevka, 254, About the Contributors, 268, INTRODUCTION Surviving to Tell the Story Translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac I was maybe ten years old when my grandmother took me and my cousin to the movies one afternoon. This was in the second half of the 1980s, a romantic time from today's perspective, especially in the Croatia, or rather the Yugoslavia, of the day. Yugoslavia — comprising six republics with equal standing — fell to pieces in a bloody war that began in 1991. But a few years before, no one would have believed this communist state would ever cease to exist, begun as it was in the most tenacious antifascist armed movement in Europe during World War II, led by Marshal Tito. The socialist institutions had been functioning for nearly fifty years, workers and peasants had been given access to education, there were low levels of unemployment, and most families could afford a small, domestically produced car. Again, from today's perspective, this sounds like a middle-class dream. To conjure for you what kind of society this was: during the forty-five years of the socialist system in Zagreb there was only one bank robbery! The perpetrator, never apprehended (as I recall from the stories of my childhood), acquired a magical aura — he strolled right into a branch of the most powerful Croatian bank in the middle of the day on the main Zagreb square, emptied the safe, armed with a Yugoslav-made pistol, and disappeared forever — children and, I must say, adults leaned toward fairy-tale explanations: if you were able to elude the Yugoslav police you must be a master with supernatural or, at the very least, illusionist powers. The man somehow made himself invisible — first to the passersby on the street, and then to the powerful secret service who co