[sufue]

The Bridge of Sighs, by Olen Steinhauer, is the first in a series featuring Emil Brod and other detectives in eastern Europe starting just after the end of WWII. Per SYKM it was nominated for just about every award you can think of. It has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Sighs-...dp/B000FA668A/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-bridge-of-sighs

Spoiler:

It's August, 1948, three years after the Russians "liberated" the nation from German Occupation. But the Red Army still patrols the capital's rubble-strewn streets, and the ideals of the Revolution are but memories. Twenty-two-year-old Detective Emil Brod finally gets his chance to serve his country, investigating murder for the People's Militia.

The first victim is a state songwriter, but the facts point to a political motive. Emil would like to investigate further, but his colleagues in Homicide are suspicious or silent: He is on his own in this new, dangerous world.
The Bridge of Sighs launches a unique series of crime novels featuring a cast of characters in an ever-evolving landscape, the politically volatile terrain of Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century.

The Bridge of Sighs is a 2004 Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel.