LeBor, Adam, (The Budapest Protocol [hc, Reportage Press, 2009]) 9781906702205 [pb, Reportage Press, 2020] 978-1906702120 [This dual-timeline political thriller explores a chilling “what if” scenario: that the Nazi party did not truly vanish after WWII, but instead went underground to orchestrate a long-term plan for the economic and political domination of Europe. In Budapest in 1944, Miklos Farkas escapes the Jewish ghetto in a desperate search for food. While at Nazi headquarters, he is accidentally handed a document known as “The Budapest Protocol”—a secret blueprint detailing the Nazi party’s plans for post-war survival and eventual resurgence. Miklos hides the document, knowing its existence is a death sentence. Coming back to the present, the European Union is in the midst of a historic election for the first-ever “President of Europe”. Amidst the political tension, an elderly Miklos Farkas is brutally murdered in Budapest. His grandson, Alex Farkas, a British journalist working in Budapest, begins investigating the murder. As Alex digs deeper, he uncovers the existence of the Protocol and a massive conspiracy involving high-level EU politicians, corporate interests, and a shadowy alliance with roots in the Third Reich. Alex realizes the modern election is being manipulated to fulfill the Protocol’s goals: Nazi economic control over Europe and the commencement of a “new Gypsy Holocaust” targeting the Roma community. He must find the original document and expose the conspiracy before the new European order is permanently established. The novel was inspired by LeBor’s non-fiction research for his book Hitler’s Secret Bankers, which examined real-world Nazi plans for post-war economic influence. – Google/AI]
International · Fiction author
Adam LeBor
Adam LeBor (born 1961, London, England) – [author of two series relevant to this bibliography, one set in Hungary and the other following a United Nations special negotiator. The “International” category seemed the most appropriate in this case. He is a British author, journalist, and writing coach known for his deep expertise in international politics, history, and global finance. In 1991, LeBor moved to Budapest to cover the collapse of Communism. He spent years reporting from Central Europe and the Balkans, including serving as a war correspondent during the Yugoslav conflicts for The Times and The Independent. LeBor studied Arabic, International History, and Politics at the University of Leeds and also attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He currently divides his time between London and Budapest, where he lives with his Hungarian wife and children. He writes thriller reviews for the Financial Times and contributes regularly to The Times, The Economist, and The Critic. He also works as an editorial trainer and writing coach for major financial and news institutions. LeBor writes both gripping fiction and highly researched non-fiction, typically drawing on his real-world experiences in active conflict zones. His fiction works are described below. He has published nine non-fiction books. His most prominent work, Hitler’s Secret Bankers, exposed Swiss complicity with the Nazis. He also authored Milosevic, a biography of the former Serbian president, and Tower of Basel, an investigative look into the secretive Bank for International Settlements.
LeBor Adam [Balthazar Kovacs #1] (District VIII [hc, Pegasus Crime, 2018] 978-1681777344 [pb, Pegasus Books, 2019] 978-1643132587
LeBor Adam [Balthazar Kovacs #2] (Kossuth Square [hc, Head of Zeus, 2019] 978-1786692740 [pb, Head of Zeus, 2019] 978-1786692740
LeBor Adam [Balthazar Kovacs #3] (Dohany Street [hc, Head of Zeus, 2022] 978-1786692764 [pb, Head of Zeus/Aries Book, 2022] 978-1786692771
See also Adam LeBor’s recent non-fiction account of the final months of the Nazi occupation of Budapest: LeBor, Adam, (The Last Days of Budapest: Spies, Nazis, Rescuers and Resistance, 1940–1945 [hc, Apollo, 2025] 978-1801100779 [Although Hungary was a German ally in 1941, two years into World War II, it was still possible for Allied prisoners of war, French and Polish refugees, spies of every kind, and the city’s large Jewish population to live freely and openly, enjoying the cafes and boulevards that made Budapest one of the great European capitals. While the other multicultural centers of Europe had fallen to the almost all-consuming conflict, Budapest remained intact, a shining reminder of what middle European high culture could be.
In September 1944, three months after D-Day, life in the city seemed idyllic. But under the guise of peace existed an undercurrent of tension and anxiety: British and American troops advanced from the west and Soviet troops from the east. Who would reach the capital first? By mid-October 1944, Budapest had collapsed into anarchy: death squads roamed the streets, the city’s remaining Jews were funneled into ghettos, Russian shells destroyed city blocks, and everyone struggled to find food and survive the winter.
Using newly uncovered diaries and archives, Adam LeBor brilliantly recreates the increasingly desperate efforts of Hungary’s leaders to avoid being drawn into the cataclysm of war, the moral and tactical ambiguity they deployed in the attempt, and the ultimate tragedy that befell Hungary and, in particular, its Jewish population. Told through the lives of a glamorous aristocrats, SS Officers, a rebellious teenage Jewish school student, Hungary’s most popular singer and actress, and a housewife trying desperately to keep her family alive, the story of how Budapest is threatened from all sides as the war tightens its noose is highly dramatic and utterly compelling. – Amazon]
Yael Azoulay is a former Israeli intelligence operative and army veteran who now does the UN’s “dirty work”. Her role involves brokering secret deals in global “corridors of power,” ranging from the caves of Afghanistan to corporate boardrooms in Manhattan. The series is heavily informed by LeBor’s own background as a foreign correspondent and his investigative work into the UN’s failures to stop genocide.
LeBor, Adam [Yael Azoulay #1], (The Geneva Option: A Pulse-Racing Espionage Thriller of a UN Operative Hunted by a Global Conspiracy [pb, Telegram Books, 2013]) 978-1846591556 [- Sent to eastern Congo to negotiate with a Hutu warlord wanted for genocide,Yael offers a plea bargain to ensure regional stability for Western mineral interests. She soon discovers a deep-rooted conspiracy where the UN is willing to overlook mass murder for profit. Hunted by international agencies, she goes rogue to confront both the conspirators and her own past.]
LeBor, Adam [Yael Azoulay #2], (The Washington Strategem: A Taut International Thriller of a Covert Negotiator, a Chilling Conspiracy, and Powerful Enemies [pb, Harper Paperbacks, 2014]) 978-0062330017 [- Recovering from the events in Congo, Yael is sent to investigate The Prometheus Group, a powerful lobbying firm with ties to the Pentagon. She uncovers a conspiracy to trigger a lucrative new war in the Middle East. As she digs deeper, she realizes the plot involves someone from her past, exposing her to powerful enemies who “neither forgive nor forget”.
LeBor, Adam [Yael Azoulay #3], (The Reykjavik Assignment: A Riveting Political Spy Thriller – The Final Yael Azoulay Adventure [hc, Head of Zeus, 2016] 978-1784970291 [pb, Harper Paperbacks, 2016]) 978-0062330031 [Yael is tasked with secretly brokering a historic peace summit in Reykjavik between the US and Iranian presidents. However, a powerful, corrupt lobbying syndicate called the Prometheus Group is desperate to destroy the peace talks to protect their wartime profits. As Yael coordinates the summit, she is hunted across Europe by vengeful operatives, untangles a human trafficking ring linked to recent terror attacks, and confronts dark secrets about her brother’s death. Ultimately, she must use her lethal field skills to stop a violent sabotage attempt in the icy landscapes of Iceland and save the international peace accords.] [Google/AI]