They call it the “Paris of the East”, and for very good reason. The states of Eastern Europe often get a bad rep for their cold and stark, communist-era landscape, but the Hungarian capital of Budapest is truly a shining jewel among the granite. You only have to walk down its wide Parisian-style boulevards, with icing-on-the-cake décor on the pre-20th century buildings, to appreciate its draw, alongside the opulent (and very beneficial) thermal spas. And oh! The coffee shops – old-style kavehas that have entertained dignitaries, dissidents, royalty and tourists for centuries. Not to mention a good many spies.
You’ll guess by now that I’m a firm fan of this city dating back to the Roman and Ottoman eras; my first visit to Budapest was as a tourist well over ten years ago, bowled over as I was then by the stunning spas and cafes, plus the blunt contrast of Soviet-influenced statues chipped into municipal buildings. In certain places, you can still see bullet holes from wartime and the peoples’ uprising of 1956, swiftly crushed by the ruling Russians. It’s a city of two halves, not least because it’s spliced by the beautiful river Danube, which is not actually blue, though equally not quite as muddy as the Thames of my native UK. The mighty Danube separates the castle district of Buda, and the city area of Pest, linked by a number of ornate bridges and another of my passions – a fantastic tram system that still sports the yellow and white livery of yesteryear. Though many of the older carriages have been phased out and replaced, there are still a few harking back to the communist era if you look hard enough.
It will be no surprise that when it came to choosing a location for a Cold War novel set in the 1960s, I didn’t scout too hard. Alongside Moscow and Berlin, the Budapest of 1968 was a hotbed of espionage – trading secrets over powerful palinka liqueur or coffee strong enough to blow your ears off was commonplace. Plus, Hungary was deemed to be the “happiest barrack” of the communist bloc, and its borders butted up against the west, perfect for British and American agents slipping back through the iron curtain if required. This then, is where Maggie Flynn, mother and widow turned MI5 operative, is propelled for her first overseas assignment in THE SPY AND THE SNAKE, the second book of the Mrs Spy series. Wide-eyed and inexperienced, Maggie nonetheless hits the streets of Budapest running. And at various points, is called on to sprint some more.
In the interests of precise research, I headed first to the wide and imposing Andrassy Avenue and the House of Terror museum, a fascinating insight into Budapest’s political dark side, on the site of the old secret police headquarters. After which, I just had to re-visit all those highlights of my tourist trips (what a chore!), this time with an eye on the clandestine: the stunningly ornate New York Café, which was once the Hungaria, and a perfect meeting spot for agents; the Central Café, previously a home for dissidents and playwrights (and my favourite); the lofty, ornate and faded glory of the pools in Hotel Gellert, and the vast public baths of the Széchenyi. I variously sat, wallowed in water, or gorged on cake while musing on who had swapped secrets under the same roof, or floated beneath the same ancient dome of a hot spa, just as Maggie is apt to do.
Sadly, some of those spots frequented by Maggie and myself have since closed, as Budapest refurbishes its attractions and throws off some of the cloak of communist past; the wonderful ancient brick domes of the Király Baths are currently undergoing a lengthy makeover, and the oldest (arguably the best) cake shop in Hungary has recently shut its doors. But rest assured that both Maggie and I sampled the infamous Ruszwurm signature-cake before closure, a mousse-like block of heaven that oozed cream and calories between slices of pastry. There is, however, plenty of wonderful cake still to be had, in a city whose foundations might well be built on traditional Dobos torte. Follow in Maggie’s footsteps and try the central Gerbeaud Café – known in the Cold War era as “Vörösmarty Cukraszda” – after which you can wander over to the lofty covered Central Market and feast your eyes on a red river of paprika to make your own goulash pop.
As with Maggie, I’m always sad to leave Budapest, but with the certainty I’ll always return. It’s got coffee to stand your spoon in, cake to die for, and a selection of hot spas that are the envy of the world. The people are friendly, the architecture spell-binding and its history enticing. Hopping on and off a tram makes me visibly grin like a small child. Plus, there are a good deal fewer spies nowadays (at least I think so). What’s not to love?
Visit if you can but, alternatively, you can take a whistle-stop tour of beautiful Buda just by turning the pages of THE SPY AND THE SNAKE, following Maggie and her crew of misfits – Zoltan, Janos, Fitz, Rita, Lida, Tom, Gilda, Bea, Frank and Libby – as she navigates the sparkling city on the Danube, the furtive world of spies, attempting to stay alive and keep tabs on her endangered waistline.
THE SPY AND THE SNAKE by M J Robotham is published on July 9th, by Aria/Head of Zeus, and Bloomsbury, available online and audio, and in hardback, online and in all good bookshops.
THE SPY AND THE SNAKE by M J Robotham
One mission. One fake husband. One very real problem.
Maggie Flynn has finally earned her place at of MI5-but with promotion comes paperwork. No more disguises, no more danger, just meetings, memos, and the quiet realisation that life feels a little too safe.
With her daughter away at university and her spirited mother pursuing her own adventures, Maggie’s days in London are starting to feel decidedly ordinary. So when the chance arises to return to the field, she doesn’t hesitate.
The assignment: fly to Budapest and pose as the wife of a notorious British defector in order to smuggle him back to the UK. It should be a straightforward operation. But Maggie Flynn has never done straightforward-and what’s waiting in Budapest is anything but routine.
As Cold War tensions simmer and shadows linger on every corner, Maggie finds herself navigating a city steeped in secrets-and drawn to a mysterious stranger who may endanger the mission… or steal her heart.
Mystery Woman Sleuth | Thriller Spy [ Bloomsbury, On Sale: July 7, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9781035921997 / eISBN: 9781035921959 ]
Buy THE SPY AND THE SNAKE: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About M J Robotham
M J Robotham saw herself as an aspiring author from childhood, but was waylaid by journalism, birth, children and life. After twenty years as a midwife and a Creative Writing MA, she is a full-time author, writing historical fiction as Mandy Robotham. She lives in Gloucestershire with her partner.
No Comments
Comments are closed.