The Bucharest Dossier

Overview

Chanticleer International Book Awards 2020 Grand Prize Winner in Global Thrillers
2022 National Indie Excellence Award Winner for Thriller
2022 American Fiction Award Winner for Mystery/Suspense: Historical and Finalist for Thriller: General
International Book Award 2022 Finalist for Thriller/Adventure
2022 “Best Book” Award Winner for Thriller/Adventure

Bill Hefflin is a man apart—apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love

At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin—a disillusioned Romanian expat—arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset, code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems, including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.

With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces, including his own CIA and Boris—the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.

The Bourne Identity Meets John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

While the novels in the Bill Hefflin Spy Thriller Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

The Bucharest Dossier
The Bucharest Legacy (coming 2023)

Reviews

“[The Bucharest Dossier is] an accomplished debut—a love story inside an espionage thriller inside a historical record, with all three elements working together to maximum effect. Very impressive and very recommended.” —Lee Child, New York Times best-selling author

“The Bucharest Dossier is compulsively readable . . . William Maz has written a wrenching, action-packed story of love lost and regained as we follow a returning ex-pat in search of his past and the love of his life against the violent backdrop of the Romanian people's revolt against Ceausescu's vicious communist regime.” —F. Paul Wilson, New York Times best-selling author

“The Bucharest Dossier offers up a smooth and scintillating mix of Robert Ludlum and John le Carré at their level best. William Maz's seminal effort is a masterwork of spy trade craft, as well as a prototype of everything a great tale is supposed to be. Solid writing and superb storytelling make this one a must read sure to leave its mark in the crowded international thriller field. Blistering, bracing, and bold.” —Jon Land, USA Today best-selling author

“Brutally realistic about the effects of war and realpolitik, but also affectingly personal and nostalgic, The Bucharest Dossier is suspenseful enough to make one forget the woes of the world for a while, and muse on the mythic draw of childhood innocence and love.” —National Public Radio review by Joan Baum, “Baum on Books”

"The Bucharest Dossier is a realistic and spellbinding portrayal of spycraft during the Romanian Revolution of 1989 reminiscent of le Carré's best work. Part Bond, part Bourne, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin searches for stolen billions, solves puzzles, and dodges assassins amidst the chaos of a bloody massacre and a changing geopolitical world. Highly recommended.” —William Bernhardt, New York Times best-selling author

“The new thriller The Bucharest Dossier is a must read especially for John le Carré fans. A tense, fast moving story with an unpredictable ending! The author knows well his subject. One couldn’t walk around 1980s Bucharest without bumping into a spy or the secret police.” —Anderson Harp, author of the William Parker thriller series

“With lean, efficient prose, sharp dialogue, solid characterizations, and a good grasp of tradecraft, the novel is a must-read for fans of spy thrillers.” —Booklist

Author Biography

Born in Bucharest, Romania, William Maz emigrated to the U.S. as a child. He is a graduate of Harvard University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Following a residency in anesthesiology at Yale, he practiced medicine, and during that time, he developed a passion for writing fiction. He studied writing at Harvard, the New School, and The Writer’s Studio in New York City, and is now writing full time. William is married to a surgeon and he divides his time between Pennsylvania and New York City. The Bucharest Dossier is his debut novel.