The Tatra Conspiracy

About the Book

The mystery begins in the winter of 1921 when a beautiful young girl is found strangled in the foothills of the High Tatra Mountains in Slovakia. There was a clearing in the first hill of the mountains where the young couples would gather. The young lady was from the village of Rusbashy. The town was divided into two villages with the Poprad River ran between them. She was from the northern part of town where the poorer people lived. The southern part of town was where most of the people lived. It contained the town hall and most of the shops. There was no police force in the northern end of town so the people asked a young man by the name of Andre if he would find out what was going on. Andre owned a small horse farm and he had two men working for him so he agreed and took over the investigation. He had no training, but he took on the task and through trial and error, he hoped to bring the killer to justice. When he ran out of suspects, there was another murder and then a third one. The town's people were frightened because they feared there was a serial killer on the loose and any help they would give Andre would bring the wrath of the murderers down on them. We explore the life in the small town in Slovakia where our hero is torn between the duties on the farm and his investigation into the crime around him. The crime is eventually solved and justice is swift in the foot hills of the High Tatra Mountains.

About the Author

Stephen Matava was born of immigrant parents, ten years after his parents came from Slovakia. He was raised in a Slovak neighorhood and spent most of his life in the shadow of his parent's native land. He was the fifth child and the first to graduate fom high school. The older children had to leave school to help support the family. He was raised with strict family and religious values and passed these on to his own children, He hold a degree from the University of Hartford and spent most of his life in the insurance business world. The author is married and has raised three children who have left the nest There are three grandchildren that he sees as often as possible. He learned of his ancestors from the stories that were told around the supper table and from any other material that he could find on the subject. He spent fifteen years years as a claims adjuster for a large insurance company before going into business for himself as an insurance agent. Following the family values of his forefathers has been good to him and he now finds time to write full time. Besides this nove, he ahs written a book of selected poems which will be next to be published.