The Good Mayor

Every day, in the little town of Dot in a forgotten part of the Baltic, Mayor Tibo Krovic stops off at the local cafe on his way to work, drinks his Viennese coffee with extra figs, leaves a bag of sweets for the owner, and goes to wait in his office for the arrival of his glorious secretary Agathe. He has worshipped Agathe from afar for years but she has always been out of reach: beautiful, lonely, but married.
There is nothing that Tibo can do about his love for Mrs Stopak but, one day, when she accidentally drops her lunch into a fountain, everything changes and their lives will never be the same again.

The Good Mayor is a story of love, loss, magic, friendship, wonderful food, a brass band, an Italian witch, a large lawyer, an occasional dog and a car chase at walking pace. Beautifully written, this is one of the finest debut novels in years.