The Secret of Linden Court

Andre Kosowicz has a secret...
In a quaint European city so old that Roman coins are still unearthed in the back gardens of trim little houses, the single, thirty-seven-year-old junior file clerk of the City Tax Department thought he knew every street, lane, boulevard, alley, thoroughfare, highway and byway within the city limits...until now.
Stuck in the back corner of an ancient file cabinet, Andre finds an old, faded street record and discovers evidence of a neighborhood he has never heard of: Linden Court. With no taxes paid by residents since before the Nazi invasion, he believes Linden Court has long since been paved over or bombed out of existence. To satisfy his curiosity, Andre heads to Olde Towne where, with a little snooping a lot of luck, he finds a bustling cul-de-sac of homes and shops in the shadow of an ancient linden tree.
Rather than reporting his discovery to the city for recognition and rewards, Andre befriends a variety of colorful Linden Court residents as diverse as Madame Ra'Coone and her House of Fashion, gay gallery owner and art historian Szymon, the neighborhood's barkeep Franz, a former member of the Resistance known as The Alley Sniper and his hot-to-trot niece Sophie.
How long can Andre keep his discovery a secret from the tax department, his bitter boss and the aloof college graduate who has suddenly taken a liking to him? And how has Linden Court been able to hide in plain sight for over twenty years?
A page-turning mystery with twists and turns, clever dialogue, danger, and a dash of romance set in 1960's Eastern Europe

Thomas Stimson is a native of Washington State, a veteran of the US Coast Guard and currently works as a credit analyst for a major auto manufacturer while writing and spending time with his family and travelling.
He has published a mystery novel set in Eastern Europe "The Secret of Linden Court" (2023), a novella "The Jackass" (2020) set in 16th Century Spain and Central America and upcoming works "Dear My Diary - The Courtship of Kimmie Coconut Tree" and "A Bitter Ending in Sugar Land" in the works.
Thomas published the SweetSips series of liqueur-making cookbooks under the pen-name Charles Thomas and is a member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association (NIWA).