DAVID DOROSZ
AUTHOR
DAVID DOROSZ
“I deeply believe that the only stories worth writing are the ones that dare to go all in—stories that get under your skin, hurt, confront you, have real stakes, and speak directly to the world we live in.”
As a novelist, David Dorosz approaches stories with the same curiosity and sharp eye that shaped his earlier career in public life. He is fascinated by what drives people, how loyalties are formed, why lives are derailed, and how power operates—whether political, social, or deeply personal.
His debut novel, We All Leave, is a tense, page-turning thriller that tackles difficult subjects with clarity and accessibility. Shortlisted for the Margó Literary Prize, it was hailed by critics as “the defining novel of its generation.” Dorosz’s prose is fast-paced, direct, and at times brutally honest, while maintaining the narrative momentum that draws readers in from the very first page.
As a writer, he seeks to layer reality in ways that are both gripping and emotionally resonant—to bring together the workings of large systems, the subtleties of human relationships, and our unspoken fears within a single compelling story. His second novel, a deeper, more ambitious work, was published in February 2026. It fulfils his ambition to write about complex social and political issues without ever sacrificing the immersive power of storytelling.
For Dorosz, fiction is not an escape from reality but a mirror: a clear, sometimes painful, yet always profoundly human reflection of the world we inhabit.
LATEST BOOKS
“A gripping, tension-filled thriller that exposes the darkest corridors of political power with unflinching honesty.” – Könyves Magazin, Hungary’s premier books magazine
“David Dorosz’s two novels should be required reading.” Anna Ott
“Dorosz’s novel begins as a taut political thriller, but quickly becomes something deeper — a social reckoning. Its particular strength lies in making political trauma tangible through human stories.” Nők Lapja, Hungary’s bestselling weekly magazine
Where the Orphans of the Power Die
As the town of Árokvár prepares for the visit of the Russian president, a teenage boy disappears from the local children’s home. The authorities are eager to close the case, but the investigation leads to places where every step could prove fatal: the shadowy corridors of local power, the buried truth behind a forgotten tragedy from 1989, and a secret weapons program that, in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, threatens to set all of Europe ablaze.
As the secrets of the past four decades become entwined with the present, three lifelong friends find themselves navigating increasingly dangerous territory: András, the trusted fixer for the town’s powerful mayor; Feri, a Roma detective; and Lili, their former love, a successful researcher returning home from Vienna. They soon realise that the missing boy’s disappearance is no ordinary investigation, but a political time bomb that those in power will stop at nothing to bury. Digging beneath the crimes suffocating their town, they discover that far more than the boy’s life is at stake—they must also ask whether they themselves will survive once the shocking truth comes to light.
Where the Orphans of Power Die is both a gripping, emotionally charged drama and a ruthless political thriller. It holds up a mirror to a country where power ultimately leaves everyone orphaned. Brutally honest yet compulsively readable, it is an unflinching portrait of a nation where the past never lets go, lies have become institutionalised, and nothing is more dangerous than the search for the truth.
Where the Orphans of Power Die is the second novel by Vienna-based author Dávid Dorosz, whose debut novel was shortlisted for the Margó Literary Prize.
OTHER BOOKS
WE ALL LEAVE
We All Leave – a thriller Shortlisted for the 2025 Margó Prize for Best Debut Novel, We All Leave is more than a mystery about a luxury villa, a tight-knit group of friends, and a shocking crime. It’s also a sharp, unsettling portrait of contemporary Hungary. Set on the shores of Lake Balaton, the novel explores what it means to live under a corrupt political system—and the personal price of power in a world where money, influence, and loyalty seem to outweigh everything else. At the same time, We All Leave is a generational story. It speaks openly about the choice between staying or leaving the country, the challenges of infertility and starting a family, and the fragile boundaries between friendship, ambition, and morality.
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