Boys & Murderers is the first complete collection in English translation of Hermann Ungar's novellas and stories. A writer whose unique talent and dark analyses of the human psyche were admired by Thomas Mann, who provides the preface, Ungar's prose is often grotesque and comical, if not occasionally horrific. Much like his highly acclaimed novel The Maimed, he delves here into the depravities of heart and delusions of mind, the settings ranging from Prague to his hometown of Boskovice in Moravia to Berlin to much further afield. Although his life was cut short by illness, and his work was forgotten for decades, Ungar can rightfully be located in that illustrious tradition of Prague German Jewish writers who came of age during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Forgotten for decades, Ungar's work has experienced a renaissance over the past years with translations appearing in a number of languages and new editions appearing in German, which has allowed him to take his place among the greats of 20th-century European literature.