A man is found stabbed to death in a house in Amsterdam. A white Mercedes is parked awkwardly on the curb, and there is no sign of how the murderer got away. Police Inspector Pieter Van der Valk is sure that there’s something up with this case that goes beyond the easy story of “oh, this person must have been a criminal”. He’s determined to find out what happened. Meanwhile, he keeps crossing paths with Lucienne, the fiercely independent daughter of a famous conductor, in the most unusual of circumstances.

I quite liked this story. Van der Valk is grumpy and opinionated in a way I find amusing; he has little patience for officialdom, even as he represents officialdom in the form of the police. He is interested in justice in a way that goes beyond mere arresting and sentencing. He chastises himself for getting too absorbed in a case with so little payoff, but at the same time is compelled to continue. I liked that he is happily married (and laughed because his wife’s name is Arlette; I have an Arlette in my family). The story had a kind of Maigret feel to me, although Van der Valk is lower in rank than Maigret. This is even mentioned in the book, that Van der Valk’s boss is at Maigret level. I don’t know whether that means Maigret actually exists in the Van der Valk universe… hope so!

As for its setting, the atmosphere, pacing, and use of language really brought the Netherlands, Germany, and France to life, or at least enough for this North American. Actual residents of the above-mentioned countries may have a different experience.

It’s a shame that Freeling’s books don’t seem to be readily available; hopefully with the new Van der Valk series on PBS Masterpiece in summer 2020, they’ll get reprinted. I’d read more. ( )