Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 2
Piet Verboom is found hanging from a beam in his sixteenth-century gabled house on a quiet narrow street in Amsterdam. Verboom was the leader of something called the Hindist Society, and the house contains a shop, a bar and a restaurant. His staff were followers in the society and were paid nothing. Verboom was turning a tidy little profit and had quite the lifestyle for himself. Why would he throw a rope over a beam and hang himself? The two Dutch policemen assigned to the case, Adjutant Grijpstra and Sergeant de Gier, don't think he did. Fortunately a person renting space in the house, Jan Karel van Meteren, is very observant and very helpful. With van Meteren's aid, hopefully they will solve the case without putting too many miles on their Volkswagen:
"This road doesn't go to Aerdenhout," said Grijpstra.
"Ah yes. We'll take a turning to the left."
"There are no turnings on the left on this road."
"Then we'll turn around," de Gier said happily.
"You should watch where you're going."
"So should you."
They found the right road, they found Aerdenhout, but they didn't find the mental home. Eventually they found the police station and were shown the right way.
"If the civilians knew how silly their police are they would commit more crimes," Grijpstra said.
Originally published in 1975, Outsider in Amsterdam really didn't feel dated to me, although I do have to admit that my cell phone is seldom turned on which probably doesn't make me the best of judges. The pacing of the book seemed a bit ponderous, and it was difficult to pinpoint the reason. Van de Wetering lived in Maine for many years, so blaming a translator isn't feasible. Possibly the slowness could just be a case of an author thinking in one language and writing in another. Most readers can only dream of having a problem like this.
Whatever the cause, the slowness was only a minor annoyance because the author serves up a veritable feast: the city and culture of Amsterdam itself, two wonderful characters in Grijpstra and de Gier, and a likable villain. In this book, it's not so much a matter of "who" done it, but "how" he did it... and is he going to get away with it? Lately I've been reading of too many bad guys for whom I've only felt disgust. It was fun to read about one I came very close to admiring.
Outsider in Amsterdam is a good start to the adventures of Grijpstra and de Gier. I intend to follow the series to its end.
"This road doesn't go to Aerdenhout," said Grijpstra.
"Ah yes. We'll take a turning to the left."
"There are no turnings on the left on this road."
"Then we'll turn around," de Gier said happily.
"You should watch where you're going."
"So should you."
They found the right road, they found Aerdenhout, but they didn't find the mental home. Eventually they found the police station and were shown the right way.
"If the civilians knew how silly their police are they would commit more crimes," Grijpstra said.
Originally published in 1975, Outsider in Amsterdam really didn't feel dated to me, although I do have to admit that my cell phone is seldom turned on which probably doesn't make me the best of judges. The pacing of the book seemed a bit ponderous, and it was difficult to pinpoint the reason. Van de Wetering lived in Maine for many years, so blaming a translator isn't feasible. Possibly the slowness could just be a case of an author thinking in one language and writing in another. Most readers can only dream of having a problem like this.
Whatever the cause, the slowness was only a minor annoyance because the author serves up a veritable feast: the city and culture of Amsterdam itself, two wonderful characters in Grijpstra and de Gier, and a likable villain. In this book, it's not so much a matter of "who" done it, but "how" he did it... and is he going to get away with it? Lately I've been reading of too many bad guys for whom I've only felt disgust. It was fun to read about one I came very close to admiring.
Outsider in Amsterdam is a good start to the adventures of Grijpstra and de Gier. I intend to follow the series to its end.
