First published in 1987, this clever mystery in Baantjer's series featuring Inspector DeKok of the Amsterdam police's Warmoes Street station (
DeKok and the Murder in Bronze, etc.) should help gain him new readers in the U.S. A distraught young man, Richard Netherwood, tells DeKok and DeKok's impetuous sidekick, Dick Vledder, that he took his girlfriend, Rosalind Evertsoord, to Slotervaart Hospital on a neurology referral from her doctor and she simply disappeared. Other young women have also gone missing at the respected hospital, which denies all knowledge of the women. DeKok must deal with a fatherly pimp, a skilled forger, angry boyfriends and devious hospital officials to unravel the case. DeKok's wide network of contacts and his contemplative approach contrast nicely with the more aggressive approach of his protégé, Vledder; the two men make a formidable and appealing detective team.
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"First published in 1987, this clever mystery in Baantjer's series featuring Inspector DeKok of the Amsterdam police's Warmoes Street station (DeKok and the Murder in Bronze, ect.) should help gain him new readers in the U.S. A distraught young man, Richard Neterwood, tells DeKok and DeKok's impetuous sidekick, Dick Vledder, that he took his girlfriend, Rosalind Evertsoord, to Slotervaart Hospital on a neurology referral from her doctor and she simply disappeared. Other young women have also gone missing at the respected hospital, which denies all knowledge of the women. DeKok must deal with a fatherly pimp, a skilled forger, angry boyfriends and devious hospital officials to unravel the case. DeKok's wide network of contacts and his contemplative approach contrast nicely with the more aggressive approach of his protégé Vledder; the two men make a formidable and appealing detective team." --Publishers Weekly, May 2009
"The latest translation of the deKok Dutch police procedural (see DEKOK AND THE MURDER IN BRONZE and DEKOK AND THE DEAD LOVER) is once again an excellent mystery. The investigation is super as the inquiry is loaded with unexpected twists and red herrings. However what makes this tale and the more recent entries even more delightful is the team up of opposites as the seasoned deliberate cop mentors his less experienced somewhat hotheaded junior partner." --The Mystery Gazette, May 2009
Veteran cop DeKok and his younger partner Vledder confront a classic lady-vanishes situation: a young man claims he helped his girlfriend check into an Amsterdam hospital, only to have the admitting personnel and the hospital records deny she was ever there. Every DeKok case is a sort of criminous comfort food-brief, simply written, likeably peopled, and marked by old-fashioned fair-play cue planting. --Ellery Queen: Mystery Magazine (December 2009)
Inspector DeKok has appeared in at least 60 novels in The Netherlands, where the series is extremely popular, as well as in 100 episodes on Dutch television. This novel is the first hardcover form in the United States, although the publisher has issued several in paperback. It is committed to publishing the entire series, for which it should be commended. The novels are written in a simple, straightforward style, with excellent translation. DeKok (who always responds to his name: "er, as in kay oh kay" is an unusual character, and Amsterdam is presented with the full flavor of the city and its famous Red Light District. The stories are deceptive, more complicated than their outwardly plain appearance, and the inspector is a lot deeper than his portrayal. There are a lot of books in the series, something for which to be thankful. Recommended. --The Midwest Book Review, Reviewer's Bookwatch: October 2009, "Theodore's Bookshelf" by Theodore Feit
I'm very happy to have discovered the DeKok series-- happier still that it includes some sixty novels. --The Midwest Book Review, Reviewer's Bookwatch: October 2009, "Debra's Bookshelf" by Debra Hamel
"Speck Press is bringing out all the DeKok novels by the Dutch master Baantjer; and each one is a little gem." --Toronto Globe and Mail
The latest translation of the DeKok Dutch police procedural is once again an excellent mystery. The investigation is super as the inquiry is loaded with unexpected twists and red herrings. However what makes this tale and the more recent entries even more delightful is the team of opposites as the seasoned deliberate cop mentors his less experienced somewhat hotheaded junior partner. --The Midwest Book Review, MBR Bookwatch (July 2009), Klausner's Bookshelf by Harriet Klausner
Here is reason to celebrate: Amsterdam's gray sleuth of the Warmoes Street Station, Inspector DeKok, appears in the twelfth volume in Baantjer's acclaimed series to appear in English translation from Speck Press... What begins as something that DeKok himself admits is 'an absurd tale' turns into a thoroughly entertaining romp among the canals, brothels, police stations, hospitals, and other colorful locales in Amsterdam, a city where the charming DeKok says, "There's never a recession in crime." -- Tim Davis --bookloons.com "Mystery Reviews"
The effort to provide translations of his various cases bodes well for Americans who are Sherlock Holmes fans. -- Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia --School Library Journal
