The King of the Rainy Country [Paperback]

Nicolas Freeling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

A Van der Valk Thriller - On a parched Spanish hillside, Van der Valk spills blood and splinters bone. A handsome millionaire is missing. A naked girl has disappeared with him. Van der Valk has the arduous task of finding out why and where they are. And some people would shoot him for trying.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in London in 1927, Nicolas Freeling is the author of over thirty titles, many of which are part of the crime genre. His education was broad and he attended a series of schools in England, Ireland and France. He served in the Royal Air Force, and from 1950 worked at various jobs in kitchens, hotels and restaurants throughout Europe. It was this intimate knowledge of the continent that influenced the style and settings of his subsequent books. The first of these was published in 1961. He is best known for the creation of Inspector Piet Van der Valk, an irascible detective engaged in ordinary crime, political intrigue and international affairs. Freeling is married, has four sons and one daughter and currently resides in France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: House of Stratus Ltd (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842328433
• ISBN-13: 978-1842328439
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,030,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a bit banal, May 28, 2006

By 

Neal J. Pollock (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Freeling's Dutch police inspector Van der Valk is directed to take on a missing persons case appropriate for private detective, making the plot a little unusual. However, certain complications aside, this short novel (without chapter headings) has little action. There is a small amount of suspense in the last few pages--though spoiled a bit by the flashback at the start of the book. There is much meandering, extraneous detail, little character development (though Anne-Marie was interesting), considerable unimpressive mental activity, & many unfamiliar literary (?) allusions. The title of the book is from a Baudelaire poem. There are a few good turns of phrase: p. 103: "Everybody is out of the ordinary if you look deep enough" & p. 109: He still had to clamp the teeth of patience on the bullet of chagrin." The protagonist states repeatedly that he isn't very bright--I agree. He could have checked, for instance, to see if the French police had the rifle rather than just speculate, & avoided chasing an armed person unarmed himself. In short, it was not an impressive effort IMHO.