The Streetbird [Paperback]

Janwillem van de Wetering (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1983

What appears to be the welcome murder of a local, much-disliked pimp turns out to be much larger than that single crime as the Dutch authorities struggle to get to the bottom of the shocking truth.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janwillem van de Wetering (1931–2008) was born and raised in Rotterdam, but lived most recently in Surry, Maine. He served as a member of the Amsterdam Special Constabulary and was once a Zen Buddhist monk. He is renowned for his detective fiction, including Outsider in Amsterdam, The Corpse on the Dike, The Japanese Corpse, and eleven other books in the Grijpstra and de Gier series. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (May 31, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399128085
• ISBN-13: 978-0399128080
• Product Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 20 inches
• Shipping Weight: 20 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,666,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "This is an unruly neighborhood, Mr. Slanozzel.", September 13, 2009

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Streetbird (Amsterdam Cops Series) (Paperback)

This is a strange but entertaining entry into the Grijpstra & De Gier mystery novels (sometimes called the Amsterdam Cops series). Ostensibly investigating the murder of a much disliked pimp, our detectives are led into much deeper waters. The streetbird of the title can stand for many things-- a misplaced vulture, local prostitutes, and perhaps even something stranger than the rest.

This book succeeds remarkably well because of the way that explores not only the personality of the two title characters but also the mind of the Commissaris. He takes the role of the wiser and more balanced investigator where Grijpstra and De Gier are somehow more exaggeratedly themselves than in the other books of the series. I was less enchanted with the character and magic of Uncle Wisi. But he and his vulture and his magic do function very well to cast the web of enchantment over the city to make it into something stranger than workaday Amsterdam.

The ending is a little bit stretched, but having made it that far with interest and enjoyment, I was willing to buy it. Others may not be so tolerant.

Solid series entry-- typical van de Wetering, if such a thing exists.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good read, November 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Streetbird (Amsterdam Cops Series) (Paperback)

The book blended interesting strands of South American voodoo and Amsterdman red-light district life. I liked the book, but did not find the end convincing. I could not believe the police would accept the "shocking truth". Still, I liked the book's atmosphere. A sort of Dutch, latter-day film noir.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Odd Duck, June 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Streetbird (Amsterdam Cops Series) (Paperback)

Janwillem Van De Wetering is an odd duck; I understood his mysteries much better after reading his books on Zen Buddhism, which I highly recommend. Also, his book about Robert Van Gulick will lead you to the Judge Dee mysteries which are very fascinating, and there are a lot of them, so between Van de Wetering and Gulick, you don't run out of books to read for quite a while. That is a mystery lover's greatest fantasy, a LOT of interesting books to read.