Rating: 
Summary: A Great Start to a Great Series
Review: A thoroughly engaging and well-written mystery. The first in a series of mysteries pairing Amsterdam detectives Grijpstra & DeGier, this novel enchants and hooks the reader from the very beginning. The story is first class and will be enjoyed by lovers of the genre, but it's the interaction and dialogue between the two protagonists that makes this book such a gem. At times philosophers and often humorous, these characters are a welcome addition to the readers' life and the good news is: there's more where this comes from. Check it (them) out and you won't be disappointed. Highly Recommended for those who enjoy mysteries and top-quality literature in general.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Start to a Great Series
Review: A thoroughly engaging and well-written mystery. The first in a series of mysteries pairing Amsterdam detectives Grijpstra & DeGier, this novel enchants and hooks the reader from the very beginning. The story is first class and will be enjoyed by lovers of the genre, but it's the interaction and dialogue between the two protagonists that makes this book such a gem. At times philosophers and often humorous, these characters are a welcome addition to the readers' life and the good news is: there's more where this comes from. Check it (them) out and you won't be disappointed. Highly Recommended for those who enjoy mysteries and top-quality literature in general.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Start to a Great Series
Review: A thoroughly engaging and well-written mystery. The first in a series of mysteries pairing Amsterdam detectives Grijpstra & DeGier, this novel enchants and hooks the reader from the very beginning. The story is first class and will be enjoyed by lovers of the genre, but it's the interaction and dialogue between the two protagonists that makes this book such a gem. At times philosophers and often humorous, these characters are a welcome addition to the readers' life and the good news is: there's more where this comes from. Check it (them) out and you won't be disappointed. Highly Recommended for those who enjoy mysteries and top-quality literature in general.
Rating:
Summary: First of an excellent series:
Review: I bought this book because I needed something to read while flying to a business meeting. I was intrigued because it took place in Amsterdam, a place I loved, but haven't visited since the 80's. Its a wonderful mystery, full of great characters and flawed heroes. I like it so much I bought two more of Van De Wetering's books on my return home.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for European mystery lovers !
Review: I bought this book because I needed something to read while flying to a business meeting. I was intrigued because it took place in Amsterdam, a place I loved, but haven't visited since the 80's. Its a wonderful mystery, full of great characters and flawed heroes. I like it so much I bought two more of Van De Wetering's books on my return home.
Rating:
Summary: Best discovery this year of an "old master"
Review: I have been wanting to read these books for a while and finally found the time to dig into this first one on a long flight to Europe. Perfect setting for reading any of van deWetering's books. These novels are thoroughly European and I loved the way the characters spoke and interacted. I especially enjoyed the pervasive air of morality throughout the book. So many of contemporary thrillers lack that essential element. The novelist makes good use of his obvious Buddhist beliefs and sprinkles some quite beautiful thoughts (when de Gier meets the father of a female suspect take extra time to linger over his philosophy. It's utterly engaging and memorable) throughout this story of the search for the killer of a murdered spiritual adviser and some smarmy drug dealing in 1970s Amsterdam. This book also contains the first villain with a conscience I've ever encountered in all my decades of mystery reading. I look forward to completing the series.
Rating:
Summary: Best discovery this year of an "old master"
Review: I have been wanting to read these books for a while and finally found the time to dig into this first one on a long flight to Europe. Perfect setting for reading any of van deWetering's books. These novels are thoroughly European and I loved the way the characters spoke and interacted. I especially enjoyed the pervasive air of morality throughout the book. So many of contemporary thrillers lack that essential element. The novelist makes good use of his obvious Buddhist beliefs and sprinkles some quite beautiful thoughts (when de Gier meets the father of a female suspect take extra time to linger over his philosophy. It's utterly engaging and memorable) throughout this story of the search for the killer of a murdered spiritual adviser and some smarmy drug dealing in 1970s Amsterdam. This book also contains the first villain with a conscience I've ever encountered in all my decades of mystery reading. I look forward to completing the series.
Rating:
Summary: Atypical For A Mystery
Review: I picked up this novel because I was reminiscing about Amsterdam, rather than out of a desire to read a mystery. It was exactly what I was looking for. Van De Wetering's descriptions of the city are crisp and well defined and his characters are intriguing and convincingly written. It was a good mystery as well. The motivations of all the characters seemed true enough, and for this, the novel could just as well be classified as literature. The translation maintains European syntax, so the Dutch character of work is not lost. It was a fun little novel, and great mind candy. The next day I bought two more of the series. If you need something, quick, light and exotic to read this is a good one. It's always nice to read about someone else's city.
Rating:
Summary: First of an excellent series:
Review: If you appreciate fiction that exposes you to nonfiction aspects of foreign cultures, you will like these books. For example, if you liked the Sjowall/Wahloo Swedish mysteries, you'll like this series, too. (Just as "deep" analyzing human existence via crime, but not so dark -- in part because Stockholm in the 70's was socialist gray, and Amsterdam was a lot more colorful!) Similarly, if you like Melville's Japanese mysteries, you'll like this series. (If it *has* to be about Japan, get this author's book "Inspector Saito's Small Satori" instead.)Normally I hate reviews that summarize, but since the editorial review above just says "launching Cahners series", here is an excerpt from the flyleaf of the original 1975 printing: "... here is the first of a delightful new series of detective novels by a Dutch writer who combines a background in Zen philosophy with his experience on the Amsterdam police force. The owner of a sleazy restaurant-cum-commune in the old quarter of Amsterdam is dead; his body hangs from a rafter, at first glance a suicide, at second a murder. The police call in Detective Grijpstra, a mild-mannered, middle-aged family man with tired feet and a bemused soul, and his partner, de Gier, a bachelor with a philosophical turn of mind who shares his modish apartment with a wayward Siamese cat and occasion such women as are not allergic to it. The clues are plentiful enough to be puzzling and lead to a juicy variety of suspects and helpers including a native Papuan -- former member of the Dutch Constabulary in New Guinea, the 'outsider' of the title. The plot is as full of unexpected twists and turns as Amsterdam itself, the climax is exciting, and the conclusion will surprise and satisfy connoisseurs of detective fiction as well as loving observers of human nature."
Rating:
Summary: Winning pair
Review: The outsider of the story is Papuan. DeGier and Grijpstra are Dutch police officers. At the scene of a crime or at the scene of a suicide the pair come upon a letter from an Eastern religious society. There is an altar of sorts in the room. DeGier has an idea that he has seen the man previously. Then he realizes that the long hair and the heavy mustache remind him of a portrait in a museum. The man resembles a portrait of a Dutch statesman in the sixteenth century. There is a bruise. The man was hit by a stick or possibly by a fist. Another victim is found, a woman. This was turning out to be an unusually busy shift. The pair decides that because perpetrators of homicide are scarce in Amsterdam, the matters are probably related to each other. Suicidal people lose their self-discipline. This man has a neatly trimmed beard. They interview a small man about forty years old, a Papuan. He relates that he has been in Holland for eight years. In 1965 he could choose to be Indonesian or Dutch. He decided to claim Dutch citizenship. VanMeteren had been a policeman in New Guinea. The doctor's report becomes available. There is a trace of opium in the stomach of the hanged man. The deceased man, Piet, had a sort of religious society and a bar. The bar made money. At the time of his demise two drug whole sale sellers were in the bar. Returning to the scene of the incident, DeGier and Grijpstra learn that there has been a break-in during the previous evening. Some of the inhabitants are moving to a houseboat. It is ascertained that the man, Piet, was hit in the head with a dictionary by one of the members of his household. One of the girls present tells the officers that the hook in the ceiling has always been present. Concerning his characteristics, the officers are told that Piet said that nothing really exists. Everything is an illusion. He spoke of the Japanese samuri. Piet's neurotic mother is removed by the city's health service. Grijpstra plays drums, DeGier plays a flute. VanMeteren enters playing a wooden instrument. His instrument is a wooden drum from the forests of New Guinea. He has been stymied in regaining his status in the Netherlands. Much to his frustration, he is only a traffic warden. VanMeteren has a 1943 Harley motorcycle. One of the officers recalls the machine fondly as the means of transportation of the liberators in World War II. There is money missing. Piet had just taken out a mortage on the building in which his society and bar are located. It is not necessary to go further in delineating the plot. I do not want to interfere with the readers' enjoyment. The book has both excellent characterizations and excellent story-telling. The series is a real hit.
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