Dekok and the Somber Nude

This is the first book of this series that I have had the pleasure to read. It is a page turner of a police procedural that allows development of believable protagonists. Mr. Baantjer takes us on the hunt for a beautiful, and at first, likeable, missing young woman. She is found, only to be not as beautiful as she first appears. All characters are multi-dimensional. Great read!

On a rainy day, Kristel van Daalen with two A's comes to Amsterdam's Warmoes Street police station to report her nineteen years old cousin Nanette Bogaard with a double A is missing. Kristel explains to Inspectors DeKok and Vledders that she and Nanette co-own the Ye Three Roses floral shop, which they bought with money they inherited. She further explains that Nanette is an artistic free spirit, but always came home to the apartment they share above the store. Kristel believes Nanette is dead. Vledders thinks it is too soon to assume foul play, but DeKok has a hunch that something bad has occurred to Nanette. They begin making inquiries starting with a spawned reporter Barry Weilen that lead to Kristel's addict brother, a "Somber Nude" painting done by Pierre Popko and aging paramour Staaten and his adult son. They see a picture of a mesmerizing serpent wearing an angel's garb before the dismembered corpse of Nanette is found in a garbage dump. The now murder investigation keeps tilting like a pin ball game that flickers back and forth between anyone who was in Nanette's sphere. This is a fabulous DeKok mystery once readers accept the inspectors take on the missing person case (most will agree with Vledders that its pouring rain, less than 24 hours, and she is nineteen). The story line is driven by DeKok's investigation as each new clue he uncovers seems to open more questions rather than resolving any of them. Fans of this superb Dutch police procedural series will gain immense pleasure from the latest translation. Harriet Klausner

This is a great series starring Detective-Inspector DeKok of the Amsterdam Municipal Police, Homicide. Albert Baantjer is the most widely read author in the Netherlands. This series is "rapid-fire storytelling" with the laconic detective-inspector calling the shots. The SOMBER NUDE deals with a dismembered body and DeKok's relentless pursuit of the murderer. If you like JANWILLEM VAN DE WETERING's police novels and GEORGES SIMENON's Maigret series, you will enjoy the DeKok mysteries. The covers of the American editions are bright and sometimes garish and may put off some readers. What is inside the cover is just a "good read".