The Streetbird

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.

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.

I must agree with my friend from Forest Hills, New York. The ending does make you scratch your head a piece. However, I have read The Butterfly Hunter and The Japanese Corpse, and this is the man's style for sure. However, I have always detected something very very unusual in his work and something very very American here. The work rings of Heinrich Boll in places, but something intuitive tells me otherwise. You may find the vulgar racial resonations of Det. Grijpstra's work associates uninspiring, but alas. I've always wondered what happened to Frank Serpico. He did vanish to the same part of the world as Van De Wetering, and he was fond of this kind of urban detective fiction. But maybe this is reaching . . . but not as reaching as the ending of this book. I enjoyed it none the less.