The story opens with Martin in custody in a jail cell in Amsterdam. His ex-mistress, Elsa de Charmoy, has been murdered and he is being held for questioning. He has been there two weeks. There is no real evidence to prove that Martin is the killer but there is plenty of circumstantial evidence and no other viable suspects.
Since Martin is in jail for a good bit of the story, he spends a lot of time thinking about his past with Elsa, and his relationship with his wife. This introspective aspect of the story may not appeal to all crime fiction readers. But I liked this approach.
Per the Kirkus review:
The comparison to Simenon is inevitable. The pace, the investigatory technique, the relationship that builds up between investigator and suspect -- all are here.I have not read any books by Simenon for years so I cannot say if that is true, but I thought it was an interesting comparison.
I also enjoyed learning about the judicial system in The Netherlands at the time the book was written.
The story seemed like it would make a good movie, and it was made into a British film titled Amsterdam Affair in 1968. Inspector Van der Valk is featured in twelve more novels and there was a British TV series titled Van der Valk that aired in the 1970s and the early 1990s, starring Barry Foster as Inspector Van der Valk.
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Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1964. Orig. pub. 1962.
Length: 188 pages
Format: Paperback
Series: Van der Valk, #1
Setting: Amsterdam
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: Purchased at the Planned Parenthood book sale, 2016.
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