Jim did a good job summing up the appeal of Van de Wetering.
The plots may be slow and undramatic for some hard-boiled
fans, but authenticity, character development, psychology of
character, can be quite engaging--particularly when the
subjectivity of the criminal is included.
I used to read Wetering alongside Sjowall and Wahloo's Martin
Beck series and Nicholas Freeling, whose Van der Valk
procedurals are also set in Amsterdam
(recommend Apres De Ma Blonde or Criminal Conversation). None
hesitates at graphic description, but the outlook and style
are more "European"-- world-weary with some yields of
hope.
Bill Hagen
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