Unorthodox French detective Henri Castang investigates a kidnapping in this police procedural from an Edgar award–winning British crime novelist.When the daughter of a prominent official goes missing, Inspector Henri Castang is certain the abduction is an act of revenge against the child's mother. Not only is Collette Delavigne one of France's youngest judges, but as a magistrate of crimes involving children, Delavigne has certainly aroused a few enemies. But how to find the perpetrator in a sea of cases that could easily have inspired a vengeful kidnapping? All Castang knows for sure is that he needs to act fast, in case the kidnapper has murder on his mind . . . Praise for Nicolas Freeling:"In depth of characterization, command of language and breadth of thought, Mr. Freeling has few peers when it comes to the international policier." —The New York Times"Nicolas Freeling . . . liberated the detective story from page-turning puzzler into a...

*INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER**NOW A LIMITED SERIES ON MASTERPIECE PBS*Meet Van Der Valk, Amsterdam's best detective, in Nicolas Freeling's classic novelA woman, Elsa, is brutally murdered in her Amsterdam apartment. Her ex-lover, Martin, is seen outside the building around the time of the crime. The witness who saw him? A policeman.It looks like a straightforward case—but police inspector Van der Valk is not convinced. Despite all the evidence—and the fact that Martin originally denied he was at the apartment—he believes Martin is not guilty of murder. Instead of charging him, Van der Valk takes him on a tour: a tour of the investigation, a tour of Martin's own past and a tour into the darkly obsessive world of Elsa...

It was not a very important case. No crime had been committed. For Van der Valk the shady dealings of a prosperous Amsterdam jeweler were more of a private puzzle. Two bullets put paid to that incurable curiosity.

Van der Valk is intrigued. It isn't everyday that a quiet housewife is machine gunned down at lunchtime in a block of flats. But the body isn't discovered until hours later, and by that time, the killer's trail is already getting cold. Van der Valk is left with more than one problem posed by the death of Esther Marx. For not only does she leave behind her a tide of mystery, but also a young daughter, in desperate need of care. Taking little Ruth into his home brings Van der Valk and his wife closer to the enigma of Esther, and even more determined to discover her killer.But there is more to Ester Marx's story than meets the eye. Unravelling her secrets will take Van der Valk on a journey into Esther's hidden past, revealing her to be anything but a simple, innocent, defenceless woman.First published in 1969, Tsing-Boum is a classic of the murder mystery genre.

Van der Valk is on the case again as a mysterious letter is unearthed alluding to the murder of a man named Cabestan. In the letter, the murderer is named but van der Valk must find out first who this mysterious letter-writer is. What transpires is a tale of deception and adultery as the rich Carl Merckel, the managing director of the Lutz Brothers merchant bank, lays an accusation of cold blooded homicide of which, he claims, his wife had no part to play. A true master of popular crime fiction and creator of the ever-popular Inspector van der Valk and Henri Castang, Nicolas Freeling has written more than thirty books and has an innate empathy with France and its culture. Born in London in 1927, Freeling has lived much of his life in Europe, notably the Vosges hills and Strasbourg. An astute, gritty writer of European flavour, his novels reflect all that is great about crime fiction. He is married with five children.

From an Edgar Award–winning British crime novelist, this unsettling homicide investigation features the unorthodox French detective Henri Castang.On a sultry summer night in a French provincial city, Insp. Henri Castang is summoned from his office at the Police Judiciaire to the site of a triple murder. The killer? A husband who came home unexpectedly to discover his wife and daughter in bed with another man. A crime of passion? Perhaps. Except the murderer in question, wealthy financier Gilbert La Touche, is cool and remote. His confession is as factual and bloodless as the crime is violent and deeply disturbing. As a detective, Castang must play by the rules to protect himself. But for an unconventional cop like Castang, that is virtually impossible. After all, there's more to murder than a few corpses and a killer, and Castang will follow every twist until he gets to the heart of the evil at hand.Praise for Nicolas Freeling"Nicolas Freeling . . ....

In France, a police detective hunts for an elusive killer in this novel by an award-winning author who "writes like no one else" (Los Angeles Times). In the tiny French town of Soulay, Inspector Henri Castang is dealing with a brutal robbery, a drugged teenager, and the sad delusions of a nervous old lady. But when a violent death suggests a mysterious connection to recent events in Paris Castang must untangle a mix of spiteful small-town gossip and big-city crime. This lively mystery comes from a winner of the Edgar and Gold Dagger Awards—"the most eccentric, the most idiosyncratic and the most European of crime writers" (Anita Brookner).

This was the end of the story that had started 'Once upon a time, in a rainy country, there was a king...' The end had not happened in a rainy country, but on a bone-dry Spanish hillside, three hundred metres from where Van der Valk had left a lot of blood, some splintered bone, a few fragments of gut, and a ten-seventy-five Mauser rifle bullet. No one had broken any laws. But a handsome, middle-aged millionaire had disappeared with a naked girl. And Van der Valk was given the job of finding out why.

Commissaire Van der Valk, appointed to his new position after surviving a bullet through the leg, is getting rather bored of his new quiet life in the town of Lisse. Whilst getting home in time for dinner and golf at the weekends is all well and good, a little excitement wouldn't go amiss. So when a local man is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Van der Valk is on the case in a trice.Getting to know the local riding school's characters proves a daunting task, revealing a maze of illicit relationships, family secrets and disappointed women. But which suspect had enough of a motive? Who truly had it in them to kill?First published in 1967, Stike Out Where not Applicable is a classic murder mystery, set against the delightful backdrop of the tulip fields and windmills of Holland.

A respectable looking elderly man is stabbed in a busy street, and, despite being surrounded by people, no one seems to have seen anything. Van der Valk soon discovers that the victim was more of a rogue than he at first appeared, and is dragged into a world of dodgy deals and beautiful women. With five marriages under his belt and four beautiful daughters living in Ireland, Van der Valk feels strongly that Mr Martinez's death is somehow connected to them. His investigations bring him to Ireland, where there is something strange about the ladies of Belgrave Square, and the IRA looms over unfolding events.First published in 1971, Over The High Side is an excellent detective story, filled with mystery, intrigue, and femme fatales.

Two women had committed suicide, and a third had had to be led gently away by men in white coats. There had been an outbreak of anonymous letters. . .That was not so very much. But there was something more, intangible but perceptible.'And Inspector Van der Valk changes his mind about the routine nature of his mission to Drente. What lies behind the small-town immoralities, eaves-dropping, hysteria? Could he by chance have stumbled upon one of the century's most wanted criminals?

Since setting up shop in Strasbourg with her new husband, Arlette, widow to the notorious Van der Valk, has garnered something of a name for herself. Getting shot at, kidnapped and blackmailed seem to have simply become a part of daily life. Being taken under the wing of the local police commissioner has come in handy—especially when it came to the gun license—but being connected to the police can be dangerous.When Arlette returns from a relaxing holiday, she finds that her cases have not stalled in her absence, but piled up one on top of the other. Dealing with the different issues of her clients is one thing, but when one particularly nasty case arises, Arlette must decide if she will break the police commissioner's cardinal rule, and stick her nose into police business.One Damn Thing After Another, first published in 1981, sees Arlette plunging into danger, and acting the part of a private eye once again.

A modern comedy, as ironic as Jane's own. But this is also a tale of love and death in the cynical political worlds of Strasbourg and Paris. As we discover, "There's no one like Jane in a tight place." "William doesn't lurk and neither does he stalk; it gets noticed. Incompetent and illegal, and he has no intention of disturbing Doctor Holier-than-Thou - or not for the moment; that's the fellow who would be quick to make a complaint and he's no longer a serving cop: status dodgy. He'll pounce though on poor Mireille. She's easy to spot; the studio is in the Robertsau quarter for prestige and she has a little Spider, Italian racing red, old but bold. She's also very pretty - really Ray has good taste, he thinks when she looms. He looms too, large and cop-like. . . ." A man as young and robust as William might get cancer, and a doctor like Raymond find Jane Austen a better treatment than chemicals. But who beat up Raymond on a dark street? Who set William's house on fire? Had...