Piet Van der Valk is not a typical fictional detective, to judge by this first installment in the series by Nicolas Freeling. Set in Amsterdam, the story relies more on characterization than plot and has a satisfying sophistication. Van der Valk himself barely appears in the middle section of the novel, which fills in the life stories of the principals. What writer of detective fiction today could be so assured as to leave his main character out of the frame for 80 pages?
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