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Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung
The #1 international bestselling crime thriller that introduces Belgian detective Pieter Van In, "a brusque cop with every bad habit you can think of" ( The New York Times Book Review ).
The beautiful medieval architecture of Bruges belies the dark longings of her residents. When the wealthy and powerful Ludovic Degroof's jewelry store is robbed, nothing is stolen, but the jewels have been dissolved in jars of aqua regia, an acid so strong that it can melt even gold. In the empty safe is a scrap of paper on which a strange square has been drawn.
At first, Inspector Van In pays little attention to the paper, focusing on the bizarre nature of the burglary. But when Degroof's children begin to receive letters with this same enigmatic square, Van In and the beautiful new District Attorney, Hannelore Martens, find themselves engaged in solving the mystery of a complex web of Latin phrases, a baroness' fallen family, and Degroof's unsettling relationship with a hostage grandchild, who is being ransomed for a priceless collection of art.
Rezensionen (5)
Publisher's Weekly-Rezension
Offbeat characters and an unusual plot lift Belgian author Aspe's first Pieter Van In novel to be translated into English. A relaxing Sunday for the detective inspector ends with a call from his boss, Chief Commissionaire De Kee, directing him to a bizarre crime in Bruges. A jewelry store has been burgled, but the brazen intruders didn't steal the valuable contents. Instead, they dumped the loot in an aquarium tank filled with corrosive chemicals that destroyed bracelets, rings, necklaces, and earrings. Revenge against the Degroof family, owners of the store, appears to be the obvious motive, but De Kee throws Van In a curve by saying that it was not "essential per se that the culprit or culprits be arrested." Van In and his eccentric cast of colleagues will be welcome companions for many readers, who will probably find comparisons to Simenon's Maigret. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus-Rezension
Belgian crime-fiction veteran Aspe's English-language debut thriller, originally published in Europe in 1995, introduces readers to chain-smoking, perpetually out-of-sorts DI Pieter Van In. With a quirky character that is equal parts Simenon and Tati, this lighthearted novel has a decidedly European sensibility, but why it has taken so long for the series to reach U.S. shores is a mystery. In this installment, Van In investigates an odd jewelry store break-in in atmospheric Bruges. The gems were not stolen, but left melted down in acid. The wealthy and politically influential owner, Degroof, is less concerned about solving the case than preventing word about the crime from getting out. Van In quickly determines it was an act of revenge for something that happened years ago. Uneasily teamed with the beautiful prosecutor Hannelore Martins, who is charmed by his quirks and impressed by his deductive talents, Van In must cut through bureaucratic resistance to learn why one of Degroof's daughters has been institutionalized and another is in a nunnery--and why the jeweler's grandson has been kidnapped. Solving the crimes involves deciphering Latin word squares that are left with family members. While the breezy bantering of Van In and Hannelore, and their slowly developing romantic attraction, carry the book, Aspe satisfies the demands of a good mystery with his clever plotting and brisk pacing. The book is stocked with lively characters on both sides of the law, including a bad guy forced to impersonate a priest. For those who discovered the Belgian city depicted here in the 2008 film In Bruges, this book will be a welcome return--with plenty more to come via translations of more Van In books, one hopes.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist-Rezension
In his first novel to be published in the U.S., internationally best-selling Flemish crime writer Aspe introduces readers to Belgian Detective Inspector Pieter Van In, who solves crimes in the idyllic medieval city of Bruges. As the novel opens, Detective Van In is investigating a most unusual jewelry-store robbery in which no item was stolen but irreparable damage was done. (The store's precious jewels were dissolved in jars of aqua regia, an acid strong enough to melt gold.) The perpetrator was clearly sending a message to wealthy store proprietor Ludovic Degroof. But what were the reasons for such unabashed spite? As Detective Van In and his comely new colleague, Hannelore Martens, probe clues, they uncover a sordid world of forbidden love and sinister deeds. When Degroof's grandson, Bertrand, is taken hostage, Van In and Martens must plumb the depths of family dysfunction to save the young man's life. Aspe's writing is crisp and his characters memorable, but his intriguing premise loses luster toward the end.--Block, Allison Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books-Rezension
Summer is no time to be virtuous. So before you pack those classic tomes you're determined to read on vacation, let me tempt you with a few guilty pleasures. The murder case John Glatt recounts in lurid detail in THE PRINCE OF PARADISE (St. Martin's, $26.99) is too bizarre for a work of fiction. In fact, it's a true crime story, originating at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach and harking back to the fabled era when stars like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra entertained the crowds at the front of the house while mobsters ran the show behind the scenes. Ben Novack Jr., the little prince of the title and one of the murder victims in this sordid story, was the son of the colorful entrepreneur who built the hotel and reigned over his fabulously vulgar empire for almost 25 years. Pampered but neglected, the child everyone called Benji had famous guests like Jerry Lewis and Ann-Margret for playmates, but no one for a friend. No wonder the kid grew up to be a thoroughly obnoxious man. "Every neighbor hated him," according to someone who knew him well. "They hated him everywhere." Novack's second wife, a former stripper, hated him enough to have him murdered - and his mother for good measure. But while Glatt does a professional job of covering the lonely life and violent death of this unhappy prince, his style is much livelier when he's writing about Novack's father, the king of glitz. If there's anything flashier than a murder in Miami Beach, it would have to be a murder in Las Vegas. LUCKY BASTARD (Tom Doherty/Forge, $25.99) is the latest in a breezy series of mysteries by Deborah Coonts set at the wonderfully named (and riotously decorated) Babylon hotel and featuring Lucky O'Toole, a brainy beauty whose public relations job makes her the establishment's "professional problem solver." Lucky's duties entail solving homicides executed in the ostentatious manner consistent with the Babylon's image as "Las Vegas's most over-the-top Strip casinoresort." That mandate is met when a lady cardsharp is found stretched out on the hood of a red Ferrari with a Jimmy Choo stiletto heel buried in her neck. This time out, Lucky wastes entirely too much energy chasing men and whining about the one who got away. But the oddball players checking in for the Sin City Smack Down poker tournament ("the Super Bowl of Texas Hold 'em") save the day by providing richer material for Lucky's snappy wit. "Sarcasm is my best thing," she modestly acknowledges while sizing up characters like Miss Becky-Sue, "that little bit of Texas trash," whose motto is: "The bigger the hair, the closer to God." Pulp fiction is great for the beach, but there's nothing like a good destination mystery to take you out of town for the summer. This category has two branches: the Enthusiastic American Abroad travelogue and the I'm a Native and You're Not procedural. Since the latter often take place in Italy, the square of revenge (Pegasus Crime, $24.95), by the Belgian author Pieter Aspe, is a welcome addition. Set in the splendid medieval city of Bruges, it stars Inspector Pieter Van In, a brusque cop with every bad habit you can think of. The story opens with an extremely vindictive crime: thieves have broken into an exclusive jewelry store, but instead of making off with the loot they dump it in a tank of corrosive chemicals. Van In's intuitive and often impulsive detection style can be disorienting, but his powers of observation are sharp and his insider's view of this ancient and grandly aloof city are priceless. The viewpoint of the awed American abroad is reflected in some of Katherine Hall Page's whodunits, which she refers to as "love letters" to the places visited by her amateur sleuth, Faith Fairchild, the wife of a minister and a successful caterer back home in New England. THE BODY IN THE PIAZZA (Morrow/HarperCollins, $24.99) finds the couple observing their wedding anniversary in Italy, which means we get enticing recipes at the back of the book and cooking tips sprinkled throughout. Faith and her husband start in Rome, so it's no surprise that their first stop is the food market in the Campo de' Fiori - or that the charming new English friend who helps show them around should be murdered before their eyes. The crime is solved satisfactorily, but not until the Fairchilds move on to Florence and find more mysterious goings-on at the culinary classes at Cucina Della Rossi that were supposed to be the highlight of the trip. Their sightseeing treks to Tuscan hill towns are less frantically paced than their whirlwind tour of Rome, but at least most of the participants emerge alive. And let's be honest: most of us came for the food. Although Canadian born, M. L. Longworth has lived in Aix-enProvence since 1997, so her picturesque mysteries feel rooted in the rich local soil, good for both wine-growing and burying bodies. DEATH IN THE VINES (Penguin, paper, $15) opens with a crime that calls for severe punishment in this region - the theft of some rare vintages from the cellars of a family-run winery. As if thai weren't sacrilege enough, a woman is found dead in the vineyards. Judge Antoine Verlaque, the sleuth in this civilized series, discharges his professional duties with discretion. But we're here to taste the wines, which are discussed by experts like Hippolyte Thébaud, a former wine thief, and served in beautiful settings like a 300-year-old stone farmhouse. So many bottles, so many lovely views. A reader might be forgiven for feeling woozy. Be it true crime or flashy fiction, summer vacation reading should never be seen as virtuous.
Library Journal-Rezension
The small medieval Belgian city of Bruges is not the most exciting place in which to be a detective. There are plenty of tourists and the pickpockets who target them, but not a lot of criminal intrigue. Then one early Sunday morning in the most quaint and exclusive part of the city, beat cops stumble upon the Degroof jewelry store with its windows smashed. Upon closer inspection, most of the jewelry is missing from its shelves and the only tangible clue is a piece of paper with Latin words drawn into a square. The weary, middle-aged DI Pieter Van In is assigned the case along with the new and bright new DA Hannelore Martin. Together they will uncover the personal scandals of three generations of the Degroof family and learn more about religious sects and monastic orders than either of them would have guessed was possible. And with each discovered secret comes another outrageous act of violence, with another small square of Latin writing found somewhere at the crime scene. VERDICT The best-selling European series that follows the criminal trials and personal tribulations of Flemish Detective Van In makes its U.S. debut with this fun read. Containing its fair share of mayhem and intrigue but with little blood spilled, the novel maintains a fast pace, a light touch, and a joy in the telling. Highly recommended for mystery lovers of all types and ages.-Jennifer Rogers, J. Sargeant Reynolds Comm. Coll. Lib., Richmond, VA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
