Van Der Valk – Love in Amsterdam is a literary fiction book by author Nicolas Freeling.
Meet Van Der Valk, Amsterdam’s best detective, in Nicolas Freeling’s classic novel.
A woman, Elsa, is brutally murdered in her Amsterdam apartment. Her ex, Martin, was seen outside the building around the time of the murder. Did the witness see him? A police officer.

Police Inspector Van der Valk was not convinced. Despite all the evidence – and the fact that Martin initially denied he was at the apartment – he believed Martin was not guilty of the murder. Instead of accusing him, Van der Valk takes him on a tour: a tour of the investigation, a tour of Martin’s own past, and a tour of Elsa’s dark haunted world… .

Love in Amsterdam was published in the early 1960s, and sadly, it’s a bit dated. Early in the book when Inspector Van der Valk asked the prime suspect if the victim was a “nymphomaniac”, I realized that the setting of Love in Amsterdam, although acceptable at the time point it is written, but there may be problems in the writing process. the 2020s. And, to be sure, a great deal of discussion has been devoted to the sexual practices of the victim, in a way that I feel judged, with a “victim-blaming” nuance. Not to say that the victim was a good person – she had many unattractive aspects of her personality – but the emphasis on this particular side annoys me.

However, I enjoyed the writing style, and I liked mysteries set in foreign countries, so I persevered. And I find that if I pause my verdict on victim-blaming, there’s an interesting, if somewhat unusual, police procedure underneath. I especially like the twists because even the main suspect, Martin, seems to wonder if maybe he did it after all.

• Van Der Valk – Love in Amsterdam

• A Novel
• By: Nicolas Freeling

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