De Cock en de eenzame dood by Peter Römer

(De Cock and the lonely dead)

De Cock series #89

158 pages

Publisher: Fontein

Publishing Date: August 2021

Own

 

Blurb

De Cock wordt naar de Lindengracht geroepen. Hennie, de vrouw die tientallen jaren de aardappelkraam op de markt bestierde, is in haar bed gesmoord met een kussen. Hennie was geen vriendelijk mens, maar wel rijk: achter de aardappelhandel waaraan ze goed verdiende zaten flink wat investeringen, ook in huizen. Naast zakelijke conflicten, zoals met Dennis, een ontevreden huurder met wie Hennie hooglopende ruzie had, denkt De Cock ook aan een motief in de familie. Want Hennie's zoon Tonnie blijkt ook zo zijn redenen te hebben om niet rouwig te zijn om haar dood...

(Translation:

De Cock is summoned to the Lindengracht. Hennie, the woman who for decades ran the potato stall on the market, has been smothered with a pillow in her bed. Hennie wasn’t a friendly person, but she was rich: the potato trade from which she profited nicely let to numerous investments, including in property. Apart from business conflicts such as the one with Dennis, a dissatisfied lodger with whom Hennie had a heated argument, De Cock is also considering a motive within her family. Because Hennie’s son Tonnie also appears to have reasons for not mourning her death…)

 

Review

A few opening notes before I get to my thoughts about this mystery:

• I read the original Dutch version of this book, but I’ll do the review in English. I’m not sure how many (if any) people who read my reviews understand Dutch, but I am sure that if any Dutch speakers do follow my reviews, they’ll be more than proficient in English.
• Peter Römer, the author of this title is not the creator of De Cock. In fact, the first 75 books in this series were written by A.C. Baantjer.
• At least a few of Baantjer’s titles have been published in English. For obvious reasons the name of the main character underwent a small change during the translation process. English-speaking readers know De Cock as DeKok.

I do have a soft spot for this series of books. I can’t say I’ve read them all, or even that I adhered to the order in which they were published, but I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed every single De Cock mystery I have ever started. There’s something about our main character and his quiet and calm approach to his investigations and his deep-rooted sense of justice that always works for me. It’s the recognisable descriptions of Amsterdam, and the wonderful way in with the author(s) manage to capture characters with just a few pen strokes. And the mysteries always work and always manage to keep me on my toes.

The mystery in The Cock en de eenzame dood was satisfying. With a universally unliked victim, a few likely suspects, and a lack of definitive clues, I enjoyed the puzzle. I almost found my way to the solution but managed to miss the final twist. For me, that amounts to a rewarding mystery and enjoyable reading experience.

I’m now out of unread De Cock mysteries. I’ll be stocking up next time I find myself visiting the Netherlands.