Lake Isle

Henri Castang #3

by Nicolas Freeling

A Henri Castang Mystery A brutal robbery, a drugged teenager and the sad delusions of a nervous old lady mean nothing to Henri Castang who finds a parallel between the small town world of gossip and spite, and a fetid corner of a Paris room where a man shot at him. What’s another piece of wanton violence got to do with anything? That’s the question Castang finds himself asking as Nicolas Freeling uncovers the Lake Isle of everyone’s dreams in this enchanting, mysterious fiction.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Nicolas Freeling born Nicolas Davidson, (March 3, 1927 - July 20, 2003) was a British crime novelist, best known as the author of the Van der Valk series of detective novels which were adapted for transmission on the British ITV network by Thames Television during the 1970s.

Freeling was born in London, but travelled widely, and ended his life at his long-standing home at Grandfontaine to the west of Strasbourg. He had followed a variety of occupations, including the armed services and the catering profession. He began writing during a three-week prison sentence, after being convicted of stealing some food.[citation needed]

Freeling's The King of the Rainy Country received a 1967 Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Novel. He also won the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association, and France's Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.

From Wikipedia

Series:
* Van Der Valk
* Henri Castang

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this close to unreadable. It was verbose, convoluted and rambling. While set in France in failed to convey much of a sense of place, other than through a general attitude of laissez faire.i struggled to maintain the narrative.
I won’t be following the series!.

[Chloë · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning description of Paris hooked me but it's taking way too long to go anywhere and the grown-ass detective is thirsting after a 19-year-old girl so I'm good. I would keep trying if I actually felt any suspense building but alas. dnf @ ~40%.

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

This mystery has a French detective and involves French police procedures. I enjoyed Freeling's Dutch detective more. There is not much action and little mystery.

[MR JOHN D T MILLAR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freeling is always a great read

Ending a bit too rushed but Freeling is always engaging and draws you into the story through good plotting and memorable characters

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicolas Freeling's "Sabine" (1978), first published in the U.K. under the title "Lake Isle" taken from the famous poem by W.B. Yeats "The Lake Isle of Innisfree", frequently alludes to that poem's fantasy of a quiet, peaceful life in the country. "Sabine" is the third novel in the Castang's series, and - having now embarked on the project to read the 16 books in the order they were written - I find it the best of the first three.

It would be hard to find a mystery novel that has a thinner plot, and this "thinness" is one of the main attractions for me. An elderly woman, Sabine Arthur, an owner of a grand country house, is apparently killed by burglars, perhaps by wandering hippies. Inspector Castang, fresh from surviving a shootout in Paris, is sent to a small town - a large village, really - to investigate Sabine's death, suspected to be the result of a "crapulous crime". Not much happens in the book, almost nothing; instead we have Castang's fascinating conversations with various characters connected with Sabine, including one of the most sympathetic characters, Sophie, a "village call girl", and an utterly repulsive one - the mother of Sabine's daughter-in-law. The dynamic of the conversations is enthralling and satisfying: real people come through the words.

The atmosphere of a small, gossipy village is rendered perfectly: "I am learning about small towns," says Castang, and we are learning too. I find Mr. Freeling's writing more engaging than in the first two Castang's novels. Let me quote a nice sentence: "The soubrette smiled winningly and tripped off: he couldn't remember ever having seen anybody tripping off before." Also, Mr. Freeling wouldn't be himself if he did not show his knowledge of Europe: "Seven in the evening, when this already means nightfall, is the best time for looking at provincial towns in Europe. The animation is highest: the women who have worked all day are shopping; the streetlamps hide the ugliness and dreariness. Best of all when it rained, and each shop a glowing haven from the raw air, and faces seen through the glass of these brightly lit aquariums, laughing."

It is a good book, but only "almost very good", so I am rounding the three and a half stars down. And by the way, the last two sentences of the novel are "Well, now you know. The lake isle does not exist." I am of the age that I know it does not exist.

Three and half stars.

[Macha]

three and a half stars. reread.

[Mary Narkiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got hooked after the first few chapters..but I felt the story flagged a little at the end..