Arlette

Van der Valk #12

by Nicolas Freeling

Arlette, the widow of Inspector van der Valk, undertakes a search for a missing boy, which involves her in unexpected adventures in Argentina and the squalid side of life in Strasbourg

Genres: Mystery

297 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

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

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times suspenseful, this Arlette Van Der Valk novel could have been more of an adventure. I like the author's orientation to his story, largely European, in particular French, Dutch and British, and his way of putting other literature in his story to add a humorous twist. But, the actual problems solved by our heroine lacked urgency and interest.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, I loved this darn book. It was so reminiscent of Georges Simenon--the dry delivery, the knowing patience, the clear vision and unapologetic honesty borne of close observation of the human condition.

I found the book in a used book store years ago. It surfaced to the top of a pile on the floor next to my computer because I was going to throw it out. I was angry with myself for having bought a book when I have so many, but I only bought it because I hate to leave a used bookstore without purchasing something--how they stay in business, I don't know. I do know that used bookstores are probably going to do a very good business in coming years--with fewer and fewer books being published in a paper edition, let alone hardcover--and with the access they achieve by registering with online sites, they should do very well indeed.

Anyway, I was inspired to chase the career of Freeling, and learned several popular TV series (German, British, and I think French) were spawned from the character of Piet van der Valk, who himself was based on a real character that Freeling met while in jail himself.

All this to say, Arlette is not about Piet, but about his wife, who was a "helper" for those who found themselves in sticky situations they could not resolve themselves. Piet had been killed off years previously. Now, I can't imagine myself going back to read all his 38 novels, but I wish I had the luxury. I will stick to a few of his late ones, assuming he gained in skill as he went along. It is said his Kitchen Book is the inspiration for Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential . I love Freeling's voice, and considering such skill doesn't come by so very often, I expect his books will show up one day in reprint, much like the great Maj Sjöwall series. If they do, buy them. These are a real treat.

[Gabrielle de Cuir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this mystery with Arlette Van Der Valk, taking over some of the sleuthing duties of her late husband Piet Van Der Valk. Sometimes hard to get past the British take on a Dutch detective, but worth the struggle, I thought.

[Marina Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lord, I am way behind in my reading schedule for 2020. What else can go wrong after all it's 2020 when all kinds of things have gone wrong. It seems like every book I pick up has become a chore for me to read. I started out on this journey to read this book after watching PBS Masterpiece Mystery series Van der Valk with Marc Warren in the lead and based on a compilation of books written by Nicolas Freeling. I though voila I know I have some books by that writer bought back in the days when I was binge reading mystery novels. It turns out I only have 2 of his books. Both of these books were actually a sequel to Van der Valk and starred his wife Arlette. So, I was slightly disappointed that I was not going to read about Van der Valk but settled for Arlete (Van der Valk #12), I wanted moody,gritty, commissaire of police and got a story about the widow. The widow, unfortunately is not really a detective, more like a noisy parker advisor to the forlorn who gets into scrapes with police types and criminals. Interesting story, somewhat reminiscent of Maigret mysteries but not quite as satisfying. The end where she goes to Argentina on a goose chase, was kind of a day dream nightmare but to what end.
Will have to try more Nicolas Freeling with the real detective Van der Valk.

[Linda Chrisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freeling is a wonderful writer and his characters are so alive.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short story

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 4 out of 5]

"... this was all exceedingly odtaa."

One would think that the acronym craze, the use of LOLs, ROTFLs, AFAIKs, BTWs, etc., began with the birth of the Internet. Apparently not, as evidenced by the "odtaa" acronym used numerous times in Nicolas Freeling's "Arlette" (1981). This is the U.S. title for the novel, I presume, as in the U.K. it was titled "One Damn Thing After Another". The use of the d-word would conceivably hurt sensitive American readers.

The novel describes further adventures of Arlette Davidson, the widow of Commissaire Van der Valk, who runs a one-person "counsellor in personal problems" bureau, thus continuing the story that began in The Widow . One of Arlette's clients is a snobbish woman, a Consul's wife, whose son - after his release from prison where he had served time for selling heroin - escaped to Buenos Aires. Other clients include a police sergeant, who is about to quit the police job not being able to handle the stress and the lack of compassion so common for the force, and a cleaning woman, whose son - while committing a burglary - has been shot dead by the property owner. The woman was badly mistreated by the police while trying to get an apology from the man.

While I find the plot interesting and paced well, I am in total awe of Mr. Freeling's superbly accomplished yet very, very readable writing. His erudite prose is accessible, sophisticated, clever, and quirky, all at once. This is the assured prose by a master of narration, enriched by historical, social, psychological reflections and observations, prose that flows effortlessly, page after page. I wish I could read such prose forever, especially when I feel down, saddled with every day worries.

In addition to the subtle joke involving the acronym (Mr. Freeling refers to a book, whose title explains the acronym, yet his own book has the same title), three other passages deserve high accolades: Arlette's and Arthur's melancholy-filled trip to the house bought by Van der Valk for his retirement (by the way, this is probably the same house that Mr. Freeling lived with his family in the later years of his life), the supremely funny Evelyn Waugh's quote "feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole", and of course the dreamlike, almost hallucinatory ending of the novel, where Arlette experiences nightmarish adventures, which involve being subject to inexplicably brutal treatment by high-level functionaries of a foreign government. On the other hand, the whole silly episode where amateurs stage a burglary is way below the level of the novel, and made me wince.

Still, a very good, enthralling yet intellectual and literary read.

Three and three quarter stars.

[Bill Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story was interesting enough to finish, but didn't make sense. I thought Arlette was going to be a detective or something since the cover said it was "a novel of suspense" and the inside flap said it was "the second of Freeling's new series of mysteries." Some characters were mildly interesting, the location (mostly Strasbourg, FR) was good and the writing was good.

Arlette isn't actually a detective. I am not sure what she was. A busybody? A bored housewife? Why did she go to Buenos Aires? She says several times there is nothing she can do there to retrieve the runaway. As far as I can tell she did nothing to find him except ask a General in the junta to find him, and she could only ask the General, no one else. I couldn't figure that out either. Why? In any event, the runaway is found and deported. But Arlette didn't do anything but ask. The boy's family should've tried using a telephone.

The inside flap also says "'Arlette' involves several distinct but interwoven plots..." There are several story lines, but not interwoven.

Arlette also hates to travel. She compares the Paris airport to Treblinka. An airport is worse than a Nazi concentration & extermination camp? That was the low point of a book that made little sense.