The Seacoast of Bohemia

Henri Castang #15

by Nicolas Freeling

Checking on an apparent runaway case, Brussels-based Inspector Henri Castang learns the missing boy's identity and his connection to a former SS officer, prompting Castang to launch a full-scale kidnapping investigation.

213 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Travelling through the mountainous heart of Idaho and exploring its scenic wonders is not conducive to writing a book review, especially when the book just read is rather a big disappointment. Here’s then just a token review of Nicolas Freeling’s “The Seacoast of Bohemia”, the fifteenth and penultimate novel in the Henri Castang series.

Commissaire Castang, a high-level bureaucrat in the European Community, is contacted by a woman whose son has been missing for four years. She has just received a phone call from the child and knowing that Castang used to be a police officer she asks him to find her son. Since the woman’s father was an SS captain during the war, Castang realizes that the keys to the abduction lie in the past. The case leads him and his wife Vera to Germany and the Czech Republic. Castang soon discovers connections with some criminal activities on the Czech border, and it is actually Vera who is instrumental in solving the case. The theatrical finale takes place in Denmark.

The plot is rather feeble, not always plausible, and the denouement, slow in presentation, leaves a lot to be desired. Of course the writing is accomplished, but Freeling’s inimitably erudite and quirky prose is mostly absent. One virtuoso passage, which beautifully explains what marriage is about, certainly the best thing in the novel, does not save the book. To me, “The Seacoast” is the weakest of the almost 30 Freeling’s books that I have read so far.

Two stars.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freeling has written an interesting story of post WWII sensibiity among a few older people of Belgium, Czech Republic & Germany and their children. Lives that came together during the war as a result of war wounds resulted in another life who was raised by his mother. When a grandson is kidnapped and never found, Henri Castang of Brussels, Belgium is hired to solve the crime.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thirty third novel of this English- born author living in Strasbourg, France at the time of this book, 1994. Bohemia is a late to appear among Henri Casting novels though a first read in the serie for me. The title is said to come from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. Henri like Freeling is suspected to have English roots as well though lived in France much of his life-serving in the Police Judiciaire before being ousted by the powers that be secondary to a political mistake and performing free-lance in his present capacity. In fact he had earned a law degree and became an officer due to his ability to pass written examinations. His service included positions of junior Commissaire in the criminal brigade til he became Principal Commissaire and had his own brigade;

This story involves a plea from a wealthy woman desperate for the return of her son who was kidnapped four years ago. That he is still alive never left her mind and made real to others as well by a call from her son only a days before her summons to Henri. Casting was able to do what the police never could do in their investigation identify the source by looking into the mother's heritage when it was revealed he served with Germany's SS thus blamed for many atrocity and disowned by his family because of it. Yet Old Klaas still lives and provides a tale of love and romance to tell with an unforgettable Ingrid who nursed him to health from his WWI war injuries once he was adequately lubricated as was the interrogator-an intentional strategy and yet not unenjoyable having been repeated with others; his son as well to the dismay of his wife Vera who unfortunately had accompanied him to parts unknown for his investigation. In reality her Czech upbringing and command of the language and geography was badly needed to fill in for Henri's deficits.

Casting's ignorance about his heritage since both parents died early on leaves him with an insecurity and allows him to identify with those in similar positions in life - a detriment when the one he identifies with is also one who is suspect. He concludes, nonetheless, in his predicament that "who cares? All ewate4r under the bridge. One might as well be a Parisien as anything else. Nothing to be ashamed of.. . . Home is where the food comes on the table, as the Turks say."

I was drawn to Henri. He was humble, likable yet not without flaws of which he wife Vera was well aware and tolerated in her own way making for some rich dialogue. She also was a lovable character intelligent -lived the life of a gymnast in Communist Czechoslavakia before escaping its hold in her youth. Her boldness never leaves her and enables her to take on what even Casting would not attempt-her own kidnapping if you will. The story line was a bit difficult to follow and still not sure I understand motive for action taken as too beholden to the stories provided by the actors themselves but I will continue to follow the adventures of Henri and Vera.

For those that do not know the author his first book Love of Amsterdam is the basis for the Van der Valk series. An author that is recommended.

[Sondra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Private Investigator Henri Castang, based in Brussels, is hired by a well-to-do Belgian couple to investigate the disappearance/abduction of their five-year-old son, four years previously. Castang’s investigation takes him on a journey across the newly liberated former Eastern Bloc countries of Poland, Czech Republic, East Germany, and Hungary. This portion of the novel is very engaging and reads like a travelogue with well-crafted descriptions of exotic locales and interesting characters.

Castang is accompanied by his Czech-speaking wife, Vera, who somehow ends up taking over the investigation, offering her own theories about what might have happened to the lost boy. At one point Vera travels incognito to the home of a suspect to interview the suspect. Some might consider this rather unprofessional, not to mention dangerous, but I guess that’s the way they do things in Europe. But all’s well that ends well, and the couple does end up solving the mystery of the kidnapped child. The book could have ended there, and if it had, I might have given it four stars, based solely on the author’s descriptive writing and the suspenseful story line up to that point.

Instead of quitting while he was ahead, the author tacked on another 75 pages of rambling, nearly incomprehensible, gibberish that left me scratching my head, wondering what the deuce was going on. During the kidnapping investigation, Castang had inadvertently stumbled upon what appeared to be a human trafficking ring, smuggling girls out of Eastern Europe into Germany to work in brothels. Castang and Vera, with the help of the local police, decide to set up a sting operation to try to catch the human trafficking ring in the act. This could have been a very intriguing episode if handled skillfully, which it was not. This final, tacked on episode is so confusing and poorly written that my four-star rating quickly dwindled to two stars, and I closed this book with much relief.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A peculiar novel with a peculiar title taken from one of Shakespeare's more peculiar plays (A Winter's Tale, the titular reference peculiar because Bohemia is a landlocked region), the prose abounds with ambiguous references, indirect communication, and occasional metaphysical musings which, while seemingly out of place, somehow make sense given the characters involved. The action begins in Brussels, moves to the Czech Republic, and culminates in Copenhagen. One of the more endearing bits about this short novel is that it includes a number of wonderfully descriptive passages that give the reader a sense of the history and geography through which the narrative moves, so in addition to a mystery story, one gets a bit of a travelogue too. The story focuses on Castang's investigation of the (presumed) abduction of his client's son some four years previous, but segues into a tale of secrets lodged in the Nazi and communist past of the site of Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland and its ongoing legacy in the lives of some of the characters involved in human trafficking. The action and narrative thread is sometimes a little hard to follow because of the aforementioned indirection and ambiguities, but on balance this is rewardingly challenging read for such a short book.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 3 out of 5]

A stimulating but often frustrating book that I downgraded from 3.5 stars to 3 because I liked it less than when I first read it about 25 years ago. It has: interesting moments; some good character sketches; nice observations of local landscape and culture in four countries and the state of the European community; a few tart observations about people and how they think. It also features: Freeling's unerringly eccentric writing style; his occasionally cranky opinions on art and food, usually expressed in unnecessary passing comments; jumbled points of view in the narration; passages that have a strong sexist tinge; some wildly implausible coincidences to go along with the realistic recognitions that life is full of the unexpected; a dubious plot; and the character Old Klaas, who is a strong presence but seems plucked directly out of central casting. Freeling's idiosyncrasies and wilfulness make for more interesting reading than many standard and carefully manicured mysteries or thrillers, but that strength can make this one somewhat hard to take. The best comparison may be any dish with a strong presence of garlic or anchovy.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no idea what I just read. The book may as well have been written in Czech for all I understood. Even the author’s attempts to clarify made everything more confusing. By the end I was somewhat able to follow the rambling musings.
There is the case of the missing child which is solved matter of factly. Then Castang unveils another serious crime. The ending goes back and forth in time and is extremely difficult to follow.
The author speaks of nationalism, morality and governing. These mixed with some dirty dealings make for a odd story that is a confusing mess.

[Ann Repetto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very frustrating. The writing drove me nuts. Didn't flow at all. I thought the plot would save it but no. Never understood why the basic crime happened. And then other things got thrown in. And things that could have been explored weren't. Loved the settings around central Europe. Otherwise disappointing.

[Linda Chrisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy Nicolas Freeling’s work. My for the average reader, he always manages to keep my interest with interesting characters, plots and backgrounds. I recommend him highly

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

A little boy disappears. Four years later, his mother gets a call she swears comes from her son, saying he's fine. Henri Castang, former French police officer, agrees to investigate. So far, so good. But then it turns out that the grandfather of the little boy was a former SS agent who had a illegitimate child with a Czechoslovakian woman, and of course, that explains the kidnapping. (Hmmm?)

This plot was really far-fetched. The characters were unbelievable and flat. But the really awful part was the writing. I can accept a thin plot if the characters are interesting and the writing is good. But it was very frustrating trying to read this. I gave up after 6 chapters and just skimmed through the rest. The writer puts in whole conversations without identifying the speakers. He treats thoughts and words the same way. The characters, especially Castang, will carry on two conversations, one real and one imagined, at the same time. I had no idea what was going on. I will not read another one of these books.

[Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read other Nicolas Freeling books and enjoyed them, but I found this one difficult. The plot was rather convoluted and not very convincing, and the writing was not up to his usual standard. It left me dissatisfied at the end. I think I shall not look out for other books in his Castang series.
Van de Valk and some others I have read I enjoyed much more.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Castang travels to France, Germany and Denmark seeking some slippery characters - his love of Vera is so complete and so truthful, with both the good and the bad. Vera travels with Castang and it is through her eyes that we see some splendid spaces, beautifully conceived and written by Freeling.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read quite a few of Nicolas Freeling's novels. It's hard to compare him to anyone else except for some of the Scandinavian authors. He describes the European settings and people and bureaucracies so well.

[Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freeling is a master.