Double Barrel

Van der Valk #4

by Nicolas Freeling

A Van der Valk Thriller - A disturbing, superb thriller from the pen of a master storyteller. A flurry of anonymous letters and two suicides leads Inspector Van der Valk to a mission in Drente where small-town hysteria may just lead to one of the century's most wanted criminals.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Procedural, Detective

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

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

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The little conservative Drenthe town of Zwinderen is undergoing rapid industrial growth and social upheaval. A series of anonymous poison pen letters has led to two suicides. People are ashamed of the accusations and most are not reporting the letters to the police. It is embarrassing even to discuss the accusations with friends and family, much less admit to outsiders to having read them.
In this repressive atmosphere, Dutch authorities send Van der Valk to investigate, posing as a bureaucrat on a temporary assignment, bringing his wife Arlette with him to lend credence to his story. As he sniffs around trying to identify the culprit, more letter are received and the town tension builds.
It is more a social study than a criminal case, but an interesting one. The relationship between Van der Valk and Arlette is front and center and their attitudes, observations and personalities are an interesting read.

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the literate writing and the atmosphere of this detective novel. The detective is Dutch, named van der Valk, and he has an engaging French wife. The mystery is set in a small Dutch village, where the couple is sent to sort out the source of a series of poison pen letters. The wife is annoyed by the taste of the village's milk and butter, but sets out to engage in local over-the-fence gossip to help out her husband. The source of the letters is discovered, but unexpectedly, so is another criminal of an entirely different character.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of descriptions of rural Netherlands in the 60’s. Would read more of the series

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short story

[Deb Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Van der Valk and his wife are sent to a distant district to investigate, under cover, a series of poison pen letters that lead to two deaths.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 1 out of 5]

"I was sure she was telling the truth."

For once I am enjoying an opportunity to poke fun at one of my most favorite author's work. The silly sentence quoted above comes from Nicolas Freeling's "Double-Barrel" (1964), the fourth entry in the celebrated Van der Valk series, commonly regarded as one of the best detective series in the history of the genre. Well, while Gun Before Butter and A Long Silence are indeed masterpieces of psychological crime drama, this book is a failure and for a writer of this caliber, I would call it a catastrophe. Mr. Freeling does as bad a job here as his detective who can determine whether a suspect is telling the truth just by listening to her. Depressingly naive, like the amateurish psychology in 99% of the mass-market crime novels.

Inspector Van der Valk is sent to Zwinderen, a small town in deeply provincial Holland, where two women committed suicide and one was driven to mental illness as a result of anonymous letters campaign: the letters accused them of misdeeds and threatened with consequences. Since local police have failed to uncover the letter writer, the talent from Central Recherche is needed. Indeed, our good inspector manages to clear up the case; well, as a bonus he even succeeds in solving a huge international mystery. Ha-ha, I still am unable to believe how ludicrous the second thread is!

The main problem is that in "Double-Barrel" Mr. Freeling lets Van der Valk narrate the story while the inspector does not have that much interesting to say. Most everything that I love about Freeling's books is gone: the spectacular fireworks of his idiosyncratic, digressive, and erudite prose are totally absent. The only interesting things in the novel are Mr. Besançon's character and the portrayal of the little-town atmosphere of Zwinderen: puritanical, oppressive, and full of hypocrisy. Van der Valk and his wife, Arlette, compare it to the atmosphere in Salem, Massachusetts, in the time of witch trials. Alas, the inspector does not have even an iota of Mr. Freeling's expressive talent.

For any other author, I would probably assign two and a half stars; after all, objectively, this is just a typical, average-quality mystery. But since it is Nicolas Freeling who produced this disaster, my rating - which I will later round down - is

One and a half stars.

[Panu Mäkinen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kaksipiippuinen tuntuu alusta loppuun pelkältä sumussa kahlaamiselta. Etsivä van der Valkin tyyli on unettavan rauhallinen, eivätkä lukuisat keskustelut epäiltyjen kanssa näytä johtavan mihinkään näkyvään tulokseen ennen loppuratkaisua. Van der Valk on saanut selvitettäväkseen nimettömien häväistyskirjeiden kirjoittajan, joka piinaa hollantilaisen Zwinderenin kaupungin asukkaita. Hän muuttaa väliaikaisesti vaimonsa Arletten kanssa Amsterdamista vuokra-asuntoon aivan tapahtumien keskipisteeseen ja ryhtyy tutkimaan tapausta sisäministeriön virkamiehen valepuvussa. Pariskunnan perhe-elämä on sopuisaa – ei perheriitoja, ei päihdeongelmia, ei oikeastaan mitään. Takakansiteksti lupailee psykologista jännitystä. Mahtoiko olla sitäkään?

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, intelligent, ingenious, well-written. My brother found this 40 year old paperback at the local dump and passed it on since I have a fondness for the Netherlands where it takes place. I'll never be a real mystery fan, don't like the convoluted constructions but this one is definitely a cut above, so I might even read more some day with the same detective and his clever French wife (who also cooks wonderful meals0. It isn't that often that a story is both a little sordid and highly ethical--it made for a readable combination. And not quite the light relief I expected after my long read of the previous book!

[Sue Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the Van der Valk series, this is a quiet, cerebral mystery. In a small, conservative, introverted Dutch town someone is sending poison pen letters. This has led to 2 suicides and a mental breakdown which makes the matter serious enough for Central Recherche to become involved when the local police can make no headway. But how can an outsider solve a problem when everyone treats him with suspicion. And why is everyone suspicious of someone who couldn't possibly have written the letters.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very clever, even philosophical mystery. The 3-star rating only reflects my interest in this particular topic, not the skill of the author. In fact, the author rates 4 or 5 stars. The mystery is a little talky for my taste, and the 1964 publication date means that the problems in this mystery are relevant to this era, and not particularly to mysteries published 60 years later. To reveal more might be to perhaps spoil it for another reader.

[Sharron Arksey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for the second time.