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Amsterdam Cops Mysteries #12
Just a Corpse at Twilight
In the twelfth book in an acclaimed series, retired Amsterdam policeman Henk Grijpstra gets a frantic telephone call from his old partner, Rinus de Gier, who thinks he may have killed his girlfriend.He is being blackmailed and can’t remember if he did it; he was just too drunk. But if he did, where is the corpse? Would his old partner please fly over to the US at once? Urged on by their former superior officer, the commissaris, Grijpstra grudgingly travels to Maine to rescue his partner and to confront his own demons as well as de Gier’s.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1994
16 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Janwillem van de Wetering
138 books129 followersJan Willem Lincoln "Janwillem" van de Wetering was the author of a number of works in English and Dutch.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 27, 2023
"Love is a fart in a brown paper bag."
This is my first van de Wetering book, so I don't know if his others follow suit, but this one's quirky almost to a fault (and I'm really debating whether the word "almost" is appropriate there). There's not a single non-quirky character in the cast, led by protagonist Henk Grijpstra, who regularly reminded me of Inspector Clouseau (particularly as Peter Sellers portrayed him, back before Steven Martin took the role). Both setting locales--Amsterdam but primarily a coastal community in rural Maine the Native Americans dubbed the Twilight Zone--provide the backdrop for maximal bizarreness from start to finish, the latter hinging out of left field but crucially on a lamb's bone, of all things. I felt van de Wetering was amusing himself throughout the spinning of this tale, and I enjoyed being along for the ride for much but not all of it.
First line:
"Henk Grijpstra, private detective, a portly fifty-odd-year-old in a pinstriped three-piece suit, drove home to his girlfriend Nellie's slender gable house on the Straight Tree Canal, inner city, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where he lived and had his office."
September 11, 2020
A little darker, more upsetting and chaotic than the others by this author I have read. Grjipstra was called to the rugged coast of Maine to help bail de Gier out of a terrible problem. When he gets there, Grjipstra finds the locals secretive, the authorities suspicious and worthy of suspicion, de Gier not exactly in his right mind, and more problems than he counted on.
May 2, 2023
Grittier than I prefer, but I much enjoyed the embedded humor and impromptu music-making. Ex-cop De Gier is being blackmailed about a possible murder/(wo)manslaughter in his new home in Maine, so he has his old police partner Grijpstra, now a P.I., fly over from Holland to investigate and (he hopes) clear him.
May 6, 2017
average mystery; unrealistic ending
May 2, 2020
terrible - annoying writing style and barely a plot; first and last of this author for me.
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October 30, 2021A bit disappointing, I must admit. I think I prefer the older books.
May 29, 2009
I've read little but good about van de Wetering, and have been meaning for ages to give him a try. I'm very glad that I've finally done so; I have more of his books on the to-be-read shelves, and they'll definitely get their turn.
De Wetering's series characters, the Amsterdam cops Grijpstra and de Gier, have now left the force. Grijpstra is working as a P.I. in Amsterdam while de Gier is in a remote part of Maine, US, living off his half of the two cops' ill gotten proceeds from some shady business in a previous novel. One day Grijpstra gets a panicked transatlantic phone call from his erstwhile partner: the cops in Maine are accusing de Gier of having killed his girlfriend, and he was so blind drunk at the time that he can't claim with absolute certainty that he didn't. The only person he trusts to sort the whole mess out is his ol' buddy . . .
So, with a show of reluctance, Grijpstra sets off. What he finds is not just the answer to what happened to de Gier's girlfriend but also a nest of murderous corruption among the local law officers.
Just as with those of Nabokov's novels that he wrote in English, this book has the bracingly refreshing affect of being a translation, even though it isn't: English was van de Wetering's second language and, while he wrote it with more fluency and elegance than many a native speaker, still it shows. And his non-Anglo-Saxon origins show in the manner of the telling, too: the rambling of the narration, the frequent interruptions for backstory anecdotes, the quirkiness of the characters, the philosophical (and sometimes cod philosophical) musings — all of these elements, which might have been ruthlessly excised from the average homegrown mystery novel, are delights that just
about but don't quite overstay their welcome by book's end. The novel stops at exactly the right moment for it to be a perfectly satisfying concoction.
If it's straightforward suspense, thrill, horror or fisticuffs you're after, look elsewhere. Just a Corpse at Twilight has its own means of offering an absorbing journey.
De Wetering's series characters, the Amsterdam cops Grijpstra and de Gier, have now left the force. Grijpstra is working as a P.I. in Amsterdam while de Gier is in a remote part of Maine, US, living off his half of the two cops' ill gotten proceeds from some shady business in a previous novel. One day Grijpstra gets a panicked transatlantic phone call from his erstwhile partner: the cops in Maine are accusing de Gier of having killed his girlfriend, and he was so blind drunk at the time that he can't claim with absolute certainty that he didn't. The only person he trusts to sort the whole mess out is his ol' buddy . . .
So, with a show of reluctance, Grijpstra sets off. What he finds is not just the answer to what happened to de Gier's girlfriend but also a nest of murderous corruption among the local law officers.
Just as with those of Nabokov's novels that he wrote in English, this book has the bracingly refreshing affect of being a translation, even though it isn't: English was van de Wetering's second language and, while he wrote it with more fluency and elegance than many a native speaker, still it shows. And his non-Anglo-Saxon origins show in the manner of the telling, too: the rambling of the narration, the frequent interruptions for backstory anecdotes, the quirkiness of the characters, the philosophical (and sometimes cod philosophical) musings — all of these elements, which might have been ruthlessly excised from the average homegrown mystery novel, are delights that just
about but don't quite overstay their welcome by book's end. The novel stops at exactly the right moment for it to be a perfectly satisfying concoction.
If it's straightforward suspense, thrill, horror or fisticuffs you're after, look elsewhere. Just a Corpse at Twilight has its own means of offering an absorbing journey.
May 28, 2014
All of our friends from the Amsterdam Municipal Police Murder Squad have left the force. The Commissaris has retired, Grijpstra has become a PI, and de Gier is traveling the world looking for peace and tranquility. De Gier is now back in the little town in Maine where he and Grijpstra helped the local Sheriff solve a mystery.
Only now the Sheriff of the Town is a man named Hairy Harry who has a deputy named Billy Boy. To say that the Sheriff is crooked is to say that there are drugs in Amsterdam. De Gier calls Grijpstra in Amsterdam and tells him that he is in trouble. He remembers getting drunk and high and shoving his girlfriend off of a cliff. Some locals who know him say they took the body away and hid it. Now he is afraid that he is going to jail or they are going to blackmail him.
He asked Grijpstra to come over to America and help him sort things out. It turns out that our intrepid friends had fallen into a situation in Amsterdam that allowed them to retire. While working on a case involving drug smugglers from (the former Dutch colony of) Suriname, the smugglers flew back home. When they were going through the house looking for evidence, they came upon the smugglers money stash. The last time they found drug money and turned it in, it all disappeared before the trial. So this time the boys decided to keep the money and retire.
This is the money that de Gier has been using to fly around to different places, having been in Papua New Guinea prior to going to Maine. The Commissaris who has a mind for figures, had doubled the amount of money the boys had, on the stock market. So de Gier is worried that the blackmailers will want all of his money and then turn him in.
So between Grijpstra and the Commissaris (who remains mostly in Amsterdam) they are able to work out a plan to save de Gier. Once again it all works out for our boys.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
Only now the Sheriff of the Town is a man named Hairy Harry who has a deputy named Billy Boy. To say that the Sheriff is crooked is to say that there are drugs in Amsterdam. De Gier calls Grijpstra in Amsterdam and tells him that he is in trouble. He remembers getting drunk and high and shoving his girlfriend off of a cliff. Some locals who know him say they took the body away and hid it. Now he is afraid that he is going to jail or they are going to blackmail him.
He asked Grijpstra to come over to America and help him sort things out. It turns out that our intrepid friends had fallen into a situation in Amsterdam that allowed them to retire. While working on a case involving drug smugglers from (the former Dutch colony of) Suriname, the smugglers flew back home. When they were going through the house looking for evidence, they came upon the smugglers money stash. The last time they found drug money and turned it in, it all disappeared before the trial. So this time the boys decided to keep the money and retire.
This is the money that de Gier has been using to fly around to different places, having been in Papua New Guinea prior to going to Maine. The Commissaris who has a mind for figures, had doubled the amount of money the boys had, on the stock market. So de Gier is worried that the blackmailers will want all of his money and then turn him in.
So between Grijpstra and the Commissaris (who remains mostly in Amsterdam) they are able to work out a plan to save de Gier. Once again it all works out for our boys.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
August 29, 2015
Book #12 in the Grijpstra & de Gier series was much different than previous books. All the main characters have retired from the Amsterdam Police Force and have seemingly gone their separate ways. Grijpstra into being a private investigator, de Gier traveling the world, and the commissaris enjoying himself in his garden with Katrien and Turtle.
The main premise of the book... de Gier is back in Maine, and has gotten himself into a bit of trouble. Naturally, he calls upon his old partner to come and help him out. But, you just know that the commissaris will be involved in this caper some how.
The final few chapters seem to be a little more "out there" as opposed to previous books, but the story was still, in my opinion, a solid read. Entertaining, and light.
Fun Fact: A character in this story mentions a book, which turns out to be a non-fiction book written by the author, Janwillem van de Wetering.
Hard to believe that there are only a couple of more books in the series. I've already put out feelers to try and locate the next book in the series, The Hollow-Eyed Angel. I know I will probably never come across a copy of The Sergeant's Cat & Other Stories or Amsterdam Cops - Collected Stories so I will have to make do with the final two full novels in the series.
The main premise of the book... de Gier is back in Maine, and has gotten himself into a bit of trouble. Naturally, he calls upon his old partner to come and help him out. But, you just know that the commissaris will be involved in this caper some how.
The final few chapters seem to be a little more "out there" as opposed to previous books, but the story was still, in my opinion, a solid read. Entertaining, and light.
Fun Fact: A character in this story mentions a book, which turns out to be a non-fiction book written by the author, Janwillem van de Wetering.
Hard to believe that there are only a couple of more books in the series. I've already put out feelers to try and locate the next book in the series, The Hollow-Eyed Angel. I know I will probably never come across a copy of The Sergeant's Cat & Other Stories or Amsterdam Cops - Collected Stories so I will have to make do with the final two full novels in the series.
December 2, 2013
I've long been a fan of van de Wetering's Grijpsta/de Gier series. I don't know why I had set this aside unread on my bookcase for so long (over 20 years), except that I savored it all the more on discovering it. Few crime writers give me such pleasure. I love so many of the elements: the devotion to American jazz, the Zen koan-like observations of the commissaris. I admire the author's editing, moving the action along with little jumps. This one is set in Maine, where the author lived for the last decades of his life. His love of the landscape, flora and fauna of this adopted home is evident throughout.
December 18, 2011
I liked this less than many of the other Grijpstre & De Gier mysteries I've read and I admit to a general fondness for the series. Perhaps what bothered me was the clearly over the edge portrait of the one partner due to the use of drugs that is treated as a nuisance which led to a problem, but not as a problem in itself. In that, I may display a lack of flexibility of mind. Perhaps, too, the author is nearing the end of his series and losing an affinity for his characters. Whatever.
July 24, 2013
One of the last Grijpstra and de Gier novels, this one is mostly set in Maine, after they've all retired from the force. I love all I've read so far. This series is a bit hard to comprehend at first because the main characters - Amsterdam cops - always seem to be talking past each other, looking everywhere but where they should be, making music and feeding turtles and cats instead of doing their jobs, etc.
September 13, 2015
A late night call from de Gier sends Grijpstra to Maine to help his old partner, who's being blackmailed for a murder he may or may not have committed. A complex plot, a cast of eccentric characters, and many discussions on the meaning of life, truth, right and wrong, and zen philosophy. All in all a good read.
December 10, 2011
I've read all the van de Wetering mysteries we could get our hands on, but in the pre-BookCrossing/Goodreads days. Really want to re-read, but need to get some jenever and herring in the house, first.
February 17, 2009
The last of the series, though I'm reading them out of order. Great finish, all the best traits of the series characters are on display here.
April 8, 2015
A wonderful book. A page-turner with shamanic mysticism and crime, but no murder (so to speak). A bit fantastical towards the end, but such fun!
May 27, 2016
A nice read for a rainy- oops - SNOWY day.
The usual braincandy, but enjoyable.
The usual braincandy, but enjoyable.
November 5, 2016
The best, so far....still have a few more to uncover from unlikely places!
May 28, 2012
a sleeper.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews