Wolf Angel

Amsterdam Occult #1

by Mark Hobson

The City of Amsterdam is gripped with fear. A series of brutal murders have left homicide detectives baffled. With no motive or clues to work with, they find themselves probing blindly through the city's dark and violent underworld. But Inspector Pieter Van Dijk is not convinced this is the work of one lone psychopath. Drawn deeper and deeper into the shadowy heart of the case, he unearths a terrifying history of family madness and occult conspiracy echoing across the decades.

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2020

Reviews

[Alan Aspinall · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Inspector Pieter Van Dijk’s begins investigating a series of murders in Amsterdam’s red light district, he has no idea what is about to befall either himself, or the city that he has sworn to protect. Something dark is now wondering the streets and canals that make up this most beloved of tourist destinations. Something that has its origins in the final days of world war two. Soon Pieter will find himself battling a force he cannot understand, and the streets of Amsterdam will run red with the blood of the innocent, as this other worldly force begins to make it self-known. If you’re looking for a dark story, with lots of action, then this will be the tale for you.

[Ray Smillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice start to a detective thriller series based in Amsterdam with flashbacks as far as 1944 setting the scene for gruesome murders, with a supernatural twist, in the capital of Netherlands. It all starts in the Amsterdam red light district then proceeds to start building up the dead bodies, whilst the flashback scenes are about a nazi group of young people of both sexes which all comes crashing together in the 2020s. Mark Hobson builds up the tension nicely with rarely a dull moment.

[Colin Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolf Angel is set in Amsterdam following the main protagonist Pieter Van Dijk, a police inspector who is working tirelessly to solve a series of grisly murders. As he uncovers aspects of the case he discovers that rather than dealing with a random violence or a serial killer something more organised and insidious is at work.
This is a great story as a stand alone read and serves as a great set up for the series. It is set in the realms of a traditional crime drama with the supernatural elements cleverly woven in. There is a flashback story running concurrent with the main plot which melds together for the finale. Obviously I don’t want to give away spoilers to anyone thinking of picking this one up. I’ll just say that if you enjoy a gritty drama with helping of occult magic thrown in then this one is for you.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just isn’t my style.

[Candace Nola · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Wolf Angel” is the new supernatural mystery release from Mark Hobson. This story is set in Modern day Amsterdam with some flashes back to WWII and a special operations unit that carried a mission called “Operation Werewolf” The unit carried out special missions and also had their hand in some bizarre experiments. The unit was headed up by the young but ice cold Ilse Hirsch who disappeared into hiding after the war. This special unit had been called Werewolf Commando’s.

Today, there are some especially savage murders taking place in Amsterdam. Murders that divorced and life-weary Inspector Pieter Van Dijk cannot explain. Pieter is called to the scene of a particularly gory murder of a working girl in the red-light district of the city, where strange symbols have been found and a message stating “Beware, werewolf is watching.”

As the murders escalate so do the personal issues in Pieters life, including trouble with his often drunk father and his father’s enabling and encouraging drunk lady-friend, Famke, and a newly evolving relationship with the young barmaid Lotte. More investigation brings to light some connections to the Werewolf Commando’s from WWII and Pieter’s own life and he is quickly pulled into a nightmare with a cult seeking out some higher power. To avoid spoilers, this storyline goes right into the next book. I give this first part 4 solid stars.