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Dutch police inspector Piet Van der Valk finds himself repeatedly crossing paths wiht the beautiful yet troubled Lucienne Englebert, the daughter of a famous conductor recently killed in a car accident. Whern the maverick inspector investigates the seemingly senseless killing of a man in Amsertdam, will Lucienne turn up again? In this gripping and tragic thriller, Freeling's irascible and unorthodox protagonist beomes involved in an extraordinary case involving murder, double indentities, show more and the Eurpoean black market. The Green Popular Penguins StoryIt was in 1935 when Allen Lane stood on a British railway platform looking for something good to read on his journey. His choice was limited to popular magazines and poor quality paperbacks. Lane's disappointment at the range of books available led him to found a company - and change the world.In 1935 the Penguin was born, but it took until the late 1940s for the Crime and Mystery series to emerge. The genre thrived in the post-war austerity of the 1940s, and reached heights of popularity by the 1960s.Suspense, compelling plots and captivating characters ensure that once again you need look no further than the Penguin logo for the scene of the perfect crime. show lessTags
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LamontCranston Walter Jon Williams has said the inspiration for the custom high speed smuggler vehicles and the term 'panzerboy' comes from Nicolas Freeling's Gun Before Butter
Member Reviews
A man is found stabbed to death in a house in Amsterdam. A white Mercedes is parked awkwardly on the curb, and there is no sign of how the murderer got away. Police Inspector Pieter Van der Valk is sure that there’s something up with this case that goes beyond the easy story of “oh, this person must have been a criminal”. He’s determined to find out what happened. Meanwhile, he keeps crossing paths with Lucienne, the fiercely independent daughter of a famous conductor, in the most unusual of circumstances.
I quite liked this story. Van der Valk is grumpy and opinionated in a way I find amusing; he has little patience for officialdom, even as he represents officialdom in the form of the police. He is interested in justice in a way show more that goes beyond mere arresting and sentencing. He chastises himself for getting too absorbed in a case with so little payoff, but at the same time is compelled to continue. I liked that he is happily married (and laughed because his wife’s name is Arlette; I have an Arlette in my family). The story had a kind of Maigret feel to me, although Van der Valk is lower in rank than Maigret. This is even mentioned in the book, that Van der Valk’s boss is at Maigret level. I don’t know whether that means Maigret actually exists in the Van der Valk universe… hope so!
As for its setting, the atmosphere, pacing, and use of language really brought the Netherlands, Germany, and France to life, or at least enough for this North American. Actual residents of the above-mentioned countries may have a different experience.
It’s a shame that Freeling’s books don’t seem to be readily available; hopefully with the new Van der Valk series on PBS Masterpiece in summer 2020, they’ll get reprinted. I’d read more. show less
I quite liked this story. Van der Valk is grumpy and opinionated in a way I find amusing; he has little patience for officialdom, even as he represents officialdom in the form of the police. He is interested in justice in a way show more that goes beyond mere arresting and sentencing. He chastises himself for getting too absorbed in a case with so little payoff, but at the same time is compelled to continue. I liked that he is happily married (and laughed because his wife’s name is Arlette; I have an Arlette in my family). The story had a kind of Maigret feel to me, although Van der Valk is lower in rank than Maigret. This is even mentioned in the book, that Van der Valk’s boss is at Maigret level. I don’t know whether that means Maigret actually exists in the Van der Valk universe… hope so!
As for its setting, the atmosphere, pacing, and use of language really brought the Netherlands, Germany, and France to life, or at least enough for this North American. Actual residents of the above-mentioned countries may have a different experience.
It’s a shame that Freeling’s books don’t seem to be readily available; hopefully with the new Van der Valk series on PBS Masterpiece in summer 2020, they’ll get reprinted. I’d read more. show less
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The writing style is interesting. Freeling was English but lived much of his life in Europe, and his phrasing somehow has the slightly quaint feeling that sometimes comes across in translations. There are some lovely images, for example:
The Frans van Mieris is a dreary street, rather typical of the district. Quiet, ponderous buildings, full of velvet curtains and too much over-polished show more furniture [...] Van der Valk enjoyed the gloomy dignity, as though the street were drunk and wore a wig. show less
The Frans van Mieris is a dreary street, rather typical of the district. Quiet, ponderous buildings, full of velvet curtains and too much over-polished show more furniture [...] Van der Valk enjoyed the gloomy dignity, as though the street were drunk and wore a wig. show less
added by John_Vaughan
Lists
Anthony Boucher's Best Crime Fiction of the Year
115 works; 5 members
H.R.F. Keating's 100 Best Crime & Mystery Books
100 works; 8 members
Books mentioned in Julian Symons’ Bloody Murder
438 works; 6 members
Author Information
47+ Works 3,151 Members
Novelist Nicolas Freeling was born in London on March 3, 1927. After serving in the military and working as a cook, he began his first novel, Love in Amsterdam, while in prision for theft. He is best know for his Piet Van der Valk dective stories which inspired two television series. He also created the Henri Castang series and wrote numerous show more individual novels. He received the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for The King of the Rainy Country. He also won the Gold Dagger from the British Crime Writers Association and France's Grand Prix de Roman Policier. He died on July 20, 2003 at the age of 76. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Meynard Stam, ara difund
- Original title
- Gun before butter
- Original publication date
- 1963
- Related movies
- Van der Valk und das Mädchen (1972 | IMDb)
- First words
- The Rozengracht is a street in Amsterdam.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)'Morue a la creme,' she said, muffled.
- Original language*
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- also published as Question of Loyalty
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Members
- 203
- Popularity
- 160,191
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.53)
- Languages
- 12 — Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 18
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 17
