The Maine Massacre

de Gier and the commisaris do America.: I don't even care much for mysteries but this one caught my eye while in a physical bookstore looking for the new Burke novel by Andrew Vachss. The book is interesting because the characters are real; this one gives a peculiarly Dutch perspective on American culture, which at times is laugh-out-loud funny, like de Gier, in his eternally curious cop mode, wondering why on earth anyone would buy bags of ice.

There is such a sense of space in these books, I find them remarkably calming. That's maybe a weird review for a mystery series, but the story itself is somewhat secondary.

This was an odd one. I was drawn to the book at a yard sale by 2 things: The unique,somewhat hokey incomplete color-by-number cover and the fact that it was Maine-based, myself calling Maine home. My expectations were not super high, but they were dashed nonetheless. And i was willing to chalk it up to an awkward translation, considering the foreign nature of the author's name and the fact that often, stories originally written in another language do not transition well into English. WRONG.....I find that Mr. van de Wetering was also a Maine resident, and while English may have been one of several that he spoke, it was written in English. Suffice it to say that the story line was a bit stiff, seemingly forced, and weak......much of it show more unbelievable, not necessarily by what happened in the action, but the character responses to most of the action were just not believable. The Maine connection and the cover art are solely responsible for the value of my star-rating value. I wish i had more to offer...... show less

The commissaris goes to Maine to help his sister settle her estate. De Gier follows him to make sure he doesn't overdo things. Then they discover murders. Lots of local Maine color from a European tourist perspective. Lots of interesting problems for De Gier trying to keep the commissaris alive. However, I don't remember much about the mystery.

Eigentlich will der Commissaris seiner Schwester in Maine nur bei der Haushaltsauflösung helfen. Ihr Mann ist die Klippen am Cape Orca hinuntergestürzt. Doch dann stellt sich heraus, dass auch andere Männer so zu Tode kamen. Und bald schon will dem Commissaris jemand an den Kragen.

Enjoyable read with Amsterdam cops vsiting Maine.

two Dutch detectives discover murder series in back country of Maine