The Streetbird

A funny, sad and exciting mystery with twists and turns that keeps the reader reading. I enjoyed this book because it is very good with lots of great characters, and because it isn't afraid to touch on the subjects of racism and sexism in Amsterdam.

A very quirky mystery where a Surinamer pimp lord in the red light district is found shot. The murder brigade is brought in and they do eventually solve the case but perhaps without seeing justice done. I wonder what this says about the author and his idea of justice and crime. Still very enjoyable with interesting characters.

As anyone who has tried this series before will know,these are far from straightforward crime stories. The author is an exponent of Zen,and it shows.'The Amsterdam Cops' to use the most usual series name features Adjutant Grijpstra and Sergeant de Gier. My own favourite character in this and in many of the other books is the Commissaris or chief of detectives.
The crime here is the shooting of a top drug dealer who also runs a number of prostitutes.
Although far from his best,this one contains some thought-provoking moments.

A pretty good read: The book blended interesting strands of South American voodoo and Amsterdman red-light district life. I liked the book, but did not find the end convincing. I could not believe the police would accept the "shocking truth". Still, I liked the book's atmosphere. A sort of Dutch, latter-day film noir.

Deep into this series about the Amsterdam cops we learn some interesting things about Gripstra's private life and about the Commissar. Some interesting Afro-Caribbean magic and a complex mystery make for an interesting read.

A terrific story with unique characters and a long part with the boss of our two detectives, the commaris, an enigma himself

a black pimp is killed in Amsterdam with suggestion of black magic. Crime committed by a local policeman to protect female officer from pimp's hypnotic power