Theodicius
Good. Evil. Bratwurst.

OK, so the secret is out: I’m addicted to Dutch mystery writers. This one is part of the series written by Janwillem van de Wetering about the two Amsterdam cops Grijpstra and De Gier. But the addiction doesn’t just extend to this series. I’m also in love with Maj Sjowal and Per Wahloo’s output, and even the pseudo-Dutch output of Nicholas Freeling. I freely admit, however, for the American market these books are an acquired taste.

In this one, the two cops are called to the scene of an all-too-neat corpse, a murder staged to look like suicide. De Gier beds the widow, and looks forward to more of her, until she insists his cat would have to go. Grijpstra deals with the politics of his superiors in hos own cynical way, adn eventually the two converge on the solution.

The somewhat cynical outlook of the book isn’t the hard-boiled cynicism of American novels, but rather an amused one, coming from a man who knows what he is saying is absurd, but says it anyway because he must if he is to keep his job. And, since he knows he also must catch the bad guys with some efficiency if he is to keep his job, he always finds a way to keep politics from blockinghis path.

Probably not for the average American reader, but if you’re wiling to take a trip into a mindset from a different society, it’s worth the trip.

It strikes me that I’ve stopped talking about books on the blog. Let’s rectify that now.

Double Sin is a collection of Agatha Christie shorts, involving Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, but also including some non-series stories with a gothic taste.

The title story, while a Poirot, isn’t the best in the book. Infact the entire books is a bit of a pedestrian excursion for Dame Agatha. The best story is probably the “Theft Of The Royal Ruby,” a Christmas-themed story.

As always, if you’re after lifelike characters, pass this one by. But if you’re into puzzles, it’s an adeqaute delight.