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Janwillem van de Wetering
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The Corpse on the Dike Paperback – July 1, 2003

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 94 ratings
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A recluse has been shot right between the eyes while standing at his bedroom window. His neighbor, a schoolteacher and pistol shot champion, admits she discovered the body and failed to report it. Is she guilty of murder? Grijpstra and de Gier will travel to whorehouses, through a shady electronics market and into the house of a very flashy potential suspect to find out.
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  1. Book 3 of 14
    Amsterdam Cops
  2. Print length
    242 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Soho Crime
  5. Publication date
    July 1, 2003
  6. Dimensions
    4.98 x 0.6 x 7.48 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1569470499
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1569470497
  9. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Corpse on the Dike

"A crisp, cheery follow-up to Tumbleweed."
—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Janwillem van de Wetering

"Mr. Van de Wetering's policemen are just as likely to . . . marvel at human nature as to shoot it down."
—The New York Times

“[A] unique atmospheric mix of police procedure, quirky characters, and Zen outlook.”
—The Boston Globe

"[Van de Wetering] is doing what Simenon might have done if Albert Camus had sublet his skull."
—John Leonard

“What makes this series so engaging is that the policemen are as quirky and complicated as the criminals.”
—The Washington Post

About the Author

Janwillem van de Wetering (1931–2008) was born and raised in Rotterdam, but lived most recently in Surry, Maine. He served as a member of the Amsterdam Special Constabulary and was once a Zen Buddhist monk. He is renowned for his detective fiction, including Outsider in Amsterdam, Death of a Hawker, The Japanese Corpse, The Maine Massacre, which garnered him the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and ten other books in the Amsterdam Cops series.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soho Crime; Reprint edition (July 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1569470499
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1569470497
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.98 x 0.6 x 7.48 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 94 ratings

About the author

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Janwillem van de Wetering

Janwillem van de Wetering

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
94 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

John the Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Great cops and robbers
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2011
Verified Purchase
Within just a page or two of one of his books, the late Janwillem Wetering transports me back to that glorious city of Amsterdam and I get a boost of nostalgia and affection for both the city and his strong, quirky and nearly-believable characters.

Of course memory plays tricks and I am sure that the Amsterdam I knew was never quite so intriguingly zen-religious and metaphysical as the Commissaris feels, or as criminally exciting as the Adjutant and Sergeants always discover. But I can believe that even today the Dutch police are shocked and repulsed to find guns on the streets, let alone one being used in the execution of a crime.

In Corpse on the Dike, the third in Wetering's series about the Dutch Detectives Grijpstra and de Gier, the plot opens not only with a gun, but a murder - by a crack-shot. The story unfolds through Wetering's usual clever and misleading scenarios and we are enticed then repelled by his crooked characters, and we are led further down the `garden paths' of his plot twists by his evocative descriptions of this beautiful city of green shaded gravel walks along canal and dike.

The cops, of course, get their villains, the gardens are tended, the cats fed, and justice is served along with those small, fragrant, Dutch cigars and deliciously strong Dutch coffee. The lightest fiction that I read, in fact about the only Roman books I can open these days, the Dutch detective series of Wetering continues to please with its impish humor and addictive atmosphere - and great cops of course!
2 people found this helpful
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Patto
4.0 out of 5 stars A young recluse is murdered. Did the lesbian sharpshooter next door do it?
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
It’s always a pleasure to meet Amsterdam’s guardians of the law — the sweet old Commissaris with aching legs and a fatherly manner, the handsome athletic de Grier who can't resist women but is in love with his cat, and Grijpstra with his shrewish wife.

In this book, a young man who spends every day gardening, shuns society, and longs for death gets his wish. His murder launches an investigation. The police uncovers more levels of crime than they expected.

There is lots of lightly philosophical dialog. The characters include people as eccentric as the police — a whining informer; a gorgeous, supersized young Russian woman in search of a bigger better orgasm; a charming, witty, classy pimp who excels at his job in a highly refined brothel.

I love all the characters, and can’t stop reading this series.
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Blue in Washington (Barry Ballow)
5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, engaging Dutch mystery
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2010
Verified Purchase
This is a first rate murder mystery by Janwillem van de Wetering that features the quirky and humorous detective team of Sergeant de Gier and Adjutant-Detective Gripstra. It's a classic in that was published in the pre-cellphone era (1976), so all of the police procedural work is done by driving around the city (Amsterdam here) or on foot. This story features one of the city's more interesting neighborhoods--an outer-ring dike with a kind of hippy population that is often on the wrong side of the law--even the very relaxed Dutch law that governs Amsterdam.

In "The Corpse...", a young man is found murdered in his modest house as coppers de Gier and Gripstra are on stakeout nearby. The victim had no enemies and very few friends, so a motive for the crime is not obvious. The detective duo and colleagues start down the serpentine trail to resolution of the case and stumble into some interesting people and felonies along the way.

This story succeeds on several levels, but the interactions between the principal protagonists and the book's other characters are entertaining and push the tale along at a good pace. The overall plot and ending have a kind of Maigret feel to them, which ties them to money and greed--a bad human chemistry equation.

This is a fine book in an excellent series. Recommended.
6 people found this helpful
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Mlinc10
3.0 out of 5 stars Translation has problems
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2010
Verified Purchase
I agree with the other reviewer who said that the translation of this book is sorely lacking. There are multiple examples of poor (or really, lack of) translation of Dutch words into English. I find this interesting since the author wrote in both English and Dutch and lived in the USA at the end of his life. You would think that Amazon could provide an E-Book with a decent translation. I doubt that the printed version has these errors, and if I am paying as much for the E-Book as for the printed version, I would expect the quality to be equivalent.

Fortunately, the translation problems don't really keep you from understanding the story and it is a clever addition to the Dutch detective novels. It does help to have a Dutch - English dictionary handy, however.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly well-written mystery
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016
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This author excels in well crafted, humorous mysteries. The three focal characters, a "commissaris" or head detective and two plain clothes detectives, are delicately drawn personalities. The scenes are set in Amsterdam and it's environs. The person doing the digital transcription is nearly flawless, which if you are acquainted with digital books, you'll know is a rarity. I highly recommend this author!
2 people found this helpful
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Herman L. Rozing
5.0 out of 5 stars Seller was fast and reliable.
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2021
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The book was as advertised. Packed well for shipping.
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James H. Felder
4.0 out of 5 stars More of the good stuff.
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2016
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If you dig these detectives a great visit with them
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M. Leffingwell
5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked the Martin Beck Series by Sjowall and Wahloo you ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2017
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If you liked the Martin Beck Series by Sjowall and Wahloo you should give it a try. These books are not everyone's cup of tea but if they are you will be hooked.
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