Not as Far as Velma - Hardcover

Freeling, Nicolas

3.75

44 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892963808 ISBN 13: 9780892963805

Publisher: Mysterious Press, 1989

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Sent to the north of France to investigate the disappearance of middle-aged hotelier Adrienne Sergent, Inspector Henri Castang stumbles into a case involving an elderly Jewish painter, the fatal bombing of a local convent, and an erratic journalist

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About the Author:

Born in London in 1927, Nicolas Freeling is the author of over thirty titles, many of which are part of the crime genre. His education was broad and he attended a series of schools in England, Ireland and France. He served in the Royal Air Force, and from 1950 worked at various jobs in kitchens, hotels and restaurants throughout Europe. It was this intimate knowledge of the continent that influenced the style and settings of his subsequent books. The first of these was published in 1961. He is best known for the creation of Inspector Piet Van der Valk, an irascible detective engaged in ordinary crime, political intrigue and international affairs. Freeling is married, has four sons and one daughter and currently resides in France.

From Publishers Weekly:

Though they delve into crime and criminal investigation, Freeling's mysteries usually serve up a kind of social stew in which a policeman patiently reduces the ingredients of the case to see what is essential--sometimes it's the criminal; sometimes it's not. In this, the latest volume in the Henri Castang series, Freeling's ingredients include a concentration camp survivor, a Catholic bishop, a New Zealander rugby player, a renegade British journalist and a kind hoteliere. Castang, now a commissaire in a nameless northern French city, looks into two seemingly unrelated incidents--the disappearance of a woman and the terrorist bombing of a convent--and discovers that these represent the denouement of a chain of events that actually began in a concentration camp at the end of the war. Like much of Freeling's best, this novel delves into the surrealism of bureaucracy and the honorable struggles individuals wage against inhumane institutions, be they the offices of justice, the prison camps or even the church. The result is the rich and savory ratatouille fans have come to expect from Freeling--ironical and humorous, sad, clever and insightful.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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