Not as Far as Velma

Henri Castang #11

by Nicolas Freeling

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

234 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Nicolas Freeling born Nicolas Davidson, (March 3, 1927 - July 20, 2003) was a British crime novelist, best known as the author of the Van der Valk series of detective novels which were adapted for transmission on the British ITV network by Thames Television during the 1970s.

Freeling was born in London, but travelled widely, and ended his life at his long-standing home at Grandfontaine to the west of Strasbourg. He had followed a variety of occupations, including the armed services and the catering profession. He began writing during a three-week prison sentence, after being convicted of stealing some food.[citation needed]

Freeling's The King of the Rainy Country received a 1967 Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Novel. He also won the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association, and France's Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.

From Wikipedia

Series:
* Van Der Valk
* Henri Castang

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wb50w

Description: Van der Valk creator, Nicolas Freeling's thriller stars Keith Barron as Castang, Edita Brychta as Vera, Clive Swift as Marklake, Auriol Smith as Gabrielle, Michael Kilgarriff as Goubin and Nigel Carrington as Nelson. First published in 1989, this is the 11th novel in Freeling's sixteen strong series featuring Henri Castang. The London-born author died 2003 aged 76.

A Landlady Goes Missing: In a Northern French town, a young widow vanishes. Newly-promoted Commissaire Henri Castang wonders why the last name in the register of the tiny hotel she runs is that of a Jewish painter who never set foot there...?

Explosions in a Convent: Commissaire Henri Castang wonders if the disappearance of hotel owner, Adrienne Sergent, is linked to a bombing.

Springtime in Sussex: Henri Castang goes in search of a missing British journalist, who has links to the two cases he's trying to investigate.

Boring Old Biarritz: With hotelier, Adrienne Sargent still missing, Commissaire Henri Castang travels across France in search of journalist Robert MacLeod.

An Infirmary in Auschwitz: Battling to locate a missing hotelier, Henri Castang makes an important discovery - and also unearths a clue about journalist, Robert MacLeod.

Tipping the Black Spot: Commissaire Henri Castang is a reluctant bystander as the police net closes in, but he still has a role to play.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4:

A Landlady Goes Missing
1/6: In a Northern French town, a young widow vanishes.

Explosions in a Convent
2/6: Commissaire Henri Castang wonders if the disappearance of hotel owner, Adrienne Sergent is linked to a bombing?

Springtime in Sussex
3/6: Henri Castang goes in search of a missing British journalist, who has links to the two cases he's trying to investigate.

Boring Old Biarritz
4/6: With hotelier, Adrienne Sargent still missing, Commissaire Henri Castang travels across France in search of journalist Robert MacLeod.

An Infirmary in Auschwitz
5/6:Battling to locate a missing hotelier, Henri Castang makes an important discovery - and also unearths a clue about journalist, Robert MacLeod.

Tipping the Black Spot
6/6:
Commissaire Henri Castang is a reluctant bystander as the police net closes in, but he still has a role to play.

Newly-promoted Commissaire Henri Castang wonders why the last name in the register of the tiny hotel she runs is that of a Jewish painter who never set foot there...?

Van der Valk creator, Nicolas Freeling's thriller stars Keith Barron as Castang, Edita Brychta as Vera, Clive Swift as Marklake, Auriol Smith as Gabrielle, Michael Kilgarriff as Goubin and Nigel Carrington as Nelson

First published in 1989, this is the 11th novel in Freeling's sixteen strong series featuring Henri Castang. The London-born author died 2003 aged 76.

Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.

Producer: Matthew Walters

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wb50w

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Raymond Chandler's famous "Farewell My Lovely" Philip Marlowe is searching for Velma Valento; Chandler's phrase - "You could see a long way, but not as far as Velma has gone" - serves as one of the epigraphs in the Nicolas Freeling's book. "Not As Far As Velma" (1989), the eleventh novel in Henri Castang series, has a wonderful and apt title, yet in most other ways I find it a big disappointment. My two-star rating might have even been lower if not for the tremendous ending, which partially redeems this mess of a book (I would have never expected that I could use such a phrase referring to a Freeling's novel).

A painter living in Paris, Monsieur Marklake, an elderly Auschwitz survivor, is visited by functionaries of Police Judiciaire who tell him that he had been the last guest to sign the register in a hotel whose owner has disappeared. While M. Marklake is positive he has never stayed there, he is curious and visits the town where the hotel is located. He meets Commissaire Castang who is responsible for the investigation of the hotel owner's disappearance. This is just the starting point of the plot, which involves Sandinistas in Nicaragua, the Contras, the French National Front, the bombing of a convent, the briefcase full of money, the Catholic bishop with leftist leanings, the Basque nationalist movement, and memories of horrors from Auschwitz.

With the crowded plot reminiscent of ridiculously implausible political thrillers, Mr. Freeling's excellent writing helps, but even his prose is less dazzling than usual. The novel badly lacks cohesion and focus, and several overlong conversations between the major characters will tax the reader's patience. The stunning ending is truly memorable, yet "Not As Far As Velma" should be avoided as an introduction to Nicolas Freeling's opus. People who read it as their first book by Mr. Freeling may find it the last.

Two stars.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get use to the writing style it is a little different the author uses words to express the emotions of the characters. The story line is interesting it takes a while for the loose ends to come together in the plot line, but that helps to make it a interesting read.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A conflicted 4-star rating based mainly on the distinctive authorial voice that deploys a style not seen in other mystery/police stories I'm aware of. It's less a mystery than a morality tale bent to accommodate some social\political commentary and Freeling's plentiful artistic judgments, delivered via his police character Henri Castang. The plot stretches believability but makes a point. The good features of the book are offset by the standard Freeling quirks, not all of which are commendable. There are the usual outbreaks of questionable sexual references and comments on female bodies. There are also the usual many dialogues in which different characters all speak like Castang; they seem to belong to a sort of freemasonry indoctrinated in occasionally cryptic utterances and a worldly wise or possibly pseudo sophistication. The speeches and their implicit character notes can be entertaining but don't reflect the real world. One oddity occurs: a dismissive remark about the characters in some spy thrillers not seeming like real people. It's not clear which author(s) Freeling aimed that at, but a major character in this effort ironically sounds very much like one of the foolish half-innocents you might find in a le Carré novel. Might say 3 stars except it's likely difficult to find any writer quite like Freeling and this may be one of his better efforts.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Henri Castang mystery, and I’ve clearly missed a lot of backstory. But it doesn’t matter. The protagonist, a down-trodden, undervalued French detective, will solve his case, whether I know who he is or not, and much will be revealed along the way. The trials of cynical bureaucracy, the tribulations of everyday life, and the terror of the concentration camp—how these come together is a fascinating tale, told with the author’s slow, intense style, drawing readers deep into the minds and thoughts of others, and letting them hang on the edge of well-wrought dialog. Full of convincing internal dialog too, it’s a very different novel, in a different style, and it takes some getting used to. But it draws the reader in until the style feels perfectly right for the subject and characters, and twin mysteries twist into a picture of history and the present, finely drawn. A fascinating tale.

Disclosure: A friend gave me this and thought I’d like it. She was right.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had long ago read a number of Nicolas Freeling's Henri Castang books but this was one I'd never read. The books may not be to the taste of every reader of police detective mysteries but I do like them very much.

[S.L. Berry]

This is one that gets worse as it goes.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Henri Castang" mystery set in France. Interesting. Written in a weird style. Required attention to the details, so not a quick read. Another 20-cent book.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short story