The Harbour Master

by Daniel Pembrey

Maverick cop Henk van der Pol is thinking about retirement when he finds a woman’s body in Amsterdam Harbour. His detective instincts take over, even though it’s not his case. But Henk’s bigger challenge is deciding who his friends are – not to mention a vicious street pimp who is threatening Henk’s own family. As his search for the killer of the woman in Amsterdam Harbour takes him into a corrupt world of politics and power, Henk finds himself facing some murky moral choices.

The Harbour Master delivers for Amsterdam what fans of Scandinavian crime fiction have come to love: a fascinating light shone on the dark side of a famously liberal society, combining vivid characterisation with ice-cold suspense.

~danielpembrey.com

Genres: Mystery, Crime

95 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 30, 2014

About the author

Daniel Pembrey grew up in Nottinghamshire, England — beside Sherwood Forest. He studied history at Edinburgh University and spent over a decade working in America and more recently Luxembourg, coming to rest in Amsterdam and London — dividing his time now between these two great maritime cities. He is the author of the Henk van der Pol detective series and several short thriller stories, and he contributes articles to publications including The Financial Times and The (London) Times. In order to write The Harbour Master, he spent several months living in the docklands area of East Amsterdam, counting De Druif bar as his local.

To receive occasional email updates and offers of free exclusive content, please sign up at www.danielpembrey.com. Daniel is also on Twitter, @DPemb.

Reviews

[Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to No Exit Press for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to read this book and below is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Ooooooh! Now what a wee treasure this book is! When I finished reading it, I was speaking to another reviewer and described Mr Pembrey as Amsterdam’s version of Ragnar Jonasson! Why? Because this book was atmospheric and the descriptions drew me to the place in the same way that Mr Jonasson’s descriptions in the Dark Iceland series made me want to visit Iceland! Awesome!

Set in…well Amsterdam obviously, this book is riddled with power, politics, corruption and violence all for the sake of justice. What I like is the fact that those you should trust, are often not the ones you can. There was a minefield of questions bouncing around my brain and the suspense often had me breathless!

The story was broken into three parts with an even pace and a gradual build up in each section leading on to the next. It was almost like reading three separate stories with a thread in each that lead to the other until we reach the conclusion in Part 3. Each part had a purpose and I found myself struggling to put it down at times.

There was humour in the pages too, a dry wit which had me giggling from time to time. This broke up the seriousness at times and was a welcome injection within the story-line.

Henk van der Pol is the main character. Coming up to retirement and not well liked (or so it seemed) by his superiors, he often found himself using radical methods to get results. He presented as cautious when it came to his colleagues and those around him as politics seemed to outweigh truth and justice in solving his cases. I am still not sure whether I like this guy, but the fact that I want to read the next book suggests there is more to this character that I want to find out about!

Rem Lottman was also an interesting character. I did not trust him and was curious as to why Henk did…or did he? He was mysterious and secretive. But also, in a weird way, quite likeable. How the author did this is beyond me!

Petra (Henk’s wife) and Nadia (Henk’s daughter) are two characters I want to know more about, too. Petra seems to be always left behind while Henk is pulled away on police business- typical copper’s wife! I got the feeling that there may be more to her than what was revealed. Nadia, or more specifically her boyfriend, Sergei also intrigued me.

There was suspense, intrigue, murder and mystery that I found very alluring. It is clear from the end we will be seeing more of Henk in the future and I am keen to see what that will entail. Do I recommend this book? You bet you sweet arse I do!

Head over to amazon and grab yourself a copy too!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has a real sense of place; centred around the Red Light District and Harbour areas of Amsterdam. In Van del Pol, the author has created a loner of a detective. Not a career police officer, but passionate about his city and determined to serve all the people who reside there. However, the department is moving in a modern and political way at odds with Van del Pol’s core values. Not that he isn’t current and dynamic, just that the powers that be seem content to edge him out as he is so close to retirement. Indeed his wife and he are just about ready to contemplate a new chapter in their lives.
All this changes when on his watch a body is pulled out of the harbour. He is on the scene and keen to crack this case but his superiors freeze him out. When he is offered an over the top, generous offer, to take his pension six months early he realises he is being eased out for some reason other than well meaning and long serving appreciation.
This makes him even more suspicious of the dead woman pulled out of the water and more single-minded to find her some justice.
A tale of police priorities lost in a confused climate of political patronage. Henk Van del Pol is not part of this new thinking but he is clever in traditional police craft. Despite being kept on the periphery his parallel investigation starts to cause ripples that threaten someone in the establishment who seem to be able to manipulate matters.
Not knowing who to trust; suspended in all but name, and then his family is threatened. Henk shows you can teach an old dog new tricks and the police force in Amsterdam needs their best man working for them.
I love the location and it’s works as a character in its own right. The street life smells of weed and tastes of coffee. The violence is real but not described in overt terms. It seems more menacing for that and the circumstances are never short changed. Crime is tackled and named for what it is and in Henk we have a cop we can get behind. Fun to read and his story has so much depth and meaning to be revealed.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Even learned something new about my own country.

[Forthbridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had the cash I would option this book for a movie. It is set in interesting places like Amsterdam and Brussels, the lead character is strong and credible and the author can do plot. However in my ideal scenario, I would insist on an editor who could demand that the various plot lines were easier to follow and that several minor characters were either developed or dumped.
I am a Brit of a certain age who remembers the TV series Van der Valk which was pretty big back in the 70s and used Amsterdam as a great backdrop for police procedurals. Come on HBO -go and hire Daniel Pembrey without delay!

[Brenda Funk · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were many things I liked about this book...I liked Henk, the detective. I thought he was realistic and not too simplistically rendered to be believable, enough complexity to make him interesting. I also liked the setting of Amsterdam, and learned a lot of interesting things about the city and the culture. I found the plot a little confusing as it started with one crime, then moved on to something else entirely, and I was never sure if it ended up where it was going to begin with. The ending also left a lot to be desired...I guess it's supposed to lead into the next book, but I like to have loose ends tied up at the end of a book. But I will probably try another one.

[Shannon L. Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Look into the Seedy Side of Human Trafficking!



The Harbour Master

By Daniel Pembrey

Author Daniel Pembrey’s latest novella is definitely a pleasurable read! He’s packed a lot of punch into this shorter story form with a mystery/thriller/suspense combo. There is intrigue from the get-go when cop Henk van der Pol finds a dead woman floating in his beloved harbour. He’s about to retire but resents the way things are now being done in his precinct. When a cover-up of the murder proves not all is as it seems, and the ensuing politics threaten to change the status quo, he wonders who he can trust. Even his wife, who is a veteran reporter for the local newspaper witnesses the same politics urging change within her office. Political mayhem and criminal cooperation lead down a dangerous road with the trail leading all the way to the top of the powerful.

Henk finds himself doubting his motives, ethics and morals when danger threatens his family. He can’t get over the emotional turmoil at the thought that the younger woman he found dead could have been his own daughter. How far will he go to solve this crime? How far will he leave police procedure to do what is right, even if it costs him his job?

This novella touches on the brutal abuse women undergo within human trafficking rings; and how the general public ignores the plight of these young women. It gives a peek into the minds of the greedy, self-serving men who enslave them into servitude; and their careless prerogative of who gets injured in the process.

Author Daniel Pembrey is stretching his writing wings with this latest title, proving he is adept at telling a compelling story. If you’ve enjoyed his other works, you will surely enjoy this one as well. The Harbour Master will be available exclusively through Amazon staring on Tuesday, April 1st.



To learn more about Daniel Pembrey’s list of titles visit his website at: http://danielpembrey.com/





FTC Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this title for review purposes only, no other compensation was awarded.

[Jo Jenner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book free of charge in return for an honest review by nudge-book.com
I am a huge fan of Scandinavian crime thrillers and love police procedurals so I was really looking forward to reading The Habour Master.
Henk van der Pol is a Dutch policeman not far off retirement who one morning comes across the body of a girl in Amsterdam Habour.
This seemed like a great premise for the start of the book but unfortunately for me as a reader nothing really seemed to gel together.
Henk finds the killer with minimal investigation and not real proof but then assumes that he can't prosecute because the killer is a police informer. The story then jumps forward with Henk still not retired and now he is somehow involved in political struggles and police corruption.
By the end of the book I still didn't understand why what had happened in the period between the death of the girl and Henk being called to Brussels happened. I didn't understand why he is suddenly being chased down by Ukranian Motorcycle gangs and I never really understood why he wasn't left out to dry and instead he is courted by the great and the good.
I think the author was trying to turn this book into a John Grisham type of political intrigue and to my mind there were too many holes and too many questions left unanswered.
I liked Henk and I liked the fact he was happily married and that his wife was able and willing to help him as she was a investigative journalist. Henk could have been great but the book doesn't know whether it's a police procedural or a political thriller and I was left feeling confused and not really sure what had happened and why. This book promised so much and unfortunately failed to deliver.

[Donna Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It takes an incredibly talented writer to pull off a novella. With the shorter form (usually a third of a full-length novel), it's very hard to encompass everything that makes a great story - characterization, backstory, atmosphere, setting and a complex or involving plot. Daniel Pembrey's "The Harbour Master" manages it all seemingly effortlessly.

Henk, as well as his wife, daughter and an assortment of other recurring characters, are very well drawn and make you feel that you know them right from the start. The author excels at descriptions of people and place. The way he paints a picture for you is such that the Red Light District of Amsterdam was almost palpable. I felt as if I were walking the streets with him, seeing and touching everything Henk did, and experiencing the sense of growing doom as each piece of this intricate puzzle unfolded. By the end of the book, I almost felt as if I'd been to Amsterdam.

There really was not a flaw in this... each scene just naturally pulled you along to the next until you absolutely couldn't wait to find out what was going on. The only thing that could make this better would be an endless stream of novels about Henk, or a mini-series based on these books.

[Jeanette Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so pleased I've been introduced to this author's work. I'm a huge fan of crime fiction and the setting is really brought to life in The Harbour Master. Very well paced, intruiging characters and I'm looking forward to reading a lot more from Daniel Pembrey.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Henk.

Henk Van der Pol, of the Dutch police, is tough, smart, driven and a pretty piss-poor husband and father. He doggedly pursues leads wherever they take him, from the red light district of Amsterdam to the governing halls of The Haag.

"The Harbour Master" is the first in a series (the second is "Night Market") that begins with Henk lazily strolling along an Amsterdam harbor near his house boat. A dead body is found floating in the water and Henk wants to know who she is and how she ended up there. A simple enough beginning to a wild romp that includes international characters of all kinds.

Along the way Henk waxes poetic and you are entranced: "It's hard to find silence in this city: the movement of vehicles on the ring road, the rumble and creak of trains entering and leaving Centraal station, a faint foghorn out in the sea channel. After thirty years as a cop on this beat, I can confirm that peace only comes from within." Henk also quips about his acquaintances and experiences: "..he climbed out of the Bentley, intercepted me an gave me a crushing hug. It was like trying to wrap my arms around a house." And, "The entire museum had been renovated over many years, at vast expense...It resembled an international airport."

I met the author, Daniel Pembrey, while at the 2014 Bouchercon in Long Beach, CA. We were stuck in line waiting to get our books signed by Michael Connelly and got to talking. Daniel was and is a delightful and generous man, and I am thrilled to say that he is also a fine writer.

Buy The Harbour Master AND Night Market. Now.

[Annette Mouat · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was lots that I liked about this book, and was first drawn to it by it's setting in Amsterdam (making a slight geographical change from Scandi crime). Henk van der Pol is nearing retirement as a detective when he discovers a woman's body floating in the harbour. It turns out that she is prostitute from the nearby red light district, but no one is talking about the death, not even the normal informants. There were some good threads, but at times I was confused as there were so many layers of the story. Even at the conclusion I still wasn't sure of the significance of all that had happened. I have since read that this was originally three stories, and was merged into one, so maybe that's why there were so many threads. I will definitely try another of his books, as I liked his style and descriptions and many of the characters. Maybe the next book by him will have less going on and be more plausible.

[G.J. Minett · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intelligent read, set in Amsterdam with an interesting new central character. Political machinations mixed with criminal investigations and a complex plot which keeps the reader guessing. This is the start of what may prove to be a very rewarding series from an articulate author who appears to be more than comfortable with his material

[Petra Willemse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book at all. It felt like a series of short stories stuck together by the thinnest of threads.

[Katherine Sunderland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it's difficult not to pick up a book which has a quote from one of my literary idols, Susan Hill, on the front cover! She endorses the novel as a "cracking tale with verve and style" and of course, I'm not going to disagree with her!

This is the first instalment in a series of crime thrillers set in Amsterdam. Pembury establishes a sense of place and setting extremely well, with vivid and authentic detail. The description is not contrived or forced but subtle references, inferences and the odd slip into colloquial language locate the reader very firmly in Amsterdam. His creation of the docks, harbour and Amsterdam itself are convincing and make it very easy for the reader to picture the location even if we have never visited there.

The book begins with the discovery of a dead body. Henk watches and his description of the body is brutally ugly it prepares us for the complexity and nature of this crime thriller.

"I had my phone out, in order to film the removal of the body. The woman's thighs and arms had swollen up to Frankenstein-like proportions, her dark trousers and top so stretched that they'd ripped at the seams."

It did remind me a little of the one of the opening sequences of the French TV drama "Spiral", but thankfully, although Pembury immerses us in a dark world of illegal human trafficking and the red light district, the violence and any temptation to add gratuitous detail is kept to a minimum. This is a writer interested in characters, human behaviour and a complex narrative.

Henk is an interesting character. Pembury has created a very distinctive voice which feels original and also full of gravitas. I found that he was a man I was able to picture quickly, and that his intelligence, determination, thoroughness and persistence was consistent throughout the novel. Pembury paints a very good picture of a man with integrity -

"...excuses wouldn't help the woman hoisted out of the harbour. She didn't need excuses, she needed justice."

-and he is definitely a protagonist who can sustain further instalments as Pembury develops this in to a detective series.

It was interesting to read about a police office at the end of his career and an interesting choice by Pembury, but it works very successfully and the narrative voice feels authentic and convincing. It also adds a further level of intrigue and risk as Henk struggles to stay on the case and avoid being usurped by younger men.

"You've been a good cop, Henk. My advice? Have people here remember you that way."

I really enjoyed Henk's relationship with his wife. Initially I wasn't sure if the formal way in which they often responded to each other was amusing or too detached but again, it works.

"Mrs van der Pol was in her house slippers, watching a rerun of some talent show competition I vaguely recognised, working her way through a jar of English liquorice."

Henk is actually a man who is very committed to his family. And when their safety is threatened it adds a great sense of tension and danger to the story.

"Was I so obsessed with Slavic that I'd created the very problems for me and my family I was now trying desperately to solve?"

Henk's relationship with his daughter is captured equally well. I enjoyed his conversation with her when he notices a diamond ring on her finger - it actually reflects so much about both characters and the dynamics between them.

"Do you know if it's OK?.....A conflict free diamond."
"That's hardly a question I can ask now is it? Oh thanks so much for the lovely gift, can I just see the paperwork for it?"

Pembury has clearly spent a lot of time researching this novel. He has obviously dedicated time to making sure every detail is accurate and that he tells a story that stands up to the scrutiny of serious crime readers. He tackles complex and contemporary issues with confidence. I was intrigued to read that Pembury lived in East Amsterdam for a while and spent time with an undercover team from the Dutch National Crime Squad. This has clearly inspired him to write this first instalment of the Harbour Master series.

"The Harbour Master" is quite an involved read. It's not overly long at just over 300 pages, but the prose is quite dense and sophisticated in style. There is a lot of information and threads to follow and although the plot moves along, it is not a book I would describe as a traditional page turner. However, this book will definitely appeal to crime fans who are looking for a new detective to follow and it definitely has the grit, realism and depth that readers want from European Noir books.

[Bob Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The collection of the three Harbour Master novellas in one volume works well. Each novella, whilst complete in itself, complements the others. The immediate theme of each is a crime, murder in the case of the first, a variety of interlinked crimes in the second and kidnapping in the third. Running throughout however there are background themes. The main protagonist, Henk, is a 56 year old policeman who lives on a house boat in Amsterdam with his long-suffering journalist wife. He has a somewhat wayward daughter who is a constant worry to him. He also has a boss, Joost, who is determined to shuffle Henk off to early retirement. He has a patron, Lottman, a senior civil servant who supports Henk for motives of his own, and who is apparently kidnapped in book 3. In the background there is an aura of corruption affecting not only the police but also government and local government circles. This is an integral part of the plots in the novellas. Henk has to mollify his wife, retain his relations with his daughter and circumnavigate Joost's attentions whilst avoiding the corruption and solving various mostly politically motivated crimes.

Henk himself is not beyond reproach. Whilst personally incorruptible, he has a view of justice which does not always coincide with the law. In pursuit of this he is willing to take short cuts that expose him to risk, particularly in light of Joost's attentions. Evidence disappears, a witness is murdered and Henk is perfectly prepared to commit trespass and arson in the pursuit of his concept of a just result. When Lottman disappears his main source of protection has gone, and the denouement of book 3 leaves him vulnerable. Fortunately for him, his ability and knowledge of where the bodies are buried results in him finding patronage at an even higher level, namely the energy minister in the Dutch government. He is, for the moment at least, safe from Joost.

The result of the above is that Henk comes over as a fallible but believable character. He smokes, enjoys his beer, loses his temper and worries about his daughter and about his relations with her and with his wife. He also has a knack of solving cases, sometimes to the discomfort of his superiors. The action races along largely through dialogue. I wonder whether Pembrey had in mind the possibility of films/TV when writing. One can imagine that each novella would make an excellent hour on TV.

The scene settings are extremely well done. Pembrey is clearly familiar with Amsterdam and with the Low Countries in general. He has also done his research in respect of locations and organizations. The atmosphere is one of dark tones, claustrophobic in feel. This fits well with the themes.and is complementary to them.

Harbour Master is a cut above most crime novels. It is no exaggeration to say that the nearest similarities to Henk are the likes of Bosch, Rebus or Resnick, particularly the second in light of the background of political corruption. Much to be recommended.

There is a hint in book 3 that there may be more to come. Let us hope that this is the case.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of the book sounded really interesting and so when I was offered a copy to read and review I jumped at the chance as I have been reading more crime books from new to me authors recently and been having a great time with them. The first thing I have to say about this book is that I only finished reading it because I had agreed to write a review on it, had it been a book I had sourced myself, I would have given up a few chapters in for a variety of reasons.

The main problem I found with this book was that the author gave far too much information with far too little detail. He failed to paint a picture of the scene's he was setting so that instead of inhabiting the book and experiencing the story as I read it, I could only read it due to having to google every few pages (paragraphs at the start of the book) to find out the missing details of how things look or are geographically located.

As I started to read the book I felt that maybe I was at fault for not knowing Amsterdam well, I didn't even know there was a port there until I read this book. But I soon realised that the fault wasn't with me, there just is not enough detail written in the book for it to be an easy read for anyone who doesn't know the area's it's set in well. An example excerpt would be:

"Willemspark lay to the south-west of us, a little outside the canal belt. Flanked by a large, popular park, the houses there are substantial and finely detailed, the streets quiet."

This is all the detail about one of the locations that Henk visits and returned to a few times, it's hard to imagine what these houses looked like in any way with this little detail and yet that was all that was given which made it impossible to imagine the setting if you are unfamiliar with the location. When I read a novel I do not want to have to head to google every other page to find out what something is or how it looks. It defeats the escapism that I expect from reading a book and ruins the vision of the words that runs through my mind whilst I read something that has been well written.

This isn't my only issue with this book. That it was broken up into 3 books within would have been nice to know but this information was sadly lacking as was any 'real' investigative work. Those who are guilty, or not as the case may be, seems to be decided by those in power up the food chain in this world and not by any evidence. We never see much of the leg work that is involved in solving cases, just hunches, wrong turns and secretive meetings where everyone seems to be more interested in furthering their career or feathering their nest than the crimes involved and I found this hugely disappointing.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Harbour Master by Daniel Pembrey
Rating ****.5 ( 4.5/5)
Although The Harbour Master was a novella, and in all honesty I usually avoid them, as I like to read novels, I was intrigued by the fact the author is the very talented, Daniel Pembrey. Having previously read, “The Woman Who Stopped Traffic” which I thoroughly enjoyed, I grabbed the opportunity to read the novella.
To say I was not disappointed was putting it mildly. From the first page I was thrown into a thrilling, fast paced journey of murder, politics, blackmail and the slave trading of young women set in Amsterdam, Holland. Henk Van der Pol is a 30 year term policeman, working near the Red Light District, RLD. He comes across a female body in the harbour, “with a floating corona of hair”. This is no ordinary death and leads to the involvement of senior police officers, local government and Hungarian slave traders. Henk soon finds his way of life has changed, perhaps forever, as he defends his family and seeks the help of Johan; his comrade from his time in the Army and fellow BMW motorbike owner.
Daniel Pembrey has the great skill of painting a visual picture of his plots and the surroundings without going into overdrive on information. His script is easy flowing, dynamic and his characters, solid and believable even with their flaws. Every page takes the reader further into the life of Henke and into seedier life in the Red Light District and further away from his familiar life on his canal boat and his peaceful early morning strolls along the harbour.
I actually could not believe this was a novella as it was so action packed. I would recommend The Harbour Master without hesitation. Daniel Pembrey is an author to look out for and long may he continue to thrill his readers with his works and hopefully, we can see more of Henke.
I was given an ARC of The Harbour Master for an open and honest review. Many thanks.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

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The Harbour Master is a fast paced, suspenseful, political thriller set in Holland.

Henk is an experienced police officer based in the harbour district of Amsterdam. Contemplating retirement, partly due to the new regime at work his plans change when he discovers the body of a young woman floating in the harbour. Henk suspects foul play. Murder, prostitution and trafficking all feature in this story. A series of incidents makes him distrust his colleagues and superiors as vital evidence goes missing. Determined to find out why the girl died he circumvents policy and procedure and finds himself excluded from the case. Henk's family is in danger as his career nosedives. Will the personal cost be too great?

Henk is a strong but flawed character but subtly so without the obvious peccadilloes commonly associated with cynical older detectives in fiction. The story is atmospheric and leaves the reader with a definite flavour of Holland. The Harbour Master is like the successful Scandinavian thrillers of the same ilk but for me this is superior because it avoids the drawn out nature of this type of thriller with a fast paced, twisty plot.

Henk and his wife a journalist make a formidable team. There is potential for more stories here. The depth of character development is impressive for a novella. The plot is interesting and dark but a page turner which I read in a one go.

I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.





Daniel Pembrey

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this action packed crime thriller Henk van der Pol is present when a young woman's body is pulled from one of Amsterdam's canals. Henk soon realises that this isn't some drunk student or tourist falling overboard. His feeling that something awful is at play on the streets of Amsterdam is only heightened when he is told he is not to be part of the investigation, in fact it looks remarkably like his bosses want him to leave the Police Force and start his retirement sooner rather than later.

This is a novella, one of three that the author Daniel Pembrey has now combined into a collection of three about this cop who is happily married, with one daughter and lives on a houseboat. His only problem is that he is clearly out of step with those higher up the hierarchy whose chief influence is politics and not the historical city that whose safety they are in charge of.

This book gives a great sense of the way that the melting pot of nationalities that is Amsterdam. Being set in Amsterdam there is no escaping the red light district, or RLD as the locals refer to it as, and in this first book some of the scenes are set there although thankfully the author avoided lurid detail.

In a novella the author has to get to the point and avoid superfluous details while still painting a realistic picture; Daniel Pembery did this and I felt fully satisfied when I turned the last page. There is plenty of action, I got a good sense of Henk's character as well as his wife and daughter. His superior officers verged on the stereotypical but again bearing in mind the length of the book, he did well not to go too far in this direction.

I am looking forward to finding out what Henk does in the next two stories in this collection.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most recent of author Daniel Pembrey's novellas, The Harbour Master is a psychological thriller featuring an aging cop on the Amsterdam Police force. Henk Van der Pol, knows the harbour area well; he not only works there, but also lives on a houseboat docked very near there. Henk is very much aware that there is a new game in town in the leadership of the police department, and the newer, younger men have risen quickly in the hierarchy of the station where he works, but he is getting along okay and thinking more about retirement.

That is, until he discovers a young woman's body in the harbour one morning and is perplexed about the way his superiors are handling, or more correctly, ignoring the case from the very beginning. Henk is not assigned to the case, discovers that some of the evidence, a video he had made at the scene, has been erased from his phone, and decides to do some informal investigating on his own.

This does not go unnoticed by his superiors, who are quick to discourage him, even putting him on the fast track to retirement when he continues to ask questions. All too soon he realizes that his wife and daughter are in danger and the police are not interested in offering any protection...just advice to get out of town.

Henk decides to do whatever it takes to protect his family even if it appears too late to restore justice and integrity to the police and local government.This story is intense, the pace is fast, the bad guys are really evil, but don't sell Henk short...he may be older, but he is smarter, and the thugs, pimps and corrupt politicians of Amsterdam just may have met their match.

[John Mccormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again my thanks to Nudge Readers for providing this book to read and impartially review.

Henk van der Pol is a few months short of retirement after 30 years as a Policeman, and on his way to meet his journalist wife for breakfast. When he discovers a woman’s body floating in Amsterdam harbour. With his detective instincts in full flow our hero decides to investigate even though out of his jurisdiction, but is very quickly warned off the case in no uncertain matter by his superiors. However Henk continues to investigate and soon finds himself up to his neck in intrigue both politically and within the police and puts his family and himself into danger.
What following is an entertaining Police procedural, apparently the first in a new series featuring this courageous engaging character who has the rare distinction of being a happily married detective, and his not above bending the law to further his investigations.
During the course of the story there are numerous sub plots and twists to keep you reading and guessing, as Henk investigates several seemingly diverse cases not all I might add his own which inevitably become linked. Not knowing who to trust within the police or even at times his own team, Henk’s travels take him around Holland to Brussels and Norway in his search for justice.
This book is intelligent well written descriptive characterisations throughout are excellent.
I look forward to the next instalment and am curious how the author will stave of our heroes’ retirement in order to continue this series
This is a book I very much enjoyed and recommend.

[Lynn Latham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting is Amsterdam, Henk van der Pol is a policeman nearing retirement, who, one senses, would not adjust easily to retirement! He loves the city and lives on a houseboat in the harbour with his wife, Petra, a journalist.

Van der Pol discovers the body of a woman in the harbour and decides, despite having been warned by his superiors to leave it be because it is not his case, that things just don't feel right with it and so investigates further. He is a great character, somewhat unorthodox, stubborn, determined, always following his instincts yet believable and likeable. He uncovers corruption in high level government, Hungarian people trafficking, gang warfare, a very nasty pimp and more, quickly realising he can trust no one. His long suffering wife Petra is a well drawn character, we feel her exasperation when once more he heads off, following a lead, to Brussels or Oslo. We are treated to wonderful descriptions of the cities in the book. His family is put at risk from gangs because of his investigations. But still he battles on, standing up to his boss, knowing he is on to something...

This is a quick read, a well paced page turner and although not my usual genre of choice, I loved it and look forward to reading the other stories in the series, it really made me want to visit Amsterdam. I can definitely recommend it.

Sent to me by Nudge Books/Real Readers to review

[Maggie Franz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel’s done it to me again. Author Daniel Pembrey, with works like The Woman Who Stopped Traffic and The Candidate has gifted us another scintillating novella in his latest work The Harbour Master. Pembrey has the amazing ability to draw you in, wrap you up and satisfy your lust for a good read all in a short story. The Harbour Master was an enjoyable read that I devoured in two nights. As with all of Daniel’s books, when you turn those last few pages, you can’t help but wish for more. He has the knack for great storytelling and the ability to leave you wanting more after a heart racing thriller, which is no easy feat. Almost inevitably, his next work does not disappoint.

Some authors find success and repeat it as often as they can, seeming only to change the character names and settings of their books. Daniel Pembry has delivered work after amazing work - all different but all great reads. Success has in no way dulled his creativity (if anything it has only spurred his great talent further).
Do yourself a favor and check out his works.

[Andrew Pellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was slightly put off initially by the claim that this was for fans of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series. Harry Bosch is one of my favourite characters and a hard act to follow.

However, I was not disappointed. Henk van Der Pol is every bit as conflicted and complicated as Harry – I would love them to meet.

Set in Amsterdam and the surrounding countryside the story moves along at a fast pace but at the same time takes long enough to build up an atmospheric description of the environment.
I found the style of the book compelling. There were enough twists to keep me interested to the very end and wanting more. What added depth to the story was the strength of the supporting characters – both good and bad. I was left wanting to know more about all of them.
It was not just a straight forward detective novel – it explored the relationships between all the characters with enough questions left unanswered to keep you coming back for more.

I will certainly be looking out for future Henk instalments and would recommend this novel as a thoroughly good read.

[Jay Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all of Pembrey's books, and this novella is a superb addition to the library. He writes so descriptively that it is like you are there. At the same time, he tells stories that truly reflect human nature. The Harbour Master is a policeman in Amsterdam dealing with many serious issues, and he finds that doing the right thing appears to be wrong, and his family becomes threatened as a result. The characters are very real and of considerable depth. A hidden fact seriously affects the ongoing action as police corruption, political influence, human trafficking, and murder combine to create a slow-paced but suspenseful thriller. I am definitely going to read this again, and recommend it to all.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read, set in the genre thats hot right now, a crime thriller set in Amsterdam. The main character Henk is a typical police man, he sometimes does the wrong thing in order to reach the greater good.
The story is complicated as it becomes apparent that Henk can trust no one, not even the people who are supposed to be catching the bad guys. For Henk to succeed in catching a killer he must first untangle the web of deceit and corruption that is determined to halt his progress.
As the case unravels is Henk prepared to lose everything in order to get justice for the people he is sworn to protect?!
A great read, will definitely be reading another of Daniel Pembrey's books.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and really enjoyed the Candidate, another novella by Pembrey, the Harbour Master quickly made it onto my Kindle and didn't disappoint. Pembrey has a real skill in bringing alive the location of the story - in this case Amsterdam and developing complex characters whilst maintaining a story that never lacks pace or intrigue.

I think the novella format is brilliant - the Harbour Master is long enough to develop a story that really absorbs the reader, but can be read in one go. Highly recommended!

[Andrea Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henk van de Pol is nearing retirement when he finds a body in Amsterdam Harbour but when it becomes apparent that no-one id investigating her death he takes in upon himself to investigate and uncovers an unhealthy relationship with organised crime which goes all the way to the top .

As a "reward" for his help in uncovering this he is promoted & once again uncovers peoblems i law enforcement this time going all the way to Brussels.

this book is part detective novel part political thriller and seems to have the best elements of both & they are brilliantly intertwined

[Kevin X · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up after reading Pembrey's Simon Sixsmith. I started it on a Friday eve, and luckily a rainy Saturday kept me inside so I could finish it. It took me back to Amsterdam, and the cold rain on the outside matched the feel of the chilly rainy setting of the story. The story moves quickly, but there are many scenes where the descriptions and attention to detail are apparent and much appreciated. Overall its a very fun read, and I highly recommend it!

[Andrew Wildman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this collection. It grabbed my interest from the start and sustained it throughout. It is suspenseful and enjoyable to read. The characters are interesting and the Amsterdam backdrop adds atmosphere. I cannot wait for the sequel.