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Detective Henk van der Pol #1
The Harbour Master
An atmospheric Amsterdam detective investigation.
Henk van der Pol is a 30 year term policeman, a few months off retirement. When he finds a woman's body in Amsterdam Harbour, his detective instincts take over, even though it's not his jurisdiction. Warned off investigating the case, Henk soon realises he can trust nobody, as his search for the killer leads to the involvement of senior police officers, government corruption in the highest places, Hungarian people traffickers, and a deadly threat to his own family...
For fans of Euro Noir, John Harvey's Charlie Resnick series and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, The Harbour Master is an action-packed detective investigation set in the evocative locale of Amsterdam. Delivering for Amsterdam what fans of Scandinavian fiction have come to love, this gripping novel shines a fascinating light on the dark side of a famously liberal society, combining vivid characterisation with ice-cold suspense.
Henk van der Pol is a 30 year term policeman, a few months off retirement. When he finds a woman's body in Amsterdam Harbour, his detective instincts take over, even though it's not his jurisdiction. Warned off investigating the case, Henk soon realises he can trust nobody, as his search for the killer leads to the involvement of senior police officers, government corruption in the highest places, Hungarian people traffickers, and a deadly threat to his own family...
For fans of Euro Noir, John Harvey's Charlie Resnick series and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, The Harbour Master is an action-packed detective investigation set in the evocative locale of Amsterdam. Delivering for Amsterdam what fans of Scandinavian fiction have come to love, this gripping novel shines a fascinating light on the dark side of a famously liberal society, combining vivid characterisation with ice-cold suspense.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2014
245 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Pembrey
13 books43 followersDaniel 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.
To receive occasional email updates and offers of free exclusive content, please sign up at www.danielpembrey.com. Daniel is also on Twitter, @DPemb.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
October 3, 2018
This novel is set in Amsterdam in a location close to the red light district (RLD), I was hopeful that this would be a gritty crime story. However, the initial murder gets lost (as did I) in a story that encompasses politicians, the EU and hops between Brussels and Amsterdam. Criminal gangs, corrupt politicians and embassies etc. There was so much going on I lost the plot a few times and was not entirely sure by the end what exactly had happened and why. Not enough there to make me want to read the second book in the series unfortunately.
March 10, 2017
I’ve decided to cheat on my TBR a little and I’ve had Daniel’s book on my TBR for ages. I had the pleasure of meeting him last year at an event in Goldsboro Books so I figured it’s high time o read this book. Especially as the follow-up, Night Market, has been released this year and I’m on the blog tour for it late next month.
The Harbour Master follows Henk van Der Pol as he finds himself in the vicinity of the discovery of a young woman’s body in Amsterdam Harbour. What follows is a story of murder, corruption and human traffickers and Henk is unsure of who he can trust.
I really enjoyed the sense of place in The Harbour Master. I’ve never been to Amsterdam but Daniel Pembrey paints a very vivid picture with his words and it sounds like a city that I would love to visit.
The story itself is actually deceivingly detailed. There are many different threads, and when woven together, form a much bigger picture that the reader couldn’t possible come up with on their own. At times, I found this hard to follow, but it didn’t deter my enjoyment of the story at all. I was highly intrigued as to the why and the who throughout.
The Harbour Master goes in directions I wasn’t expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. I read it in less than 24 hours, the time passes very quickly once you become immersed in the book.
I look forward to reading Night Market and catching up with Henk van der Pol. For fans of Eurocrime with a noir undertone, The Harbour Master is definitely one to add to your list!
Recommended!
The Harbour Master follows Henk van Der Pol as he finds himself in the vicinity of the discovery of a young woman’s body in Amsterdam Harbour. What follows is a story of murder, corruption and human traffickers and Henk is unsure of who he can trust.
I really enjoyed the sense of place in The Harbour Master. I’ve never been to Amsterdam but Daniel Pembrey paints a very vivid picture with his words and it sounds like a city that I would love to visit.
The story itself is actually deceivingly detailed. There are many different threads, and when woven together, form a much bigger picture that the reader couldn’t possible come up with on their own. At times, I found this hard to follow, but it didn’t deter my enjoyment of the story at all. I was highly intrigued as to the why and the who throughout.
The Harbour Master goes in directions I wasn’t expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. I read it in less than 24 hours, the time passes very quickly once you become immersed in the book.
I look forward to reading Night Market and catching up with Henk van der Pol. For fans of Eurocrime with a noir undertone, The Harbour Master is definitely one to add to your list!
Recommended!
July 9, 2015
I would rate this book a stunning 4.5 stars out of 5!
What a stroke of good fortune it was coming across Daniel Pembrey! After enjoying the first two novels of the Amsterdam Quartet by Jake Woodhouse, I was keen to read more Euro Noir set in the Dutch capital and I was alerted to Pembrey's talents. I certainly have someone to thank! He delivers a cracking good yarn, evident in all three of the novellas which are combined to make up The Harbour Master: The Collected Edition.
The attractions of Amsterdam as a crime setting are many, from the temptations offered by the Red Light District and legalised cannabis, down to the tensions associated with a city which is increasingly home to a multitude of immigrants and less and less natives. Add to that a long association and history of the diamond trade and there is still something about Amsterdam which brings to mind a certain heady mix of glamour tainted by a seedier side.
I think the novella is an extremely tough challenge for an author to carry off with aplomb - you have the logistics of creating characters who stay with the reader and aren't one dimensional, the task of depicting a location realistically along with managing a convincing yet not overly complex plot. Reading the three novellas which form this collected edition serves as a masterclass in the art! I felt that I had been dropped into the action in Amsterdam - Pembrey clearly has a talent for getting under the skin of his location. Not just in terms of purely physical features, but also in conveying historical and social changes through time, right down to popular culture. Thanks to him I now au fait with everything from Dutch 1980's popstars to TV weather presenters! I also cared about the two main characters and felt that I could empathise with them and appreciate their motivations. A suspenseful and gripping story told within just over 100 pages and the author manages to pull it off three times. That takes some doing and I can rarely recall such scintillating portrayal of a location which I am unfamiliar with.
The first novella, The Harbour Master, introduces the reader to Henk van der Pol, a maverick cop of the Amsterdam police force and his wife, Pernilla, both nearing retirement. Whilst inevitably jaded by his thirty odd years in the force, you also sense a fear of this impending retirement and the enforced changes that it will bring. This is also evident in Pernilla, a former investigative journalist for a daily newspaper attempting to manage her transition to working on her own online news website. Added to this is the heightened tension of the recent departure of their daughter for university and it all serves to create a realistic portrayal of the interactions between the couple in their fifties. In this first novella, the discovery of a young woman's body in Amsterdam harbour leads Henk to the Red Light District where suspicion falls on a violent Hungarian pimp but along the way Henk finds he may have more to fear from his corrupt colleagues at IJ Tunnel 3!
Indeed, station politics play a part in all three of the stories with van der Pol having to watch his every move, never being totally sure who he can trust. In the second and third novellas there is also an element of political issues on a more national and Pan-European scale, with the alderman of Amsterdam in the first case, Rem Lottman, having moved on to bigger things in Brussels with the EU. This second novella involves Henk accompanying a Ghanaian diplomat from Brussels to Amsterdam and discovering a web of intrigue involving diamonds, stolen paintings and high class prostitutes and not only having to juggle his own station colleagues but also watch his back in Brussels. This feels like a romp round Europe and the excitement it brings is contagious. The third novella continues this theme with the kidnapping of Rem Lottman from Brussels forcing van der Pol to act in order to ensure his own safety and status within the Amsterdam police force. This is perhaps the weaker of the three but none the less still kept me riveted to the final page. This could have been because of my interest in the political machinations of the EU waning or the fact that at heart I am a police procedural fan! With each of the cases, Pernilla as a former investigative journalist also makes a contribution to the unravelling, and this was a lovely addition. Pembrey's subtle humour is also evident throughout and this serves to keep readers involved in the action.
Henk is pleasantly lacking in the demons which haunt many of the good guys in crime fiction and it is a rather refreshing change. Perhaps Henk's biggest demon is an over protectiveness of his daughter! It is evident from early on that he has real potential for exploration - Henk has legs and there is a potential minefield for development with his character. Reading the collected edition is a superb introduction into a character who I was heartened to hear in returning in 2015, but it is inevitable Henk can't continue his police or private investigator career indefinitely at the age of 55. I would hope that Pembrey considers exploring Henk as a rookie cop, in a similar format to the prequel books featuring RD Wingfield's DI Frost. I would also be keen for a full length outing to see whether the panache of these three novellas is conveyed in the longer format.
What is clearly evident is that Pembrey is a talented author and on the strength of reading this collected edition I have downloaded The Candidate a thriller set in Luxembourg. This is also a novella, but he has written longer works and I would not hesitate to read more. I would like to see the Pembrey treatment across a whole host of other locations if he can do the same justice to these as he manages with Amsterdam. Overall these are a superb introduction to Euro Noir which come highly recommended.
What a stroke of good fortune it was coming across Daniel Pembrey! After enjoying the first two novels of the Amsterdam Quartet by Jake Woodhouse, I was keen to read more Euro Noir set in the Dutch capital and I was alerted to Pembrey's talents. I certainly have someone to thank! He delivers a cracking good yarn, evident in all three of the novellas which are combined to make up The Harbour Master: The Collected Edition.
The attractions of Amsterdam as a crime setting are many, from the temptations offered by the Red Light District and legalised cannabis, down to the tensions associated with a city which is increasingly home to a multitude of immigrants and less and less natives. Add to that a long association and history of the diamond trade and there is still something about Amsterdam which brings to mind a certain heady mix of glamour tainted by a seedier side.
I think the novella is an extremely tough challenge for an author to carry off with aplomb - you have the logistics of creating characters who stay with the reader and aren't one dimensional, the task of depicting a location realistically along with managing a convincing yet not overly complex plot. Reading the three novellas which form this collected edition serves as a masterclass in the art! I felt that I had been dropped into the action in Amsterdam - Pembrey clearly has a talent for getting under the skin of his location. Not just in terms of purely physical features, but also in conveying historical and social changes through time, right down to popular culture. Thanks to him I now au fait with everything from Dutch 1980's popstars to TV weather presenters! I also cared about the two main characters and felt that I could empathise with them and appreciate their motivations. A suspenseful and gripping story told within just over 100 pages and the author manages to pull it off three times. That takes some doing and I can rarely recall such scintillating portrayal of a location which I am unfamiliar with.
The first novella, The Harbour Master, introduces the reader to Henk van der Pol, a maverick cop of the Amsterdam police force and his wife, Pernilla, both nearing retirement. Whilst inevitably jaded by his thirty odd years in the force, you also sense a fear of this impending retirement and the enforced changes that it will bring. This is also evident in Pernilla, a former investigative journalist for a daily newspaper attempting to manage her transition to working on her own online news website. Added to this is the heightened tension of the recent departure of their daughter for university and it all serves to create a realistic portrayal of the interactions between the couple in their fifties. In this first novella, the discovery of a young woman's body in Amsterdam harbour leads Henk to the Red Light District where suspicion falls on a violent Hungarian pimp but along the way Henk finds he may have more to fear from his corrupt colleagues at IJ Tunnel 3!
Indeed, station politics play a part in all three of the stories with van der Pol having to watch his every move, never being totally sure who he can trust. In the second and third novellas there is also an element of political issues on a more national and Pan-European scale, with the alderman of Amsterdam in the first case, Rem Lottman, having moved on to bigger things in Brussels with the EU. This second novella involves Henk accompanying a Ghanaian diplomat from Brussels to Amsterdam and discovering a web of intrigue involving diamonds, stolen paintings and high class prostitutes and not only having to juggle his own station colleagues but also watch his back in Brussels. This feels like a romp round Europe and the excitement it brings is contagious. The third novella continues this theme with the kidnapping of Rem Lottman from Brussels forcing van der Pol to act in order to ensure his own safety and status within the Amsterdam police force. This is perhaps the weaker of the three but none the less still kept me riveted to the final page. This could have been because of my interest in the political machinations of the EU waning or the fact that at heart I am a police procedural fan! With each of the cases, Pernilla as a former investigative journalist also makes a contribution to the unravelling, and this was a lovely addition. Pembrey's subtle humour is also evident throughout and this serves to keep readers involved in the action.
Henk is pleasantly lacking in the demons which haunt many of the good guys in crime fiction and it is a rather refreshing change. Perhaps Henk's biggest demon is an over protectiveness of his daughter! It is evident from early on that he has real potential for exploration - Henk has legs and there is a potential minefield for development with his character. Reading the collected edition is a superb introduction into a character who I was heartened to hear in returning in 2015, but it is inevitable Henk can't continue his police or private investigator career indefinitely at the age of 55. I would hope that Pembrey considers exploring Henk as a rookie cop, in a similar format to the prequel books featuring RD Wingfield's DI Frost. I would also be keen for a full length outing to see whether the panache of these three novellas is conveyed in the longer format.
What is clearly evident is that Pembrey is a talented author and on the strength of reading this collected edition I have downloaded The Candidate a thriller set in Luxembourg. This is also a novella, but he has written longer works and I would not hesitate to read more. I would like to see the Pembrey treatment across a whole host of other locations if he can do the same justice to these as he manages with Amsterdam. Overall these are a superb introduction to Euro Noir which come highly recommended.
October 28, 2016
Originally published as three novellas, No Exit Press have brought the stories about Henk van der Pol together into one volume. They've done a great job, the book is presented beautifully and that cover is wonderful, and fits so well with the story inside.
I can't remember reading any crime books set in Amsterdam before and Daniel Pembrey certainly brings this place to life. I am old enough to remember watching Van der Valk on the television in the 70s, and I have to admit that the theme tune kept playing in my head as I was reading! However, Amsterdam is not the only setting here, the reader is taken to Brussels and to Norway before the end of the book.
Henk van der Pol is close to retirement. The opening scenes of The Harbour Master find him down by the Harbour, en-route to meet with his journalist wife Petra, Vividly described, this scene sets the pace for the rest of the book as Henk discovers a body in the glassy waters, Despite the fact that Henk has thirty years service behind him, and he only has a few months left to work, he is totally committed to this case. Determined to discover who the dead woman is, and how she got there.
It soon becomes clear though that there are people in high places who would prefer that Henk kept his nose out. Everything possible is done to prevent him from taking on the case. Henk is not that sort of guy though, and he soon finds that his actions have put him, and his family in grave danger.
This is fine, high-quality writing with a lead character who is perfectly drawn and a wonderful sense of location throughout. The plot lines - and there are three, one for each segment of the book - are complex yet excellently paced and deal with some quite dark and sinister issue.
Daniel Pembrey seamlessly connects his storytelling with the history, politics and criminal underworld of his locations and this is told with great depth and wonderful characterisation. Henk commands loyalty from those closest to him, and the reader very quickly becomes one of his closest allies as he struggles to overcome the barriers that seem to be constantly in his way.
The absolute attention given to location and sense of place coupled with a well imagined and intricate plot, alongside characters who are solidly created makes The Harbour Master a stand-out crime story. The balance is perfect and hugely satisfying, recommended for all fans of crime fiction.
http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox...
I can't remember reading any crime books set in Amsterdam before and Daniel Pembrey certainly brings this place to life. I am old enough to remember watching Van der Valk on the television in the 70s, and I have to admit that the theme tune kept playing in my head as I was reading! However, Amsterdam is not the only setting here, the reader is taken to Brussels and to Norway before the end of the book.
Henk van der Pol is close to retirement. The opening scenes of The Harbour Master find him down by the Harbour, en-route to meet with his journalist wife Petra, Vividly described, this scene sets the pace for the rest of the book as Henk discovers a body in the glassy waters, Despite the fact that Henk has thirty years service behind him, and he only has a few months left to work, he is totally committed to this case. Determined to discover who the dead woman is, and how she got there.
It soon becomes clear though that there are people in high places who would prefer that Henk kept his nose out. Everything possible is done to prevent him from taking on the case. Henk is not that sort of guy though, and he soon finds that his actions have put him, and his family in grave danger.
This is fine, high-quality writing with a lead character who is perfectly drawn and a wonderful sense of location throughout. The plot lines - and there are three, one for each segment of the book - are complex yet excellently paced and deal with some quite dark and sinister issue.
Daniel Pembrey seamlessly connects his storytelling with the history, politics and criminal underworld of his locations and this is told with great depth and wonderful characterisation. Henk commands loyalty from those closest to him, and the reader very quickly becomes one of his closest allies as he struggles to overcome the barriers that seem to be constantly in his way.
The absolute attention given to location and sense of place coupled with a well imagined and intricate plot, alongside characters who are solidly created makes The Harbour Master a stand-out crime story. The balance is perfect and hugely satisfying, recommended for all fans of crime fiction.
http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox...
March 27, 2017
I really wanted to like this book, I so did. But, unfortunately, like most modern crime thrillers, it starts off exciting and pacy, but soon trundles down a road of standard clichés, and turns into a big convoluted mess.
Detective van del Pol discovers the body of a young woman off the harbour in the early morning. Like a typical cop, he wants to investigate further, but is deterred by younger guy Bergveld.
Van der Pol is sure something funny is going on, and seeks to investigate further behind Bergveld's back, but his superior Joost then threatens him to back off.
On one of his on-duty visits with his female assistant to the Red Light District, he checks in on one of the prostitutes and she appears to be frightened. His assistant notices a man watching the visit from across the road, remaining hidden among the shadows, and van der Pol assumes this guy is to blame.
Van der Pol goes on his quest to find out more about the dead woman and the man in the shadows, despite continual pressure from everyone to give up, and is even threatened by his superior. Van der Pol then fears that his teenage daughter will get caught up in all of this.
His investigations seem to show some political foul play is underfoot. After a meeting with politician Rem Lottman, van der Pol agrees to work for him in exchange for information and help, finding out about the Netherland's gifts-for-energy scheme that is going on with oil rich countries.
What I found wrong with this is that the first 100 pages went along really interestingly, and I thought the Amsterdam setting works really well and enjoyed the street settings. Then, after that, the story went to Brussels, which kind of bored me, and went down a political corruption route, which I didn't like either. The write-up on the back didn't seem to suggest any of this, let alone the cover.
The characters were flat and weak. The wife and daughter of van der Pol were so boring and clichéd. I wanted them to be different, but they hit the same notes as many other books - a nagging wife and an eye-ball rolling daughter who has only one note - sarcasm.
The prose and writing style got more complicated to understand as the book went on, and I did not like how the author added facts about certain buildings and cases, etc. It broke up the flow of the story and it was like they were notes taken from Wikipedia.
I also didn't like how one minute he has to leave his wife when they were on holiday and go and investigate the case in Norway, only then to go back a few pages later. It was unnecessary padding.
The story does not clean itself up at the end. I was confused as to why certain things happened and there was no closure at all. What was the point of the whole book? I was left annoyed that I'd wasted my time. I guess that's the problem when you read something like this after reading a Dostoyevsky.
Detective van del Pol discovers the body of a young woman off the harbour in the early morning. Like a typical cop, he wants to investigate further, but is deterred by younger guy Bergveld.
Van der Pol is sure something funny is going on, and seeks to investigate further behind Bergveld's back, but his superior Joost then threatens him to back off.
On one of his on-duty visits with his female assistant to the Red Light District, he checks in on one of the prostitutes and she appears to be frightened. His assistant notices a man watching the visit from across the road, remaining hidden among the shadows, and van der Pol assumes this guy is to blame.
Van der Pol goes on his quest to find out more about the dead woman and the man in the shadows, despite continual pressure from everyone to give up, and is even threatened by his superior. Van der Pol then fears that his teenage daughter will get caught up in all of this.
His investigations seem to show some political foul play is underfoot. After a meeting with politician Rem Lottman, van der Pol agrees to work for him in exchange for information and help, finding out about the Netherland's gifts-for-energy scheme that is going on with oil rich countries.
What I found wrong with this is that the first 100 pages went along really interestingly, and I thought the Amsterdam setting works really well and enjoyed the street settings. Then, after that, the story went to Brussels, which kind of bored me, and went down a political corruption route, which I didn't like either. The write-up on the back didn't seem to suggest any of this, let alone the cover.
The characters were flat and weak. The wife and daughter of van der Pol were so boring and clichéd. I wanted them to be different, but they hit the same notes as many other books - a nagging wife and an eye-ball rolling daughter who has only one note - sarcasm.
The prose and writing style got more complicated to understand as the book went on, and I did not like how the author added facts about certain buildings and cases, etc. It broke up the flow of the story and it was like they were notes taken from Wikipedia.
I also didn't like how one minute he has to leave his wife when they were on holiday and go and investigate the case in Norway, only then to go back a few pages later. It was unnecessary padding.
The story does not clean itself up at the end. I was confused as to why certain things happened and there was no closure at all. What was the point of the whole book? I was left annoyed that I'd wasted my time. I guess that's the problem when you read something like this after reading a Dostoyevsky.
March 1, 2018
This is my review of the three-part story as published by the author, on the understanding that this is essentially the same book from a new publisher.
I'm giving this five stars for being a dense, multifaceted crime story, set in the Netherlands but skipping blithely around Europe as the leads take the cops.
Henk van der Pol is a mature policeman who lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam harbour with his wife Pernilla. He's coming up to retirement (which makes it strange that he later fights against the closure of his police station). He has dodgy friends and dedicated colleagues. He's got a student daughter who thinks nothing of disappearing for a few days and then turning up with a Russian boyfriend. And he doesn't trust his superiors. Essentially, Rebus in Dutch, we could say.
Henk follows the case of a prostitute found dead in the harbour in part one. The red light district near him is filled with East European girls controlled by Hungarian gangsters. It's all legal, but the girls are scared and don't keep all the money.
A diamond-hogging diplomat is the first obstacle in the second part, then a few bodies turn up, all connected to diplomacy, drugs, deals and power. Henk does his best but the money trails just seem too enormous for one cop to alter. Is he safe, are his family safe, if he keeps investigating?
The third part I didn't find as good as the others because a kidnapping occurs and Henk, remembering a similar case he worked on years ago, is not allowed to work it. This is strange when every other police officer seems involved. Anyway Henk doesn't get on with his local station's work (he wants to save it from closure though) but heads off on seeming wild goose chases. I appreciate that the word count is tight but I thought a few more lines were needed as Henk knows why he goes to Norway, for instance, but does not tell the reader, who is left to follow him around. We don't know what Henk hopes to gain by travelling and questioning people only peripherally involved, when he could have telephoned them. That said the location details are good in this whole book and a sense of urgency builds as surely as the awareness of corruption.
My favourite case is Part Two. Crime lovers, armchair travellers and anyone wanting a modern story in a different setting would do well to pick up The Harbour Master. Daniel Pembrey packs in more crimes than the average writer so be ready for a fast ride.
The collected edition was sent to me and this is an unbiased review.
I'm giving this five stars for being a dense, multifaceted crime story, set in the Netherlands but skipping blithely around Europe as the leads take the cops.
Henk van der Pol is a mature policeman who lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam harbour with his wife Pernilla. He's coming up to retirement (which makes it strange that he later fights against the closure of his police station). He has dodgy friends and dedicated colleagues. He's got a student daughter who thinks nothing of disappearing for a few days and then turning up with a Russian boyfriend. And he doesn't trust his superiors. Essentially, Rebus in Dutch, we could say.
Henk follows the case of a prostitute found dead in the harbour in part one. The red light district near him is filled with East European girls controlled by Hungarian gangsters. It's all legal, but the girls are scared and don't keep all the money.
A diamond-hogging diplomat is the first obstacle in the second part, then a few bodies turn up, all connected to diplomacy, drugs, deals and power. Henk does his best but the money trails just seem too enormous for one cop to alter. Is he safe, are his family safe, if he keeps investigating?
The third part I didn't find as good as the others because a kidnapping occurs and Henk, remembering a similar case he worked on years ago, is not allowed to work it. This is strange when every other police officer seems involved. Anyway Henk doesn't get on with his local station's work (he wants to save it from closure though) but heads off on seeming wild goose chases. I appreciate that the word count is tight but I thought a few more lines were needed as Henk knows why he goes to Norway, for instance, but does not tell the reader, who is left to follow him around. We don't know what Henk hopes to gain by travelling and questioning people only peripherally involved, when he could have telephoned them. That said the location details are good in this whole book and a sense of urgency builds as surely as the awareness of corruption.
My favourite case is Part Two. Crime lovers, armchair travellers and anyone wanting a modern story in a different setting would do well to pick up The Harbour Master. Daniel Pembrey packs in more crimes than the average writer so be ready for a fast ride.
The collected edition was sent to me and this is an unbiased review.
May 13, 2017
I recognised a lot of the landmarks referred to but didn't really warm to Henk van de Pol. Maybe it was too close to home and I am too critical as the book is pretty much in line wit eg. Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole with a bit less physical damage being done to Henk.
November 22, 2024
Setting: Amsterdam & Brussels; modern day.
This is the first book in a series featuring Dutch police detective Henk van der Pol who, at the start of the book, is nearing retirement. Not going to be a long series then, I thought, but by the end of the book all thoughts of retirement seemed to have been shelved!
Like his TV counterpart van der Valk, Henk lives on a houseboat with his journalist wife Petra, their daughter having just started university. One morning, Henk is walking by the harbour when he spots the body of a young woman floating in the water. Despite attempts by his senior officers to side line him from the investigation, Henk pursues his own enquiries, causing himself and some of his colleagues some problems.
Yet he seems to rise above them and, six months on, finds himself leading a team of detectives at one of Amsterdam's police stations. This was partly due to the influence exerted by a former Dutch politician, Rem Lottman, now ensconced in Brussels as part of the European Union hierarchy. But then Rem asks Henk for a favour, which again puts him at loggerheads with his seniors and also puts his and his family's lives in danger....
I don't really know what it was about this one, whether the storylines or the characters or perhaps a bit of both, but I never found myself really connecting with this one. Even though I read quite a lot of crime series and generally enjoy them, this one left me a bit cold so, even though I have the next book in the series on Kindle, not sure I will be rushing to read it I'm afraid! - 6.5/10.
This is the first book in a series featuring Dutch police detective Henk van der Pol who, at the start of the book, is nearing retirement. Not going to be a long series then, I thought, but by the end of the book all thoughts of retirement seemed to have been shelved!
Like his TV counterpart van der Valk, Henk lives on a houseboat with his journalist wife Petra, their daughter having just started university. One morning, Henk is walking by the harbour when he spots the body of a young woman floating in the water. Despite attempts by his senior officers to side line him from the investigation, Henk pursues his own enquiries, causing himself and some of his colleagues some problems.
Yet he seems to rise above them and, six months on, finds himself leading a team of detectives at one of Amsterdam's police stations. This was partly due to the influence exerted by a former Dutch politician, Rem Lottman, now ensconced in Brussels as part of the European Union hierarchy. But then Rem asks Henk for a favour, which again puts him at loggerheads with his seniors and also puts his and his family's lives in danger....
I don't really know what it was about this one, whether the storylines or the characters or perhaps a bit of both, but I never found myself really connecting with this one. Even though I read quite a lot of crime series and generally enjoy them, this one left me a bit cold so, even though I have the next book in the series on Kindle, not sure I will be rushing to read it I'm afraid! - 6.5/10.
March 13, 2023
Nicely written and easy to read, massive fan of the bite size chapters in 3 parts.
April 3, 2015
I'm giving this five stars for being a dense, multifaceted crime story, set in the Netherlands but skipping blithely around Europe as the leads take the cops.
Henk van der Pol is a mature policeman who lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam harbour with his wife Pernilla. He's coming up to retirement (which makes it strange that he later fights against the closure of his police station). He has dodgy friends and dedicated colleagues. He's got a student daughter who thinks nothing of disappearing for a few days and then turning up with a Russian boyfriend. And he doesn't trust his superiors. Essentially, Rebus in Dutch, we could say.
Henk follows the case of a prostitute found dead in the harbour in part one. The red light district near him is filled with East European girls controlled by Hungarian gangsters. It's all legal, but the girls are scared and don't keep all the money.
A diamond-hogging diplomat is the first obstacle in the second part, then a few bodies turn up, all connected to diplomacy, drugs, deals and power. Henk does his best but the money trails just seem too enormous for one cop to alter. Is he safe, are his family safe, if he keeps investigating?
The third part I didn't find as good as the others because a kidnapping occurs and Henk, remembering a similar case he worked on years ago, is not allowed to work it. This is strange when every other police officer seems involved. Anyway Henk doesn't get on with his local station's work (he wants to save it from closure though) but heads off on seeming wild goose chases. I appreciate that the word count is tight but I thought a few more lines were needed as Henk knows why he goes to Norway, for instance, but does not tell the reader, who is left to follow him around. We don't know what Henk hopes to gain by travelling and questioning people only peripherally involved, when he could have telephoned them. That said the location details are good in this whole book and a sense of urgency builds as surely as the awareness of corruption.
I advise reading the collected trio of stories to get a good feeling for Henk and his family; also the cases, though separate, each refer back to the previous ones so the third part would read less well as a standalone for newcomers. My favourite case is Part Two. Crime lovers, armchair travellers and anyone wanting a modern story in a different setting would do well to pick up The Harbour Master. Daniel Pembrey packs in more crimes than the average writer so be ready for a fast ride.
Henk van der Pol is a mature policeman who lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam harbour with his wife Pernilla. He's coming up to retirement (which makes it strange that he later fights against the closure of his police station). He has dodgy friends and dedicated colleagues. He's got a student daughter who thinks nothing of disappearing for a few days and then turning up with a Russian boyfriend. And he doesn't trust his superiors. Essentially, Rebus in Dutch, we could say.
Henk follows the case of a prostitute found dead in the harbour in part one. The red light district near him is filled with East European girls controlled by Hungarian gangsters. It's all legal, but the girls are scared and don't keep all the money.
A diamond-hogging diplomat is the first obstacle in the second part, then a few bodies turn up, all connected to diplomacy, drugs, deals and power. Henk does his best but the money trails just seem too enormous for one cop to alter. Is he safe, are his family safe, if he keeps investigating?
The third part I didn't find as good as the others because a kidnapping occurs and Henk, remembering a similar case he worked on years ago, is not allowed to work it. This is strange when every other police officer seems involved. Anyway Henk doesn't get on with his local station's work (he wants to save it from closure though) but heads off on seeming wild goose chases. I appreciate that the word count is tight but I thought a few more lines were needed as Henk knows why he goes to Norway, for instance, but does not tell the reader, who is left to follow him around. We don't know what Henk hopes to gain by travelling and questioning people only peripherally involved, when he could have telephoned them. That said the location details are good in this whole book and a sense of urgency builds as surely as the awareness of corruption.
I advise reading the collected trio of stories to get a good feeling for Henk and his family; also the cases, though separate, each refer back to the previous ones so the third part would read less well as a standalone for newcomers. My favourite case is Part Two. Crime lovers, armchair travellers and anyone wanting a modern story in a different setting would do well to pick up The Harbour Master. Daniel Pembrey packs in more crimes than the average writer so be ready for a fast ride.
November 15, 2016
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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
View all my reviews
January 29, 2017
The Harbour Master is a police procedural thriller set in Amsterdam. The lead protagonist is Henk van der Pol, a cop nearing retirement, who is very much his own man and is reluctant to retire quietly. When he suspects that an investigation is being deliberately stalled he decides to keep digging, placing himself and family in danger. From there Pembrey keeps layering in criminal intrigue and police and political corruption as Henk stumbles and prods, making and tangling with enemies close by. Pembrey keeps the pace and tension high, but there were too many things I had a hard time believing from police and diplomatic conspiracies, to threats to shut police stations outside of any procedures or public process, to Henk’s investigative journalist wife having never previously visited Brussels. The whole police setup felt far too small, rather than the large sprawling bureaucracy that it is. The result was a tale that had plenty going on, but didn’t quite ring true.
October 1, 2016
This book is also shown on Goodreads as: The Harbour Master: The Collected Edition (The Harbour Master #1-3)
Easy to get into, and whilst not gripping, I felt engaged from the beginning with the characters and the plot. At times I wasn't sure I understood all the political goings on, as much is inferred rather than explained, though this didn't detract from the book - it just meant needing to cogitate a bit! It felt like the book was written with inside knowledge both of the countries and the police force, making it a refreshing change from UK based crime stories.
Easy to get into, and whilst not gripping, I felt engaged from the beginning with the characters and the plot. At times I wasn't sure I understood all the political goings on, as much is inferred rather than explained, though this didn't detract from the book - it just meant needing to cogitate a bit! It felt like the book was written with inside knowledge both of the countries and the police force, making it a refreshing change from UK based crime stories.
November 5, 2016
This atmospheric police procedural makes the most of its Amsterdam setting, making the characters and the world they inhabit a richly painted and intriguing mixture. Detective Henk van der Pol is an engaging lead, principled and maverick all at the same time. The Harbour Master is a great twist on the Nordic Noir side of crime fiction, and this is an author I'm looking forward to reading more from.
January 17, 2017
Quite hard to get into initially, might just have been me! The plot picked up, however, and gripped my attention. When I'd finished I went back to the beginning to find out why the title was The Harbour Master, blink and you'll miss it!
November 14, 2016
Two key characters in THE HARBOUR MASTER are equally important: Henk van der Pol and Amsterdam. They cannot exist without each other.
Having spent years in the military and living abroad Henk is a maverick cop on the verge of retirement, the owner of a typical houseboat, strongly believing that ‘we Dutch remain at heart a seafaring people’. He is happy with his personal life, still attracted to his wife Pernilla, a newspaper features writer, and slightly anxious about daughter Nadia, a headstrong media student. In the professional sense Henk is growing disillusioned with the budget-and-target driven management at the police station where he’s stationed. Also, it seems that politics and connections take priority over decent policing and clearing the streets of criminals. And as Henk and the city are one, the work and private lives merge constantly into one, too.
When on a cold morning Henk finds a woman’s body in Amsterdam Harbour, he’s told by his boss to back off. The photos he took on his mobile vanish. But the weathered detective isn’t going to give up. He follows gut feelings and tenuous clues: a tattoo seen on the dead body, leading him into the Red Light District and then the den of a vicious Hungarian pimp. His involvement threatens his family life. Henk must decide who his real friends are, especially as his own investigation creates more problems with his superiors, though his own small team of Stefan and Liesbeth duly deal with orders and suggestions.
In the second part Henk investigates a mysterious case involving diamonds and a Ghanaian diplomat, fine art and drugs. He travels to Rotterdam and Brussels, visits places that are out of limits, questions a glamorous art insurer and a head of a notorious bike gang. There is a high class prostitute viciously beaten by a client. And a murder of a Norwegian diplomat which takes Henk to Oslo in the third book. The finale also sees Henk working outside of the official investigation into the kidnapping of a powerful Dutch politician Rem Lottman who might (or not) be his friend. The situation mirrors the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken in 1983 and Henk cut his professional teeth on that case.
Daniel Pembrey is a master of concise stylish writing. It demonstrates not only his craftsmanship and discipline but also an intelligent ability to convey mood and atmosphere of the setting and urgency of Henk’s actions within the clearly defined framework of a novella. This vivid and mesmerising portrait of the city is not for the faint-hearted. However, murky, dangerous and illegal Amsterdam is very appealing as Pembrey weaves tiny pearls of history and geography into the tightly constructed stories.
Putting three books together makes perfect sense: it allows the reader to immerse in Henk’s life while he manoeuvres through the maze of political options, criminal underworld and old friends. He is a good player yet feels threatened by all the changes… So Henk van der Pol tries to remember his own motto: Things evolve. And they will keep evolving in further instalments of the Harbour Master series.
Having spent years in the military and living abroad Henk is a maverick cop on the verge of retirement, the owner of a typical houseboat, strongly believing that ‘we Dutch remain at heart a seafaring people’. He is happy with his personal life, still attracted to his wife Pernilla, a newspaper features writer, and slightly anxious about daughter Nadia, a headstrong media student. In the professional sense Henk is growing disillusioned with the budget-and-target driven management at the police station where he’s stationed. Also, it seems that politics and connections take priority over decent policing and clearing the streets of criminals. And as Henk and the city are one, the work and private lives merge constantly into one, too.
When on a cold morning Henk finds a woman’s body in Amsterdam Harbour, he’s told by his boss to back off. The photos he took on his mobile vanish. But the weathered detective isn’t going to give up. He follows gut feelings and tenuous clues: a tattoo seen on the dead body, leading him into the Red Light District and then the den of a vicious Hungarian pimp. His involvement threatens his family life. Henk must decide who his real friends are, especially as his own investigation creates more problems with his superiors, though his own small team of Stefan and Liesbeth duly deal with orders and suggestions.
In the second part Henk investigates a mysterious case involving diamonds and a Ghanaian diplomat, fine art and drugs. He travels to Rotterdam and Brussels, visits places that are out of limits, questions a glamorous art insurer and a head of a notorious bike gang. There is a high class prostitute viciously beaten by a client. And a murder of a Norwegian diplomat which takes Henk to Oslo in the third book. The finale also sees Henk working outside of the official investigation into the kidnapping of a powerful Dutch politician Rem Lottman who might (or not) be his friend. The situation mirrors the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken in 1983 and Henk cut his professional teeth on that case.
Daniel Pembrey is a master of concise stylish writing. It demonstrates not only his craftsmanship and discipline but also an intelligent ability to convey mood and atmosphere of the setting and urgency of Henk’s actions within the clearly defined framework of a novella. This vivid and mesmerising portrait of the city is not for the faint-hearted. However, murky, dangerous and illegal Amsterdam is very appealing as Pembrey weaves tiny pearls of history and geography into the tightly constructed stories.
Putting three books together makes perfect sense: it allows the reader to immerse in Henk’s life while he manoeuvres through the maze of political options, criminal underworld and old friends. He is a good player yet feels threatened by all the changes… So Henk van der Pol tries to remember his own motto: Things evolve. And they will keep evolving in further instalments of the Harbour Master series.
December 20, 2020
I feel a bit deceived by the synopsis. The blurb on the back cover is what sold this to me, but that story is wrapped up in the first 50 pages, then it goes on an un-advertised tangent with FAR too many characters (all similar to one another), and far too many things shoehorned in at once that it fizzled out in to a boring mess. I found it hard to relax in to it.
This author reminds me of Stella Rimington in that; it's very safe and formulaic without any risks. Everything falls in to place too conveniently without the characters having to work very hard. Even then, I always felt like the characters knew what was happening with greater ease than I did. At least Stella Rimington has the background to claim expertise on her subject matter - Let's address the elephant in the room here - A British author is narrating from the perspective of a Dutch 30-year police veteran. I don't mind that sort of thing if it's done well, but I cringe as a reader when someone pretends they understand the society of other countries. The dialogue uses too much British slang and flows for the English language. It doesn't translate well. Dutch characters wouldn't converse in such fluent English, nor would they point out there Dutch-ness so frequently.
This author reminds me of Stella Rimington in that; it's very safe and formulaic without any risks. Everything falls in to place too conveniently without the characters having to work very hard. Even then, I always felt like the characters knew what was happening with greater ease than I did. At least Stella Rimington has the background to claim expertise on her subject matter - Let's address the elephant in the room here - A British author is narrating from the perspective of a Dutch 30-year police veteran. I don't mind that sort of thing if it's done well, but I cringe as a reader when someone pretends they understand the society of other countries. The dialogue uses too much British slang and flows for the English language. It doesn't translate well. Dutch characters wouldn't converse in such fluent English, nor would they point out there Dutch-ness so frequently.
November 14, 2016
Booktrail your journey here: Travel To Amsterdam with Daniel Pembrey
A cracking start to the trilogy and a great guide to the city, culture and history of Amsterdam. Maybe not the kind of tour that the tourist centre would have on offer but it evokes and immerses you in every street, where you can smell the waffles in the air and hear the canal water lapping at your feet.
This is a dark Amsterdam with a great hero in Henk Van der Pol. I enjoyed getting to know him – and getting to know him is exactly what I mean, in the way we meet him on his houseboat, in his favourite pub, as if you were there in person.
A very vivid and immersive novel where Amsterdam itself plays a leading role. A great story too which rattles on at a fine pace, with enough thrills and spills to knock you off course. And at the length of a novella, this is no mean feat.
I’ve read all three now and it is best to start with this one. When there is a line ‘The low flatness of Holland could make a man mad’ near the end though, you just know part two is going to be good.
A cracking start to the trilogy and a great guide to the city, culture and history of Amsterdam. Maybe not the kind of tour that the tourist centre would have on offer but it evokes and immerses you in every street, where you can smell the waffles in the air and hear the canal water lapping at your feet.
This is a dark Amsterdam with a great hero in Henk Van der Pol. I enjoyed getting to know him – and getting to know him is exactly what I mean, in the way we meet him on his houseboat, in his favourite pub, as if you were there in person.
A very vivid and immersive novel where Amsterdam itself plays a leading role. A great story too which rattles on at a fine pace, with enough thrills and spills to knock you off course. And at the length of a novella, this is no mean feat.
I’ve read all three now and it is best to start with this one. When there is a line ‘The low flatness of Holland could make a man mad’ near the end though, you just know part two is going to be good.
August 28, 2017
I must admit I'm not much of a reader and haven't read a book in many years, however when on holiday with my partner in Amsterdam (Who does read) we decided to venture into a book store. While browsing I noticed a special two shelf section for crime novels based in Amsterdam. The Habour Master jumped out at me, and I made an impulse decision to buy the book.
Once I started reading I struggled to put the book down, Daniel Pembrey really painted an accurate picture of the place I was currently visiting, with a highly entertaining storyline. Halfway through the book I knew I'd want to read the sequel, The Night Market, so i rushed back to the book store to buy it before I left Amsterdam.
Henk was a very likeable main character in my opinion and I enjoyed reading his three stories in this book. However there were some points in the book that were hard to keep up with, with so many characters who Henk met that ended up being meaningless, however I suppose that would be realistic in most detective cases like these ones!
Thank you Daniel Pembrey for writing a book that gave me interest in reading again!
Once I started reading I struggled to put the book down, Daniel Pembrey really painted an accurate picture of the place I was currently visiting, with a highly entertaining storyline. Halfway through the book I knew I'd want to read the sequel, The Night Market, so i rushed back to the book store to buy it before I left Amsterdam.
Henk was a very likeable main character in my opinion and I enjoyed reading his three stories in this book. However there were some points in the book that were hard to keep up with, with so many characters who Henk met that ended up being meaningless, however I suppose that would be realistic in most detective cases like these ones!
Thank you Daniel Pembrey for writing a book that gave me interest in reading again!
June 10, 2017
Really enjoyed this book. Great characters, nice casual writing style. Engaging flow but without lacking in enough pace to keep me interested. Fascinating, complex plot. My only dislike was that I felt the author tackled way too many themes - conflict in the police domain, prostitution, marijuana growing, diamond dealing, large scale politics, kidnapping, murder, to name a few. I would have liked a bit more depth on a few issues rather than what seemed like a bit of everything. There was a danger of losing focus, for me anyway. Amsterdam was painted convincingly although I have only been a tourist there, it was highly believable, impressive given that the author is not a native citizen himself but a Brit. The suspenseful situations were also very convincing and real. Will definitely read the next in this series.
August 19, 2018
The Harbour Master, Van der Pol #1 2016. Detective Henk van der Pol, Amsterdam, Daniel Pembrey, UK. iBook. 1/5!!
Will return to my rule to not read foreigners writing about other countries! Some excel. Others truly do not! So many truly dumb things. I started making a list but just gave up. But this was his first book and the short novella 2018 was much tighter and better. So... This storyline flips around various cities, countries and there are lots of descriptive areas / musings not needed.
The Harbour Master, Van der Pol #1 2016. iBook. ✅
Night Market, Van der Pol #2. 2017. iBook. ✅
Initiation: Amsterdam ’83’ 2018. Kindle ✅ young van der Pol....
Will return to my rule to not read foreigners writing about other countries! Some excel. Others truly do not! So many truly dumb things. I started making a list but just gave up. But this was his first book and the short novella 2018 was much tighter and better. So... This storyline flips around various cities, countries and there are lots of descriptive areas / musings not needed.
The Harbour Master, Van der Pol #1 2016. iBook. ✅
Night Market, Van der Pol #2. 2017. iBook. ✅
Initiation: Amsterdam ’83’ 2018. Kindle ✅ young van der Pol....
December 5, 2014
5* Review:The Harbour Master
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.
5* Review:The Harbour Master II: The Maze
‘The Maze’ is a succinct description for the second in The Harbour Master series. Henk, the seasoned, world worn detective enjoys a short break with his long suffering wife, interrupted by his only political ally, currently working in Brussels. Again Henk puts work before his personal life and risks compounding the family tension with his daughter.
A series of new and unsolved crimes force Henk to question those in authority and make him wary of his peers. Still in the shadow of an unsolved suspicious death Henk finds himself at the centre of a political scandal that only he wants to expose.
The players in this mysterious thriller are numerous all provide essential clues to the true crime. Relationships both personal and work orientated are explored as they entangle but Henk must visit many expertly constructed dead ends before he finds the truth.
Henk is a clever detective, a maverick, he threatens the establishment but is a true advocate for justice. His wife Pernilla and long time army friend Johann thankfully have his back often at great personal cost.
The dramatic ending provides a satisfying conclusion to ‘The Maze’ but reveals a new crime for Henk to solve. There are also problems closer to home for Henk to explore in the next of his adventures perhaps.
A worthy second chapter of The Harbour Master series, ‘The Maze’ is a mind provoking story; fast paced action interwoven with a vivid, realistic setting and detailed characters and relationships.
I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
5 Review: The Harbour Master III: Ransom
‘The Harbour Master III: Ransom’ follows on from the cliff-hanger ending of book 2 ‘The Maze’. Henk wants to find out what has happened to Lottman, his only ally in the Dutch establishment. As we have come to expect, there are no easy passages for our off beat detective but he forges on regardless and soon begins to find there are some odd connections and strange alliances, which warrant further investigation.
The suspected kidnapping has uncomfortable parallels with Henk’s first case as a young policeman but are these real or imagined? The enigmatic Henk manages to get more answers than his enemies would like but it seems he is doomed to lose the war with the corrupt bureaucrats. Again the settings are vibrant and integral to the plot and there are many delightful minor characters that enhance this political thriller.
The author teases the reader with snippets of information and possible leads, giving the story its realistic edge. The conclusion ties up the immediate story in a satisfying way but there are still queries that need resolving and I am happy to see our intrepid detective will feature in another story in a different setting.
I received a copy of this story from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Daniel Pembrey
March 10, 2017
Complex and atmospheric
The details concerning Dutch life and society ring true. The Netherlands is a complex country! I know Amsterdam well, and Daniel Pembrey depicts it graphically. The hero is not unlikeable and the plot holds together - just. Certain aspects of the administrative framework seem unlikely, but perhaps that demonstrates the unexpected aspects of a country which is fundamentally very different than one would superficially suppose!
The details concerning Dutch life and society ring true. The Netherlands is a complex country! I know Amsterdam well, and Daniel Pembrey depicts it graphically. The hero is not unlikeable and the plot holds together - just. Certain aspects of the administrative framework seem unlikely, but perhaps that demonstrates the unexpected aspects of a country which is fundamentally very different than one would superficially suppose!
June 13, 2017
Should read the next one in the series! Great atmosphere, characters you have to pay attention to. Beware: makes you want to book a flight to Amsterdam!
The next one is better though, if you have doubts, move on to Night Market, I moved on after finishing this one and read it in a few days...
Though these two stories are connected very much, its a bit like reading one book.
Good luck Henk, cant wait to see you again.
The next one is better though, if you have doubts, move on to Night Market, I moved on after finishing this one and read it in a few days...
Though these two stories are connected very much, its a bit like reading one book.
Good luck Henk, cant wait to see you again.
August 24, 2017
This is a very fast moving, almost breathless thriller and was, at times, confusing with all the different people and stories coming and going, often with little explanation. There were also a lot of real news stories referenced, some of which were interesting and a lot of euro politics. Having said that, I loved the descriptions of Amsterdam and the main characters, so I will persevere as this series could turn into a really good one, once the writer stops trying to cram so much into one book!
January 14, 2019
I am being a bit critical with this one. I enjoyed it a bit but it seemed a bit open ended both the beginning and the end. He was disliked, but it was never really revealed why. The end came with an unpredictability but, what happened? For a policeman on the outer he seemed able to do a lot that his colleagues couldn't. Some incidents seemed, to this reader, to be beyond the bounds of feasibility and this spoiled it for me somewhat. Three stars, read it and make your own mind up.
April 9, 2020
I'm a sucker for anything Amsterdam especially if it captures the feeling of the city with a good knowledge of places and the atmosphere. This book certainly does that but the plot disappoints with the main character investigating and solving every crime going and his apparent ease of movement between Norway Belgium and everybody else's 'patch' in the Netherlands in addition to his own while arranging for an old army buddy to carry out a murder for him. Just too far fetched I'm afraid.
July 2, 2017
Highly entertaining thriller with engaging principal character Henk van der Pol world weary but straight detective with an interesting family life. The plot is strong and well woven between lowlife criminals and senior police and politicians getting mixed up in nefarious deeds. Very enjoyable and will definitely read the sequels.
February 20, 2018
Quite enjoyed this detective fiction from Daniel Pembrey set in Amsterdam. The protagonist is a detective, Henk who is at the end of his career but can't help getting himself into everything at hand. I enjoyed his distain for his superiors as well as his bending of the rules to get to the truth.
Looking forward to reading the second one in this series.
Looking forward to reading the second one in this series.
May 25, 2017
A good book that makes Amsterdam come alive. The book moved along at a good pace, though the plot jumped about a bit.
Now that Henk van der Pol has been introduced to us, I am sure that there is more to come.
Now that Henk van der Pol has been introduced to us, I am sure that there is more to come.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews