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De Cock #23
De Cock en een variant op moord (Baantjer Book 23)
Gewoontegetrouw maakt mevrouw Van Haesbergen een ronde door het kantoorgebouw. Toen haar man nog leefde, was hij er conciërge. Na zijn dood stond de directeur goedwillend toe dat de weduwe haar woning boven in het pand Haesbergen, de directeur van de baggeronderneming, de heer Vreedenbergh, dood in zijn voorzitterszetel aan. De telefooncentrale is 's avond onbemand. Mevrouw Van Haesbergen wil vanuit haar woning opbellen. Maar onderweg in de lift vraagt ze zich af wie ze op zal bellen, de dokter of de politie. Ze besluit weer naar beneden te gaan om te zien wat er precies aan de hand is. Ze loopt de vergaderzaal in. De stoel is leeg. De man is weg. Heeft ze het zonet wel goed gezien? De volgende dag hoort mevrouw Van Haesbergen van de secretaresse dat de directeur met vakantie naar de Bahama's is... De zaak zit haar niet lekker en na vier dagen gaat ze naar rechercheur De Cock om hem deelgenoot te maken van haar vraag: 'Wat is er aan de hand met de heer Vreedenbergh?' aanhield, al was er voor haar geen taak meer in het gebouw.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1984
2 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
A.C. Baantjer
162 books68 followersAKA: Baantjer, Albert Cornelis Baantjer
ALBERT CORNELIS BAANTJER is the most widely read author in the Netherlands and has written more than fifty "De Kok" titles. He has also written other fiction and nonfiction and wrote a daily column in a Dutch newspaper. He was an inspector with the Amsterdam Police for thirty-eight years. Baantjer lived in Medemblik, Netherlands.
ALBERT CORNELIS BAANTJER is the most widely read author in the Netherlands and has written more than fifty "De Kok" titles. He has also written other fiction and nonfiction and wrote a daily column in a Dutch newspaper. He was an inspector with the Amsterdam Police for thirty-eight years. Baantjer lived in Medemblik, Netherlands.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 22, 2021
In most cases of suspicious death, the primary question is whodunnit, but Baantjer puts a twist on the murder game and this time the question is: "Where is the body?" Marlies van Haesbergen is an elderly woman living in the penthouse of the building housing a multi-national dredging company owned by Paul Vreeden. She and her husband had long been caretakers for the building and when that position was no longer needed, Vreeden had allowed them to keep their apartment. Even now that her husband is dead, Mrs. van Haesbergen still makes the rounds of the building each night, making sure everything is okay.
Except four days ago, it wasn't. When she entered the company's boardroom, there sat Paul Vreeden...dead. Or so she thought. She rushed off to call for help--but then wasn't certain if she should call a doctor or the police. And maybe she was too hasty and Mr. Vreeden wasn't really dead. So she goes back...and Vreeden is gone. The next morning she makes an excuse to ask for Paul Vreeden in his office and his secretary tells Mrs. van Haesbergen that her boss is out of the country on business and she could make an appointment when he got back. The elderly lady gave it a couple of days and tried again. This time she was told that he had gone from business to a holiday in the Bahamas.
The whole incident doesn't sit well with Mrs. van Haesbergen, so she brings her story to Inspector DeKok. Even though they have no body, DeKok is certain that the lady is right--something has happened to Vreeden and it's not a trip to the Bahamas. He and Vledder (his right-hand man) begin poking around and asking questions....and making someone uneasy. "They" attempt to get DeKok relieved of duties for an illegal entry, but our intrepid inspector wriggles out from under that accusation. Then dead bodies do start appearing--Mrs. Vledder is strangled, the not-too-bright Archie Benson (who comes in handy for crooks who need an assistant who won't think up too many questions) dies, and so do a couple more--but they still haven't found Paul Vreeden--alive or dead. But then DeKok has an idea based on one particular fact learned during the course of the investigation. If he can use it to his advantage, the villains of the piece will lead him straight to Vreeden's body....
The opening scene between Archie Benson and the unnamed man is gold. I've always enjoyed the DeKok mysteries I've come across, but this beginning chapter definitely grabbed hold and drew me right in. Poor Archie can't see what is plain to the reader...that unnamed man is not happy and means Archie no good.
Archibald Benson should have listened more carefully to the words of the other man. Maybe he was on overload or distracted. He followed the man outside obediently, head bowed. It was the last mistake he would make.
And that's the last we hear of Benson until the bodies start showing up.
DeKok is an older detective, resistant of new methods and prefers to stick to the tried and true ways he's always known. He'll never see promotion, but he also won't be fired because his ways, unorthodox as they may be, always gets results. His character and his interactions with Vledder and the other characters in the stories are really what makes the books. That and the way Baantjer has of putting a twist on the mystery tropes. Here we have an almost standard inverted mystery. We know Vreeden is dead. We highly suspect that it's Vreeden's body that is in question in the opening scene. But we don't know who the other man is and we don't know exactly how Vreeden has died. And, true to form, Baantjer has an extra shake to give to the puzzle pieces at the end.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
Except four days ago, it wasn't. When she entered the company's boardroom, there sat Paul Vreeden...dead. Or so she thought. She rushed off to call for help--but then wasn't certain if she should call a doctor or the police. And maybe she was too hasty and Mr. Vreeden wasn't really dead. So she goes back...and Vreeden is gone. The next morning she makes an excuse to ask for Paul Vreeden in his office and his secretary tells Mrs. van Haesbergen that her boss is out of the country on business and she could make an appointment when he got back. The elderly lady gave it a couple of days and tried again. This time she was told that he had gone from business to a holiday in the Bahamas.
The whole incident doesn't sit well with Mrs. van Haesbergen, so she brings her story to Inspector DeKok. Even though they have no body, DeKok is certain that the lady is right--something has happened to Vreeden and it's not a trip to the Bahamas. He and Vledder (his right-hand man) begin poking around and asking questions....and making someone uneasy. "They" attempt to get DeKok relieved of duties for an illegal entry, but our intrepid inspector wriggles out from under that accusation. Then dead bodies do start appearing--Mrs. Vledder is strangled, the not-too-bright Archie Benson (who comes in handy for crooks who need an assistant who won't think up too many questions) dies, and so do a couple more--but they still haven't found Paul Vreeden--alive or dead. But then DeKok has an idea based on one particular fact learned during the course of the investigation. If he can use it to his advantage, the villains of the piece will lead him straight to Vreeden's body....
The opening scene between Archie Benson and the unnamed man is gold. I've always enjoyed the DeKok mysteries I've come across, but this beginning chapter definitely grabbed hold and drew me right in. Poor Archie can't see what is plain to the reader...that unnamed man is not happy and means Archie no good.
Archibald Benson should have listened more carefully to the words of the other man. Maybe he was on overload or distracted. He followed the man outside obediently, head bowed. It was the last mistake he would make.
And that's the last we hear of Benson until the bodies start showing up.
DeKok is an older detective, resistant of new methods and prefers to stick to the tried and true ways he's always known. He'll never see promotion, but he also won't be fired because his ways, unorthodox as they may be, always gets results. His character and his interactions with Vledder and the other characters in the stories are really what makes the books. That and the way Baantjer has of putting a twist on the mystery tropes. Here we have an almost standard inverted mystery. We know Vreeden is dead. We highly suspect that it's Vreeden's body that is in question in the opening scene. But we don't know who the other man is and we don't know exactly how Vreeden has died. And, true to form, Baantjer has an extra shake to give to the puzzle pieces at the end.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
January 26, 2025
De titel van dit boek doet echt zijn naam eer aan. Zeker omdat het al heel anders begint. Het begint namelijk niet met een moord. En het duurt vrij lang voordat die moord er komt. Ik vond het heerlijk om naar deze te luisteren. Juist omdat het net iets anders was als anders. Aanrader!
April 8, 2020
Het lijk van de eigenaar van een baggermaatschappij is gevonden. Wanneer het testament aan de oppervlakte komt is er fraude in het spel; Met deze hint gaat de Cock door tot de dader is gevonden.
June 21, 2022
Die variant maakt deze Baantjer wel wat apart.
December 6, 2022
Een ingewikkeld en onvoorspelbaar verhaal. Baantjer op zijn best
January 19, 2014
I liked it. the translation was UNEXCUSABLE (loose for lose? THREE TIMES?? discrete for discreet? come on!) just no excuse. maybe a better publishing house will reissue these? And pay an editor? As much as I enjoyed the story, I can't read another translation like that. I just can't. I've read youtube comments with more polish.
May 31, 2015
An edition disconcertingly full of typos does nothing to help this telling of a case that doesn't really fit this format. The bulk of the procedural is fine, if awfully subdued in quirkiness, but sheds little light on the complex interweave of the solution. I can't think of a less representative sample of the series.
January 20, 2008
Excellent, clearly written (although this edition is a translation) mystery that doesn't slow down once. This was one of those books you search for--a one day read because it is so well-written. Highly recommended to mystery fans.
September 25, 2011
This book was written by one of the most prolific mystery writers in Dutch. It's about a homicide detective in Amsterdam who snoops around the Netherlands investigating crimes. I found this to be good, but not great.
October 18, 2011
Our library wants to cull the DeKok novels from their shelves. I hope local readers can get a chance to read them before that happens. English Morse novels, Poirot novels, to name a few, are matched by this Dutch author Baantjer in story telling about modern detectives. I recommend them.
February 24, 2009
Hard-boiled.
Too many thugs. Not much mystery.
Too many thugs. Not much mystery.
March 21, 2011
I'll read more of these!
August 27, 2013
Another easy lightweight read with an unusual plot twist. Not bad but not great either.
July 5, 2015
Predictable, light-hearted, entertaining, and riddled with copyediting errors. Proofreaders are important, y'all, but I find the goofs a little charming. No editor catches everything.
April 15, 2016
Fast paced police procedural....it was a fun read, luckily there are about 70 (?) books in the series...
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews