Gun Before Butter

Rating:
Summary: Freeling at his best
Review: I didn't think that Freeling was going to be able to equal _The King of the Rainy Country_, but I think that _Gun Before Butter_ achieves that and (just possibly) more. Van der Valk links the melancholy story of Luciene Englebert with the fate of a secretive man found dead in Amsterdam. A sad and gripping story that inspires deep satisfaction in the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Freeling at his best
Review: I didn't think that Freeling was going to be able to equal _The King of the Rainy Country_, but I think that _Gun Before Butter_ achieves that and (just possibly) more. Van der Valk links the melancholy story of Luciene Englebert with the fate of a secretive man found dead in Amsterdam. A sad and gripping story that inspires deep satisfaction in the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Curious Coincidences
Review: This was the first Freeling book I've read. It's an easy read, and the characters and situations are very interesting, even engrossing. However, the book is driven by a string of highly improbable coincidences. A drunk just happens to remove the license plates from a car. The detective just happens to keep running into Lucienne on odd occasions and critical junctures. The detective just happens to be struck by a painting hanging on the victim's wall. Lucienne just happens to be in a location where some Italians just happen to be talking about the victim's wife, in a language Lucienne just happens to understand. The victim just happens to withhold from Lucienne his crucial conversation with his wife. Van der Valk didn't solve the mystery, the solution just happened to fall into his lap (with some loose ends that are never explained). So after following an interesting enough tale, one is left with a strong feeling of dissatisfaction.

Rating:
Summary: Curious Coincidences
Review: This was the first Freeling book I've read. It's an easy read, and the characters and situations are very interesting, even engrossing. However, the book is driven by a string of highly improbable coincidences. A drunk just happens to remove the license plates from a car. The detective just happens to keep running into Lucienne on odd occasions and critical junctures. The detective just happens to be struck by a painting hanging on the victim's wall. Lucienne just happens to be in a location where some Italians just happen to be talking about the victim's wife, in a language Lucienne just happens to understand. The victim just happens to withhold from Lucienne his crucial conversation with his wife. Van der Valk didn't solve the mystery, the solution just happened to fall into his lap (with some loose ends that are never explained). So after following an interesting enough tale, one is left with a strong feeling of dissatisfaction.