The Square of Revenge (Inspector Van In Mysteries)

From Booklist In his first novel to be published in the U.S., internationally best-selling Flemish crime writer Aspe introduces readers to Belgian Detective Inspector Pieter Van In, who solves crimes in the idyllic medieval city of Bruges. As the novel opens, Detective Van In is investigating a most unusual jewelry-store robbery in which no item was stolen but irreparable damage was done. (The store’s precious jewels were dissolved in jars of aqua regia, an acid strong enough to melt gold.) The perpetrator was clearly sending a message to wealthy store proprietor Ludovic Degroof. But what were the reasons for such unabashed spite? As Detective Van In and his comely new colleague, Hannelore Martens, probe clues, they uncover a sordid world of forbidden love and sinister deeds. When Degroof’s grandson, Bertrand, is taken hostage, Van In and Martens must plumb the depths of family dysfunction to save the young man’s life. Aspe’s writing is crisp and his characters memorable, but his intriguing premise loses luster toward the end. --Allison Block “The Flemish Georges Simenon.” - Le Figaro (France) “ Pulp fiction is great for the beach, but there’s nothing like a good destination mystery to take you out of town for the summer. This category has two branches: the Enthusiastic American Abroad travelogue and the I’m a Native and You’re Not procedural. Since the latter often take place in Italy, The Square of Revenge ,xa0by the Belgian author Pieter Aspe, is a welcome addition. Set in the splendid medieval city of Bruges, it stars Inspector Pieter Van In, a brusque cop with every bad habit you can think of.xa0 The story opens with an extremely vindictive crime: thieves have broken into an exclusive jewelry store, but instead of making off with the loot they dump it in a tank of corrosive chemicals. Van In’s intuitive and often impulsive detection style can be disorienting, but his powers of observation are sharp and his insider’s view of this ancient and grandly aloof city are priceless. ” - Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review “A very likeable and very politically incorrect group of detectives. Humor is permanent, the plot is well constructed,and the whole story extremely exotic.” - L'Express (France) “Offbeat characters and an unusual plot lift Belgian author Aspe’s first Pieter Van In novel to be translated into English...Van In and his eccentric cast of colleagues will be welcome companions for many readers, who will probably find comparisons to Simenon’s Maigret.” - Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW “To sell a million copies in only ten years! This never happened in Flanders before.” - Het Laatste Nieuws (Belgium) “Aspe is and always will be one of our best authors. An exciting murder mystery, a pinch of humor, and a generous serving of sex are among the highlights of the series.” - Crimezone.nl (Belgium) Pieter Aspe is the author of a series detective stories starring inspector Van In. The Square of Revenge is the first novel to be translated into English.xa0 Pieter lives in Bruges, Belgium, and is on of the most popular writers contemporary writers in the Flemish language. Read more