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Outsider in Amsterdam (Grijpstra & de Gier Mystery) 8 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
A Great Start to a Great Series
A thoroughly engaging and well-written mystery. The first in a series of mysteries pairing Amsterdam detectives Grijpstra & DeGier, this novel enchants and hooks the reader from the very beginning. The story is first class and will be enjoyed by lovers of the genre, but it's the interaction and dialogue between the two protagonists that makes this book such a gem. At times philosophers and ...
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Afterzen: Experiences of a Zen Student Out on His Ear 15 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
St. Martin's Griffin, 2001
Zen and the Harshness of Reality
This is an honest post-script to the author's path through Zen. Jawillem van der Wetering's first and second books brought me to Zen; his third re-inspired me to get back on the cushion.
If you are "into Zen", take a pass on this book. If you are looking to be a better person, reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, or become one with the Universe, take a pass.
This is Zen and Zen is ...
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Just a Corpse at Twilight: A Grijpstra and De Gier Mystery2 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
One of My Inspirations
When I decided to write my first mystery novel, which I wanted to set in Maine, I asked the manager of Murder Ink, a mystery bookstore on Second Avenue in Manhattan (now closed) to give me a list of all mystery series set in the Pine Tree State, so I could get a feel for what was already in the marketplace. (I didn't want to repeat something that had been done before.) God bless him, he ...
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Hard Rain (Amsterdam Cops) 3 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
The Turtle Meditates
This is the eleventh book in Janwillem van de Wetering's famous series about the Amsterdam police force and is something of a masterpiece in a series that is noted for exceptional writing. A death that might be an assassination and a group of junkie art thieves who suddenly die from using uncut heroin start a story that pits the commissaris against a boyhood antagonist who has become a crime ...
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Death of a Hawker3 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Riots, philosophy, unhappy marriage, and Amsterdam
Interesting and atmospheric book. I don't know if mysteries written by foreign authors just sound more intelligent or really are, but the effect remains regardless of the reason. These detectives, Grijpstra and de Gier, really come alive in these books. They have a warts and all kind of approach not only about their own personalities, but also the personalities of their friends and family ...
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The Japanese Corpse (Soho Crime)6 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
other reviewer must be a fan of Dr Seuss
It shocks and dismays me that the previous reviewer does not have the ability to analyze abstract novels. This is not a Tom Clancy book. Van de Wetering has practiced Zen Buddhism, been a cop in Amsterdam, and traveled the world. His writing is original in style and very abstract. This is not an author whose books I would recommend trying to tear up in an afternoon. But for those out there ...
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The Corpse on the Dike (Amsterdam Cops) 4 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Believable and quirky cops solve the crime!
I ran into this author by accident, browsing in the mystery category, and I am delighted that I did. This is the second book I've read from the Amsterdam Cops series, and I plan to read them all! The characters are people you'd like to get to know -- believable and quirky. The plot of this particular book takes the reader inside the physical geography of Amsterdam as well as into the minds and ...
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Tumbleweed (Grijpstra & de Gier Mystery)4 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Quick Good Reading
Tumbleweed is a thoughtful and entertaining read, which mystery enthousiasts will appreciate. No smoke and mirrors here; only a plainly set situation which unravels quite interestingly. Wetering offers his readers the chance to experience the climates of Hollands various nooks & crannies, lifesyles, and home-spun characters, while offering their interesting mindsets to contemplation. Though the ...
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The Blond Baboon (Grijpstra & De Gier Mystery)2 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 1997
Death of a Chanteuse
A wild storm rocks Amsterdam and at the end of the storm the body of Elaine Carnet, successful businesswoman and former Paris torch singer, is found with a broken neck at the foot of her garden steps. Was she killed by a gust of wind? If so, who was smoking the cigarettes that they found in her house? Grijpstra and de Gier are called in to figure out who was behind the murder. Van De Wetering's ...
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The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery18 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
St. Martin's Griffin, 1999
how many books have been written about my 'trip to zen'?
too many - this is one of the first and is the BEST. period.
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Mangrove Mama1 review
Janwillem Van De Wetering
Dennis McMillan Publications, 1995
An Exotic Collection...
This hardcover collection of short works by the consistently entertaining Van De Wetering earns a place of honor on the shelf of any true (or new) fan of the author.
Through these "tropical tales of terror" we visit locales, characters and dimensions of human desire that are at once familiar--yet fresh--to readers of Van De Wetering's fascinating procedurals and insightful non-fiction ...
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Distant danger: The 1988 Mystery Writers of America anthology
Janwillem Van De Wetering
Wynwood Press, 1988
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The Maine Massacre (Amsterdam Cops)3 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Atmospheric Thriller!
I loved this book. I've loved all the books in the series, but this one really sucked me in. The characterizations and plot descriptions are so realistic I felt as if I were in rural Maine too. Like the last reviewer, and also a foreigner, I found myself giggling at the cultural differences- they are so true! I've recommended this book and author to all my friends- mystery lovers or not, this ...
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A Glimpse of Nothingnesss6 reviews
Janwillem Van De Wetering
Ballantine Books, 1988
Brilliant Work
I picked this book up in a college town's bookstore while visiting my sister. Sometimes I will just pick up a handful of books in the Eastern Philosophy section, and see what I get when I take off my blindfold. On the car ride home I was unsure while glancing over it if I was going to like this one or not. The back speaks of "...Zen sages who were alcoholics, the two natured personality of Zen ...
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The Butterfly Hunter 1 review
Janwillem Van De Wetering
Houghton Mifflin, 1982
A cat in the sack!
Athough I am a keen reader of Janwillem van de Wetering's books, I can not recommend on this one. The novel consists of a miserable attempt at writing an international suspence roman and is hardly worth the paper it is printed on. The copy I read was published in Dutch, which is one of the two original languages in which van de Wetering writes all his books. At that time his command of Dutch was ...
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Amsterdam Cops: Collected Stories4 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Great introduction to the series
June 2000: This was the first Grijpstra/De Gier book I'd read, and it hooked me (along with all my friends who've since borrowed it). The short stories provide a great introduction to the characters and give a tantalizing look into the Zen aspects of van de Wetering's writing. Very approachable. Very fun to read. I particularly enjoyed the artillery shell story. You'll have to read it to ...
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Bliss and bluster, or, How to crack a nut 1 review
Janwillem Van de Wetering
Houghton Mifflin, 1982
Weird, weird, weird
If you are into weird books, this is the right one for you. Otherwise do not bother. The story is too odd to put into words. The drawings are fine
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Murder by Remote Control
Janwillem van de Wetering, Paul Kirchner
Ballantine Books, 1986
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Hollow-Eyed Angel (Amsterdam Cops)3 reviews
Janwillem van de Wetering
Soho Crime, 2003
Van de Wetering's strongest dose of Zen Buddhism yet.
Van de Wetering continues his search for the true meaning of being and nothingness. The commissaris and Sergeant de Gier travel to New York to investigate the death of an uncle of a member of the Amsterdam Police Reserve. Throughout the course of their investigation, the Dutch detectives continue their own personal search for enlightenment. Van de Wetering has a talent for giving his readers more ...
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