DeKok
and the Mask of Death
An
Inspector DeKok Mystery
A.
C. Baantjer
Speck
Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933108-30-4 (1933108304)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-30-8 (9781933108308)
Publication Date: July 2009
List Price: $24.00
Synopsis (from the publisher): A strange incident leads DeKok to discover the disappearance of a woman from an Amsterdam hospital. Upon further investigation, he is surprised to find that three more women have disappeared in the same mysterious way. The seasoned detective soon finds himself following a trail with many twists and turns, losing his way many times but relying on his usual dogged determination and sharp observation to see him through.
Review:
Amsterdam Police Inspector DeKok is puzzled by the disappearance of
four young women from the same hospital, which denies they were ever
there in the first place, in DeKok
and the Mask of
Death, the 27th mystery in
this series by A. C. Baantjer (and the 10th in an updated series,
translated into English by Speck Press).
The first woman is reported missing by her boyfriend, Richard
Netherwood. She had been feeling a bit lethargic and listless, so her
doctor referred her to a hospital for additional testing. When she
didn't return, Netherwood asked about her but was told by hospital
staff they had no record of admitting her. DeKok later learns, almost
by accident, that another woman was "lost" by the same hospital, a
prostitute who worked for a local hustler. When two more women are
reporting missing, DeKok knows something is seriously amiss, but no one
is cooperating in providing any information that could lead him to the
solution of this particularly vexing mystery.
For much of DeKok and the Mask of
Death, the "gray sleuth" (as
he is referred to in the text) seems restless himself, more interested
in the upcoming Sail Amsterdam, an event only held every five years in
which tall ships from around the world anchor in the harbor, than in
his investigation. He admits as much himself in this passage about
halfway through the book:
[DeKok]
intensely disliked the mysterious disappearance of people. He preferred
to start his investigations with an honest-to-goodness corpse -- a
corpse with clear signs of murder, like a strangled throat, a dented
skull, recognizable bullet holes. In his long career he had never been
able to immediately bring all his faculties to bear when there was no
corpse. The looming possibility that the presumed deceased would
suddenly appear alive and well made him unsure at the beginning of a
case.
This reluctance on the part of DeKok to be engaged causes the reader to
feel somewhat similarly: the case simply isn't all that interesting. It
isn't until DeKok recognizes that a potentially valuable book, a
"miracle book" published in 1550, is related to the women's
disappearance, and the subsequent murder of man who knew one of the
women, that his interest (and the reader's) is piqued.
Relatively short, and written in a spare, crisp manner with all loose
ends tied up in time for the tall ships to arrive, DeKok and the Mask of
Death is not the most clever
of the series but satisfying nonetheless.
Special thanks to Speck Press for providing an ARC of DeKok and the Mask of Death for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read DeKok and the Mask of Death? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
DeKok
and
the
Somber Nude (5th in series, 1967)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), January 2009
ISBN-10: 1-933108-16-9 (1933108169)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-16-2 (9781933108162)
DeKok and the Dead Harlequin (6th in
series, 1969)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), February 2009
ISBN-10: 1-933108-27-4 (1933108274)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-27-8 (9781933108278)
DeKok
and
the
Geese of Death (20th in series, 1983)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), October 2004
ISBN-10: 0-9725776-6-1 (0972577661)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9725776-6-3 (9780972577663)
DeKok
and
Murder
by Melody (21st in series, 1983)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), April 2005
ISBN-10: 0-9725776-9-6 (0972577696)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9725776-9-4 (9780972577694)
DeKok
and
the
Death of a Clown (22nd in series, 1984)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), December 2005
ISBN-10: 1-933108-03-7 (1933108037)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-03-2 (9781933108032)
DeKok
and
Variations on Murder (23rd in series, 1984)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), July 2006
ISBN-10: 1-933108-04-5 (1933108045)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-04-9 (9781933108049)
DeKok
and
Murder
by Installment (24th in series, 1985)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), March 2007
ISBN-10: 1-933108-07-X (193310807X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-07-0 (9781933108070)
DeKok
and
Murder
on Blood Mountain (25th in series, 1985)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), July 2007
ISBN-10: 1-933108-13-4 (1933108134)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-13-1 (9781933108131)
DeKok
and
the
Dead Lovers (26th in series, 1986)
Speck Press (Trade Paperback), July 2008
ISBN-10: 1-933108-22-3 (1933108223)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-22-3 (9781933108223)
DeKok and the Mask of Death (27th in
series, 1987)
Speck Press (Hardcover), July 2009
ISBN-10: 1-933108-30-4 (1933108304)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933108-30-8 (9781933108308)
Omnimystery
keywords for DeKok and the Mask of
Death ...
Location(s) referenced: Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
