Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwilliams van de Wettering -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS

Outsider In Amsterdam by Janwilliams van de Wettering

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

The Volkswagen was parked on the wide sidewalk of the Haarlemmer Houttuinen, opposite number 5, and it was parked the way it shouldn't be parked.

-- from Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwilliams van de Wettering.  I love Soho Press's "Soho Crimes" imprint because they specialize in mystery series set in different countries. I also love the candy colored spines. Whenever I find any at library friends shops or the like, I snap them up, especially if, like this one, they are the first book in a series. My dream is to one day read all the Soho Crime books I collected, straight through. 

This book is the first in the Grijpstra & DeGier series, also known as the Amsterdam Cops series, probably because no one can spell or pronounce Grijpstra.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from Outsider in Amsterdam:

The accountant sucked pensively on his cigar and began to cough. He looked ferocious and the saggy cigar stub was killed with savage power.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

On a quiet street in downtown Amsterdam, the founder of a new religious society/commune—a group that calls itself “Hindist” and mixes elements of various “Eastern” traditions—is found hanging from a ceiling beam. Detective-Adjutant Gripstra and Sergeant de Gier of the Amsterdam police are sent to investigate what looks like a simple suicide, but they are immediately suspicious of the circumstances.

This now-classic novel, first published in 1975, introduces Janwillem van de Wetering’s lovable Amsterdam cop duo of portly, worldly-wise Gripstra and handsome, contemplative de Gier.

I have no idea why the names are spelled differently in the description than they are on the cover of the book! Other than they are spelled in a more difficult way on the cover. Perhaps the publisher simplified them in a later edition.