'Freeling's Inspector Van der Valk is less rugged than Rebus, less parsonical than Dalgliesh, more Morse than Frost, and more Maigret than any of them. Marvellous' - Anita Brookner'Freeling is a joy to read' TLS'You're in for a treat' COSMOPOLITANA woman, Elsa, is brutally murdered in her Amsterdam apartment.Her ex-lover, Martin, is seen outside the building around the time of the crime.The witness who saw him?A policeman.It looks like a straightforward case - but police inspector Van der Valk is not convinced. Despite all the evidence - and the fact that Martin originally denied he was at the apartment - he believes Martin is not guilty of murder.Instead of charging him, Van der Valk takes him on a tour:a tour of the investigation; a tour of Martin's own past; and a tour into the darkly obsessive world of Elsa...