De Cock en de stervende wandelaar by A.C. Baantjer

Why read the book?

A drunk student named Alex Delszsen is locked in a cell to sleep off the drink. The next morning he is found dead. He was not drunk at all. He was poisoned. This was murder.

De Cock has been away fishing for a week. When he returns, his assistant Vledder is relieved. Vledder cannot handle the case on his own. The two detectives start working through the facts together.

The investigation runs through many interviews and several turns nobody expects. De Cock thinks his way to the truth. The case ends with a staged and dramatic scene at his own station.

Favourite quote

What I Loved

The locked cell makes a clean puzzle. A man dies in police custody, so the suspects are limited and the question is sharp. The pleasure is watching De Cock pick the case apart through patient questioning rather than action.

The partnership of De Cock and Vledder carries the book. The older detective returns from leave to steady his younger colleague, and the staged ending in the Warmoesstraat station is a fitting close.

Key Takeaway

A death that looks like a simple drunken accident turns into a careful poisoning case, solved by De Cock's questioning rather than by force.

Note

This book is only available in Dutch

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