De Cock en een strop voor Bobby by A.C. Baantjer

Why read the book?

This was Baantjer's first novel. It does not put De Cock at the front of the case. Instead the detective Albert Versteegh leads the work. A young sex worker has died, and Versteegh wants to understand why. His search brings him up against Bobby, a hard pimp.

De Cock is still in the book, but in a smaller part than he gets later. Many of the places and people that fill the later books are already here, such as the Warmoesstraat station and the police doctor. That is why the book counts as the start of the series.

The setup is simple and the world is dark. The case grows out of one death that one officer refuses to file away.

Favourite quote

What I Loved

It is interesting to read the book that began everything and to see Baantjer build the Amsterdam he would use for decades. The mood and the picture of the back streets are already strong.

For a first novel it is tight, and you can feel the shape of the later De Cock stories forming around the edges.

Key Takeaway

Start here to see where the series came from, even though De Cock himself stays in the background.

Note

This book is only available in Dutch

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