A Cold Case in Amsterdam Central
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By Anja de Jager
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1 review
Detective Lotte Meerman is convinced the death of Frank Stapel, a painter and decorator, isn’t an accident after she and his widow Tessa find a skeleton in a sports bag in his left luggage locker at Amsterdam Central train station.
The remains date from the Second World War and Lotte’s colleagues consider it of minor importance . . . until forensic tests show that amongst the bones is the arm bone of a crime boss who recently went missing.
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Set in contemporary Amsterdam, this is Book 2 of a series of six and features flawed detective Lotte Meerman, who is returning to work after being shot on her last assignment. Now, several months after her injury, the office seems a different place as colleagues have been jockeying for position in her absence, so coming back presents her with challenges. When a builder falls to his death from a tall building it’s thought to be a tragic accident or suicide, until a left luggage ticket found in his pocket causes the police to discover a bag of bones, which date from WW2. Suddenly the case isn’t quite so straightforward. What I enjoyed about this was that the author brings Amsterdam to life as a living, breathing place, and also shines a light on the complexity of war experiences in an occupied country. Also, Lotte is a complex, feisty and unpredictable protagonist and I thought the discovery of what really had happened to the builder was ingenious.
Review by Silent Witness, Oundle Crime
