Strike Out Where Not Applicable

Van der Valk #7

by Nicolas Freeling

A Van der Valk Thriller - How do you prove a murder that's almost impossible to prove was a murder?

An elusive homicide evades even the most decisive guile from a true master of criminal investigation, but Van der Valk won't let that stop him. A seemingly unintended death of a local restaurant owner might not be as accidental as some would like it to appear, and when the suspicions of the Commissaire are aroused, Van der Valk is called in to ask some very awkward questions. A fascinating thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat as Van der Valk probes the strangest of human behaviours.

Genres: Mystery

230 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Nicolas Freeling born Nicolas Davidson, (March 3, 1927 - July 20, 2003) was a British crime novelist, best known as the author of the Van der Valk series of detective novels which were adapted for transmission on the British ITV network by Thames Television during the 1970s.

Freeling was born in London, but travelled widely, and ended his life at his long-standing home at Grandfontaine to the west of Strasbourg. He had followed a variety of occupations, including the armed services and the catering profession. He began writing during a three-week prison sentence, after being convicted of stealing some food.[citation needed]

Freeling's The King of the Rainy Country received a 1967 Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Novel. He also won the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association, and France's Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.

From Wikipedia

Series:
* Van Der Valk
* Henri Castang

Reviews

[Mark Lisac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freeling, always cantankerous and observant, was in fine form here. His seventh van der Valk novel provides a characteristic blend of European physical and social landscapes, psychological studies of varied characters, credible dialogue, and an exploration of the undercurrents present in those conversations, especially when one of the conversants is a commissaire of police. It's all set in a murder mystery that's as slippery as individual motivations.
Why 5 stars for an entry in an idiosyncratic police series? Because it was published in 1967 and I asked myself what crime novels published since then have I read and found at least as good. The answer was: not many, and none notably better.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Van der Valk is now a year past his injury on the job – surgery, therapy, rehab, now walking with a cane, moved from Amsterdam to the small city of Lisse, promoted to Commisaris and less onerous duties. Lisse is a prosperous town (bulb growers, a bit of light industry and tourism) but not wealthy enough to attract major criminals, located in the unique coastal area between the sand dunes and the tulip fields. He and his wife Arlette are happily settled. She has taken up riding with a group of local women, he is getting to know the area, but growing a bit bored and restless.
When the German owner of the most expensive local restaurant dies from an apparent accident, likely kicked by his horse as he dismounted, Van der Valk is almost pleased that the local doctor has questions about the death – not suspicions, just questions, but still. Something for Van der Valk to investigate, another lens for examining the community.
There is the businesslike widow and her assistant manageress, perhaps lover, the owner of the livery stable and his wife, a bit glamorous, but they dabble in s and m, a bicycle racing champion and his attractive young wife, looked down on by all the other wives, an antisocial artist who paints portraits of horses and well off matrons, plenty of potential suspects, and the dead man was not as universally liked as it seemed at first glance. The collection of social climbers is filled with rivalries and resentments, enough to rescue Van der Valk from any idleness or restlessness he may have been feeling.
Freeling’s descriptions of the area and his acute social observations make this an exceptional read.

[Martin]

Bad in a way that only a really gifted writer can accomplish. The writing, characters, and what one might call theory are very good, but the plotting is a disaster. A few times too often the sleuth is heard to say it doesn't matter who murdered the victim. At the end of the book we're not too sure either. Also a squadron of cops is made to do round-the-clock surveillance in a situation where it could never be justified. No wonder Freeling killed off his hero, he was obviously bored.

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Between the two ancient towns of Haarlem and Leiden is a strip of ground that is famous throughout the whole world. Practically every stranger arriving for the first time in the Netherlands [...] asks 'Where are the bulb fields?'"

Thus begins "Strike Out Where Not Applicable" (1967), the seventh entry in the Van der Valk series and the 28th book by Nicolas Freeling that I am reviewing here. The Dutch location, introduced in the first sentences quoted above, is portrayed so vividly in the novel that I have the feeling of having spent a lot of time there, although my actual memories from Holland are limited to one day in Amsterdam a very long time ago.

There is not much to say about the plot: it really is not that important. Commissaire Van der Valk, after long therapy and convalescent leave following his getting shot and badly wounded on the historical battlefield of Bidassoa, is now in charge of criminal brigade in a small town close to the famous bulb fields of Northern Holland. The owner of a well-known local restaurant dies while horseback riding: everyone believes he was kicked by the horse, except for the local doctor who convinces Van der Valk that things are not so simple as they seem. The Commissaire investigates and eventually has to reach for some non-standard methods in his attempts to solve the case. In the denouement, Mr. Freeling - himself a theoretician of mystery fiction who published an interesting set of essays on "literary masters of crime fiction", Criminal Convictions" - bends the rules of the genre to the point of breaking them. The ending is unexpected and not in the way one expects crime novels to have unexpected endings.

Not only does "Strike Out" offer a brilliant depiction of the Dutch locations, it also is a superb character study. For once, a raving blurb on the book cover has it right: "Nicolas Freeling is at it again, fashioning characterizations with such attentive care that he convinces me I've known the people all my life". I feel exactly the same way and wish I could put it so nicely. Yet, the novel is not a successful mystery, and my unexceptional rating reflects the demands of the genre.

About the title: Van der Valk, who as a policeman would rather try to understand people and worry about the "whys and wherefores", objects to the system whose inflexible rules force him to neatly pigeonhole people and their motives. "Tick where applicable, strike out where not applicable - form filling!"

And, finally, yet another dazzling "Freeling sentence": "Oh mother, the grammar, thought Van der Valk, and cheered himself up with the gentleman who split infinitives, by god, so they would stay split..."

Three and a half stars.

[Wade · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has been on my shelves since the seventies. Finally got around to reading it. Enjoyed the first bit; interesting cultural observation of the Dutch, but in the end it was pretty pedestrian, barely could finish it.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a better literary novel than it is a detective. For some reason the style reminded me of L.H. Myers's The "Clio" and the plot of those of Duerrenmatt.