Two years ago, I reviewed "De
dichter die zichzelf opsloot" ("The Poet Who Locked Himself
In," 2017) by "Anne van Doorn," at the time the secret penname
of Dutch crime writer M.P.O.
Books, which is the first story about two particuliere
onderzoekers (private investigators), Robbie Corbijn and Lowina
de Jong – specialized in dead-end murder cases, missing persons and
impossible crimes! Over a ten year period, Books has become the
all-time most prolific writer of locked
room mysteries in the Netherlands!
Between 2004 and 2014,
Books wrote a grossly underrated series of police procedurals and
first toyed with this time-honored trope in De Blikvanger (The
Eye-Catcher, 2010), which introduces a minor locked room sub-plot
towards the end of the story. Een
afgesloten huis (A
Sealed House, 2013) is a full-blown locked room
mystery with a seemingly impossible murder in a tightly secured,
fortress-like house, but these miraculous crimes figure most
prominently in the Corbijn and De Jong series – most notably in "Het
huis dat ongeluk bracht" ("The House That Brought Bad
Luck," 2018) and "De
bus die de mist inging" ("The Bus That Went Into the Fog,"
2018). And, of course, "The Poet Who Locked Himself In."
So the impossible crime
stories from this series would make a nice addition to the
translations of the locked
room stories regularly published in Ellery Queen's Mystery
Magazine and collected by LRI
(e.g. Realm
of the Impossible, 2017). Well, my rambling reviews of those
stories got around.
Back in June, I announced
in a
blog-post (scroll to the bottom) that "The Poet Who Locked
Himself In" was translated and scheduled to be published in EQMM
either later this year or early 2020. The translator, Josh Pachter,
revealed
on his website that the story will appear in the September/October,
2019, issue of EQMM. I'm both excited and extremely curious to
learn what my fellow locked room enthusiasts will make of the first
Dutch impossible crime story to cross the language barrier since
Robert
van Gulik. Don't let us down, JJ. We're the only ones in Europe
who actually like you guys. And that includes the rest of the British
Isles.
Hopefully, this will open
the door to more translations in the future, not just of the Corbijn
and De Jong series, but also some titles from Books' previous
District Heuvelrug series. De
laatste kans (The
Last Chance, 2011) lacks an impossible crime, but, purely as
a detective novel, it's one of the finest my country has ever
produced and has one of those all-time brilliant clues – one that
makes you want to kick yourself for having missed. The previously
mentioned A Sealed House is great example of the modern-day
impossible crime story with an up-to-date premise and solution. There
are some other notable Dutch locked room mysteries, like Cor Docter's
Koude
vrouw in Kralingen (Cold Woman in Kralingen, 1970),
which deserve consideration. You can find an (incomplete) list of
Dutch impossible crime novels and short stories here.
So, having shilled
practically every known impossible crime story my county has to
offer, I'll close by saying that I look forward to what everyone has
to say about Books' "The Poet Who Locked Himself In." My next regular review will be posted on Friday.
Update 16-08-19: a preview of the story is now available on the EQMM website.
Update 16-08-19: a preview of the story is now available on the EQMM website.
Anyone who wants to read "The Poet Who Locked Himself In" in English can order a copy of the September/October EQMM at this link: https://www.magzter.com/US/Penny_Publications,_LLC/Ellery_Queen_Mystery_Magazine/Fiction/ (As of this moment, it's still showing the July/August issue, but S/O should be coming soon.)
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I'd love to see US publishers interested in putting out English editions of Dutch crime novels — there are so many people doing really stunning work: René Appel, Michael Berg, Esther Verhoef, many more (including, of course, "Anne van Doorn") — en ik sta paraat om ze te vertalen!
Sorry for the late response, but I have now updated the post with a link to the preview of the story. Looks good! Hope my fellow, non-Dutch speaking locked room enthusiasts like it. *fingers crossed*
DeleteI'm afraid Appel, Berg and Verhoef are a little too modern for my taste, but, if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend Books' De laatste kans. It deserves to be translated!