Inspector De Klerck and the Dead Philanthropist (2025) by P. Dieudonné

Earlier this month, E-Pulp released P. Dieudonné's thirteenth novel in the Rotterdam police series, Rechercheur De Klerck en de dode weldoener (Inspector De Klerck and the Dead Philanthropist, 2025), set during those cold, dark days between Sinterklaas and Christmas – when the strangest cases happen in the Netherlands. At least, that's what A.C. Baantjer tried to make happen in De Cock en een dodelijke dreiging (DeKok and the Deadly Threat, 1988), but it never got anywhere. So good to see Dieudonné giving it another try with Inspector De Klerck and the Dead Philanthropist.

This curious case begins innocently enough with an elderly, obviously lonely woman, Neeltje van Kwawegen, calling the police to report that her beloved Tom has gone missing. She can't bear the thought of spending Christmas without him and even accuses her neighbor of murder. Albert Cornelis de Waal, a young cop, takes pity and answers the call. When he arrives at her apartment, De Waal indeed finds a lonely, elderly woman living a dozen, or so, cats. Neeltje's beloved Tom is indeed a tomcat who has gone missing. I was only half joking when ending the review of the previous De Klerck novel hoping the thirteenth would be titled Rechercheur De Klerck en de dertien katten (Inspector De Klerck and the Thirteen Cats), because it would be too tempting not to do for a Baantjer fan. Dieudonné is the Baantjer fan. Not that I expected this book to actually feature a dozen, plus one, cats. Let's return to the story.

Neeltje is a deeply superstitious woman, referring to the number thirteen as "a dozen plus one," who believes Tom's disappearance is a bad omen as the tomcat was her fourteenth feline and she's now left with a dozen, plus one – bound to bring misfortune ("...expect death and destruction"). What else can the kindly De Waal do, except to promise to look around for Tom? Next day, Inspectors Lucien de Klerck and Ruben Klaver are called to the same apartment complex where a prominent, dying citizen of Rotterdam is found brutally murdered in his own home.

Waldemar van Henegouwen was a well-known, beloved city philanthropist whose charity, Weldaad aan de Maas, dedicated to help the poorer people of the city and terminally ill children. It earned him a knighthood and numerous other prestigious awards. Van Henegouwen was dying himself with only a month, or two, left to live, but why kill a terminal ill, dying man? Why use a harpoon to run him through to leave him pinned to the chair? Someone is laboring very hard this December on their ponderous chain! And the strangeness doesn't end there. When reviewing the security footage, De Klerck and Klaver not only spot their colleague De Waal, but someone dressed up as the Grinch in Santa Claus custom. Klaver is shocked by the costumed figure, because only the night before he had attended a benefit show organized by Van Henegouwen's charity. A comedy-magic act by Felix Froentjes and his sons, Floris en Frans-Jan, who performed a magic portal-trick with them dresses as the Grinch's Santa Claus. Felix Frientjes was Van Henegouwen's best friend and Frans-Jan was a former tenant who got kicked out for being a nuisance, but is there connection with the murder? There's also two handymen with a criminal records, Neeltje's cat hating neighbor, the missing cat and a Commissioner De Froideville who's being more difficult than usual.

Inspector De Klerck and the Dead Philanthropist is as packed as a Christmas stocking filled with more than one surprise and definitely marks a return to form after the uncharacteristic messily plotted Rechercheur De Klerck en de stille hoop (Inspector De Klerck and the Silent Hope, 2025). Dieudonné is definitely back to his old tricks here with the exterior of the story belying the intricate scheme and plot cleverly hidden underneath. When it comes to the conclusion, the temptation is there to draw comparison to some of the Golden Age names, but here it would constitute a spoiler. That solution can be worked out, roughly speaking, by the time De Klerck pieces the whole thing together. And it turns out the missing cat had a not unimportant role to play in this Christmas drama. So perhaps the book really should have been titled Rechercheur De Klerck and de dertiende kat (Inspector De Klerck and the Thirteenth Cat), but in every other way it can stand with the best in the series like Rechercheur De Klerck en de ongrijpbare dood (Inspector De Klerck and the Elusive Death, 2020) and Rechercheur De Klerck en moord in scène (Inspector De Klerck and Murder on the Scene, 2021). You can definitely expect Inspector De Klerck and the Dead Philanthropist to get a spot on a future followup to "The Naughty List: Top 12 Favorite Christmas Mystery Novels & Short Stories."