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JUST A CORPSE AT TWILIGHT is the twelfth in the Grijpstra and De Gier series. Both men have left the Amsterdam police force with De Gier now travelling around the world on a spiritual quest and Grijpstra running his own private investigation firm.

De Gier has temporarily settled on Squid Island off the coast of Jameson, Maine and whilst under the influence of illegal substances, alcohol and Miles Davis jazz believes he has killed his sort of girlfriend Lorraine by pushing her down a cliff. At least that's what two of the locals tell him as they collect their blackmail money. De Gier has no memory of the incident so calls his long time partner Grijpstra for help. Reluctantly Grijpstra flies to Maine to discover the truth.

Grijpstra meets a number of strange characters in the small town of Jameson as well as corrupt law enforcement officers who hinder him wherever possible. Back at home his partner Nellie has sought help from Grijpstra's old boss, the retired and arthritic comissaris. He has Nellie record her conversations with Grijpstra and pores over maps.

Grijpstra and De Hier discover what happened to Lorraine and then set their minds to seeing that Sheriff Hairy Harry gets his comeuppance.

The mystery plot to this novel is quite slight and unfortunately for me the detecting bits are what I liked best. I particularly enjoyed the sections in Amsterdam with the comissaris and his wife puzzling over the reports from Grijpstra. For me however there is too much extraneous material in the form of musical and spiritual, illusions and discussions which left me baffled and then bored. That aside, there is a good sense of place and I can't fault George Guidall's excellent narration. His flighty De Hier and serious Grijpstra are very memorable.

Karen Meek, England
December 2005