Absinthe
A Thriller
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3.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
Walter Eekhaut (his name rhymes with "stakeout"), a veteran of the Belgian police force who has a problem with authority, is dispatched to Amsterdam to aid the Dutch security service in investigating the activities of a well-connected Russian oligarch, with connections to Putin. Some of the Russian's business is certainly legitimate, but some may well not be. In Amsterdam, Eekhaut is seconded to Chief Superintendent Alexandra Dewaal and her team, and begins to learn about the city's shady underside.
He is at once pulled into another case, the murder of a young leftist dissident, alleged to have stolen a sensitive list from the Amsterdam offices of an ultra-right-wing political party—a list with the name of secret donors. The hunt for the killer leads to a knot of black money interests and illegal dealings that pit the Russian mob and Dutch politicians and business leaders against the police and anyone else who tries to get in their way.
Absinthe is the gripping first installment in the bestselling Amsterdam trilogy featuring Eekhaut and Dewaal and, for North American readers, a new voice in European noir.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Eekhaut's gripping thriller, the first in his Amsterdam trilogy, introduces Belgian Chief Insp. Walter Eekhaut, who's transferred to Amsterdam because of issues with authority that are never fully explored or explained. Walter arrives there right as political activist Pieter Van Boer is killed after stealing a list of secret donors to an ultra-conservative political party. Pieter's girlfriend escapes with the list, pursued by a Russian henchman with connections to Putin and the Russian mob. Walter pairs with Chief Supt. Alexandra Dewaal, who harnesses his rebellious nature enough to use it to her advantage in the investigation. Meanwhile, Walter spends nights at a local bar, Absinthe, meeting with a mysterious woman with possible ties to the crimes. A few frustrating plot lapses aside, Eekhaut does a fine job of highlighting the cultural differences between Belgium and the Netherlands as revealed through the interactions between Walter and Alexandra. It's a fascinating glimpse into the workings of two distinct cultures.
