The Square of Revenge

“Pulp fiction is great for the beach, but there’s nothing like a good destination mystery to take you out of town for the summer. This category has two branches: the Enthusiastic American Abroad travelogue and the I’m a Native and You’re Not procedural. Since the latter often take place in Italy, The Square of Revenge . . . by the Belgian author Pieter Aspe, is a welcome addition. Set in the splendid medieval city of Bruges, it stars Inspector Pieter Van In, a brusque cop with every bad habit you can think of. The story opens with an extremely vindictive crime: thieves have broken into an exclusive jewelry store, but instead of making off with the loot they dump it in a tank of corrosive chemicals. Van In’s intuitive and often impulsive detection style can be disorienting, but his powers of observation are sharp and his insider’s view of this ancient and grandly aloof city are priceless.” —The New York Times Book Review “Offbeat characters and an unusual plot lift Belgian author Aspe’s first Pieter Van In novel to be translated into English. . . . Van In and his eccentric cast of colleagues will be welcome companions for many readers, who will probably find comparisons to Simenon’s Maigret.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Pieter Aspe has become the Flemish Georges Simenon.” —Le Figaro (France)
“A very likeable and very politically incorrect group of detectives. Humor is permanent, the plot well constructed, and the whole story extremely exotic.” —L'Express (France)
“To sell a million copies in only ten years! This never happened in Flanders before.” —Het Laatste Nieuws (Belgium)
“Aspe is and always will be one of our best authors. An exciting murder mystery, a pinch of humor, and a generous serving of romance are among the highlights of the series.” —Crimezone.nl