DeKok and the Death of a Clown — A.C. Baantjer

''There are touches of the 87th Precinct, Maigret and Janwillem de Wetering, but Baantjer is in a category all his own.'' - The Globe and Mail....Without the slightest trace, an antique jewel collection disappears from a house along Gentlemen's Canal in Amsterdam. Detective DeKok feels compelled to help the victim of the theft, unknowingly signing up for a homicide case, as well. Soon after commencing his investigation into the robbery, DeKok and his partner Dick Vledder are called to the foot of The Criers' Tower. A clown lay dead along the canal with a large, shining knife protruding from his back, creating a blossom of blood around the murder weapon. After interviewing the clown's variety troupe members and chatting with his beloved barkeep/informant, Little Lowee, DeKok stumbles upon a connection between the two crimes ... ''butterfly.'' Indeed the crimes are related, but the thread wholly eludes the grey sleuth. Yet something tells him the variety troupe knows more than they're saying.