Nicolas Freeling was a British crime novelist that wrote the series of detective novels focused on Van der Valk. The series was later made into a television series for the British ITV Network and the show aired throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Freeling wrote many books about Van der Valk, but eventually grew bored with the character and decided to kill him off in 1972. Despite pleas to the contrary, Freeling refused to bring the character back and wrote novels with der Valk’s widow Arlette as the detective. He would later go on to write a second detective series about a character named Henri Castang that many prefer. Freeling won an Edgar Award for Best Novel for The King of the Rainy Country and won France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for Gun Before Butter.

Publication Order of Henri Castang Books

A Dressing of Diamond (1974)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Bugles Blowing / What Are The Bugles Blowing For? (1975)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Sabine / Lake Isle (1976)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Night Lords (1978)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Castang's City (1980)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Wolfnight (1982)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Back of the North Wind (1983)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
No Part in Your Death (1984)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Cold Iron (1986)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Lady Macbeth (1988)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Not As Far As Velma (1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Those in Peril (1990)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Flanders Sky / The Pretty How Town (1992)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
You Who Know (1994)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Seacoast of Bohemia (1994)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Dwarf Kingdom (1996)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Van der Valk Books

Love in Amsterdam / Death in Amsterdam (1962)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Because of the Cats (1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Gun Before Butter / A Question of Loyalty (1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Double-Barrel (1964)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Criminal Conversation (1966)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The King of the Rainy Country (1966)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Strike Out Where Not Applicable (1967)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Tsing Boum (1969)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Lovely Ladies / Over the High Side (1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Long Silence / Auprès De Ma Blonde (1972)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Widow (1979)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
One Damn Thing After Another / Arlette (1981)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Sand Castles (1989)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Kitchen Book (1970)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Kitchen and the Cook (1970)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Criminal Convictions (1994)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Village Book (2001)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

If You Like Nicolas Freeling Books, You’ll Love…

The King of the Rainy Country is the Edgar Award winning novel from Freeling. The book sees Van der Velk taking on a missing persons case. Van der Velk is visited by a mysterious stranger and is sent on a search all over Europe for an elusive businessman. The detective has trouble locating the man as he’s disappeared with a naked girl and proves to be rather elusive, but Van der Velk will find him and find out why he disappeared.

Freeling is also the author of Lake Isle which takes place in the French town of Soulay. In this one, Inspector Henri Castang is dealing with a brutal robbery, a drugged teeneger, and a violent death. The Inspector feels there may be a mysterious connection to recent events in Paris and the Inspector must untangle a mix of spiteful small-town gossip and big-city crime in order to solve the case, or cases.

Order of Books » Authors » Order of Nicolas Freeling Books

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