HET DODE KIND

TITLE: HET DODE KIND (The Dead Child)
AUTHOR: JANWILLEM VAN DE WETERING
Pages: 224
Date: 25/04/2008
Grade: 4
Details: A Grijpstra & De Gier Mystery
Own

This was not the original as written by Van de Wetering, but rather an adaption to accompany a tv series based on the books.
However, this was not immediately obvious, since it has been at least 20 years since I read the originals. The introduction of mobile phones and computers gave the game away though, and I can't remember the two "heroes" being quite so belligerent with each other. That last point may just be my memory, or lack thereof, though.
As for the story; One morning in Amsterdam a contract killing goes horribly wrong. Instead of a small time criminal, the intended target, a young boy is killed and the killer escapes.
The case very soon frustrates the two investigators as they dive into Amsterdam's underworld trying to find a motive for the killing.
It's only when another young boy is kidnapped that it even looks as if the case might be solved.

Not as good a mystery as I thought I remembered. But whether that is due to the rewriting or to the passage of time, I don't know.