Cold Iron - Softcover

Born in London in 1927, Nicolas Freeling is the author of over thirty titles, many of which are part of the crime genre. His education was broad and he attended a series of schools in England, Ireland and France. He served in the Royal Air Force, and from 1950 worked at various jobs in kitchens, hotels and restaurants throughout Europe. It was this intimate knowledge of the continent that influenced the style and settings of his subsequent books. The first of these was published in 1961. He is best known for the creation of Inspector Piet Van der Valk, an irascible detective engaged in ordinary crime, political intrigue and international affairs. Freeling is married, has four sons and one daughter and currently resides in France.

What a heady pleasure: a "novel of suspense and mystery" that is stylishly written, urbane and civilized, that wears its wide learning gracefully and features popular French detective Henri Castang, who can without pomp and ceremony toss off quotations from Virginia Woolf and Auden, among others. An aristocratic lady has been murdered. Member of a reactionary family that still looks back upon the glory that was Napoleon, she loathed the heathen Algerians and was insanely convinced of a diabolical plot against La Patrie by villainous Communists, Jews and Freemasons. Newly posted to the provinces (to his dismay), Castang and his partner, the frisky, foul-mouthed Amazon, Veronique, are assigned to the case. Then the victim's husband, a rich wine merchant, is also murdered, and there is yet another suspicious death. Learning the identity of the miscreant is only one of the delights of the novel as novelof character and dialogue, of scenes freshly observed and deftly expressed in elegant language.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.