Nicolas Freeling has written several books on life in the kitchens of the great hotels of Europe and several novels of suspense, but his reputation rests on three series of European detective novels. Each series is structured around a single detective: in Holland, Police Inspector Piet van der Valk hunts down crime; in Strasbourg, Piet's widow, Arlette, takes up investigation through a private "help" bureau; and in an unnamed town located in central France, Henri Castang continues to explore the disruptive behavior that often characterizes contemporary European culture. Freeling has an acidulous wit, and his writing is alternately suave and concerned, dispassionate and involved. His trademark has always been the close observation of human character, and through the years he has been recognized as having the stature of Georges Simenon and the depth and variety of John le Carré. "Nicolas Freeling," remarked the Fort Worth Morning Star-Telegram...