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The beautiful medieval architecture of Bruges belies the dark longings of her residents. When the wealthy and powerful Ludovic Degroof’s jewelry store is robbed, nothing is stolen, but the jewels have been dissolved in jars of aqua regia, an acid so strong that it can melt even gold. In the empty safe is a scrap of paper on which a strange square has been drawn.
At first, Inspector Van In pays little attention to the paper, focusing on the bizarre nature of the burglary. But when Degroof’s children begin to receive letters with this same enigmatic square, Van In and the beautiful new District Attorney, Hannelore Martens, find themselves engaged in solving the mystery of a complex web of Latin phrases, a baroness’ fallen family, and Degroof’s unsettling relationship with a hostage grandchild, who is being ransomed for a priceless collection of art.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
June 4, 2013 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781453239742
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781453239742
- File size: 1684 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from April 1, 2013
Offbeat characters and an unusual plot lift Belgian author Aspe’s first Pieter Van In novel to be translated into English. A relaxing Sunday for the detective inspector ends with a call from his boss, Chief Commissionaire De Kee, directing him to a bizarre crime in Bruges. A jewelry store has been burgled, but the brazen intruders didn’t steal the valuable contents. Instead, they dumped the loot in an aquarium tank filled with corrosive chemicals that destroyed bracelets, rings, necklaces, and earrings. Revenge against the Degroof family, owners of the store, appears to be the obvious motive, but De Kee throws Van In a curve by saying that it was not “essential per se that the culprit or culprits be arrested.” Van In and his eccentric cast of colleagues will be welcome companions for many readers, who will probably find comparisons to Simenon’s Maigret.
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