The collected BBC adaptations of Nicolas Freeling's bestselling thrillers - plus bonus documentaryAcclaimed as 'the most thoroughly European of British crime writers' (The Guardian), Nicolas Freeling was well known for his novels featuring Dutch sleuth Van der Valk and French policeman Henri Castang. Included in this collection are six stories showcasing both detectives, as well as a bonus programme exploring Van der Valk and his creator.

A French detective looks into a public figure's murder—and discovers some private secrets—in a mystery by an author who is "a joy to read" ( The Times Literary Supplement).When a local official is gunned down in the street, it looks like a cold-blooded political assassination. But as Inspector Henri Castang investigates—and questions the victim's colleagues and family—it seems the motive might have been closer to home.The mystery only become...

From an Edgar award–winner, a shrewd French detective investigates murder in "a meditative, dark, ironic installment in the unconventional Castang series" ( Kirkus Reviews).Two violent murders one after another in a provincial district in France is more than enough to agitate the astute mind of Inspector Henri Castang. Especially since the first was so gruesome—he suspects the corpse has been cannibalized. The second killing leads him to a teenage prostitut...

From an Edgar award–winning British crime novelist, an Inspector Castang thriller that "has it all—politics, sex, metaphysics" ( The New York Times).It's a quiet night at the Police Judiciare in Detective Castang's provincial corner of France when a prominent politician stumbles in, claiming he was in a car accident he can barely recall, with a passenger who is his mistress—and is very likely dead. But when the unorthodox inspector's astute investigation le...

A British judge and a naked corpse put French inspector Henri Castang on delicate, dangerous ground in this mystery from the Edgar Award–winning author.When a local businessman's car is stolen, he's more concerned about what's inside—the body of his just-deceased grandmother. Then Parisian police Insp. Henri Castang is called to investigate the mysterious appearance of a woman's body found in a car. But just when it seems like his latest case is about to solve itsel...

"That artful master of the international policier . . . delivers another one of his uncommonly intelligent procedurals with Inspector Henri Castang." — The New York TimesWhen Police Commissaire Henri Castang is summoned to investigate a missing hotelier, he's not alarmed at the young widow's disappearance. Until a routine inquiry on the hotel's last guest reveals him to be a Jewish artist and concentration camp survivor who never checked in to a ro...

The final Henri Castang mystery confirms the Edgar award–winning author's "mastery of character and imagery in a superlative study of people and power ( Publishers Weekly, starred review).After the murder of dear friends and an attack on his wife, Vera, Inspector Henri Castang is finished with life as an investigator. As the couple settles into an inherited cliff-top home in Biarritz, Castang is just starting to wonder if retirement suits him when his only ...

From an Edgar award winner, French Inspector Castang investigates cases close to his personal life in a mystery rich with "penetrating character sketches" ( Kirkus Reviews).It seems there's no escape from crime for Police Commissaire Henri Castang. While in Munich with his wife, he becomes embroiled in a child custody case that suddenly turns sinister. Once back at home, Castang is faced with the mysterious disappearance of a friend's wife, along with what ...

In France, a police detective hunts for an elusive killer in this novel by an award-winning author who "writes like no one else" ( Los Angeles Times).In the tiny French town of Soulay, Inspector Henri Castang is dealing with a brutal robbery, a drugged teenager, and the sad delusions of a nervous old lady. But when a violent death suggests a mysterious connection to recent events in Paris Castang must untangle a mix of spiteful small-town gossip and big-cit...

The ninth Inspector Castang murder mystery is "a heady pleasure" in which "learning the identity of the miscreant is only one of the delights" ( Publishers Weekly).Recently promoted to Commissaire of a small province in northeastern France, Inspector Castang must tread lightly when the wife of a prominent wine merchant is murdered. Especially since the victim's sister is very well-connected in political circles. Castang has his work cut out for him, especia...

Unorthodox French detective Henri Castang investigates a kidnapping in this police procedural from an Edgar award–winning British crime novelist.When the daughter of a prominent official goes missing, Inspector Henri Castang is certain the abduction is an act of revenge against the child's mother. Not only is Collette Delavigne one of France's youngest judges, but as a magistrate of crimes involving children, Delavigne has certainly aroused a few enemies. But how to...

In this classic mystery, a Dutch police detective investigates a woman's murder with assistance from the man accused of killing her.A woman, Elsa, is brutally murdered in her Amsterdam apartment. Her ex-lover, Martin, is seen outside the building around the time of the crime. The witness who saw him? A policeman.It looks like a straightforward case—but police inspector Van der Valk is not convinced. Despite all the evidence—and the fact that Martin originally...