One of the more unconventional of crime writers, Freeling over a thirty-year career has penned some of the most satisfying works of the genre. Discursive yet always tightly plotted, his novels pay proper homage to style, believable character building and intelligent dialogue. The scene-setting, in various places around Europe, is never less than immaculate, and his protagonists, from Van Der Valk to Castang to the English crime writer John Charles, are individualistic and three-dimensional. This one tells how Charles, after a shot is fired at him one autumn evening, delves back into his past in order to find out why someone should hate him enough to attempt to kill him. Reading the book is like settling in with an old friend for a night of story-telling.