Netherlands
Political assassinations and death in the suburbs

'Draws us instantly into someone else's darkest dream, one that soon becomes our own... Noort is a writer of the heart as much as of the mind, a balance that marks her work with a flesh-and-blood humanity.' Andrew Pyper, author of 'The Wildfire Season'

We all know Holland. A nirvana of legalized drugs, domesticated prostitution and a well deserved reputation for tolerance, religious, racial or otherwise. But it seems the mood has changed; political assassination has reared its ugly head. Pim Fortuyn, a maverick politician of the right, and Theo Van Gogh, an outspoken film director, are recent victims. The Fortuyn assassination spawned an excellent crime thriller by Tomas Ross, 'de zesde mei' , and of course shook the sleepy Netherlands out of its consensual torpor. Parallels were drawn with the mob killings in the 17th century of republicans Johan and Cornelis de Witt. Things were different then. Cornelis was shot, stabbed, eviscerated alive, hanged naked, brained and partially eaten. Some say by dogs, others say by those in the crowd.

For more contemporary Dutch thrills see 'The Vanishing', a deeply disturbing film by George Sluizer, not to be confused with the dismal Hollywood remake of the same name, or read Saskia Noort’s 'The Dinner Club', a sexy, suspenseful thriller set in a genteel suburbia marred by murder and betrayal.

The Dinner Club Saskia Noort £9.99 buy now $14.95 buy now [more]

Links
Noort-Author website
www.saskianoort.nl/

Noort-Sultry Saskia Portrait
www.mariececilethijs.com/ frame.php?id=1097

Noort-Dinner Club Dutch edition
www.literairethrillers.nl/?id=320