The Midas Murders by Pieter AspeMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I have received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.
I rather liked Pieter Ape's first book in the Van In series so I decided to read this one. The story of this book centers on the murder of a German business executive on the streets of Bruges. Initially, the death was thought to be an accident as the man was heavily intoxicated. However, as Pieter Van In investigates, he learns that there is more to it than meets the eye.
Van In is not having an easy time. He has just received a notice in the mail that the bank may foreclose on his home. Then he has to investigate a the bombing of a statue in Bruges' tourist area. Then the man that was believed to have met the dead German was also found dead -- burned in a fire that gutted the man's home.
At a meeting, the mayor shows him a threatening letter. The letter writer has told that there will be many more bombings if the mayor does not cooperate. The stress appears to be too much to bear and Van In starts to feel physically ill. How does he expect to make sense out of such jumbled pieces of a puzzle. Pieces that include a famous statue, German SS, tour companies, and even terrorists. Will Van In be able to crack all those cases? Are they inter-related? Can Hannelore help him get his act together?
The Midas Murders started off well enough but somewhere down the line, the story gets confused. Van In used to be more in control of his drinking and smoking in the first book. In this one, he appears almost helpless at times. It became more difficult to follow the different tracks of the story though things did start to come together near the end. I will have to admit that I prefer the first book over this one hands down.
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