{"product_id":"2026200017029-secondhand-the-king-of-the-rainy-country","title":"The King Of The Rainy Country","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA missing millionaire, a deceptive wife, and a trail that winds through the rain-soaked landscapes of Europe — The King of the Rainy Country is a masterclass in sophisticated crime fiction. Amsterdam detective Piet Van der Valk is assigned what appears to be a routine case: locate a fabulously wealthy man who has simply walked away from his empire, accompanied by a mysterious young woman. What begins as a straightforward pursuit rapidly uncovers a labyrinth of obsession, identity, and the seductive pull of self-destruction.\n\nNicolas Freeling, winner of the Gold Dagger Award for this very novel, writes with a Continental elegance that sets him apart from his British and American contemporaries. His prose is literary and psychologically astute, drawing as much from European existentialist tradition as from the conventions of the detective genre. Van der Valk is no hard-boiled archetype — he is a humane, intellectually curious investigator whose ruminations on motive and morality are as compelling as the mystery itself. Readers who surrender to Freeling's unhurried, atmospheric style will find themselves questioning not just who is guilty, but what it truly means to disappear.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49269356331227,"sku":"2026200017029-SECONDHAND","price":10.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/51b99d07-e3ab-4145-857a-ca8ca342bf22.png?v=1788999388","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200017029-secondhand-the-king-of-the-rainy-country","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}