Inspector DeKok Books in Order
Part ofAC Baantjer Books in OrderSee the Inspector DeKok series by A.C. Baantjer in order, with short summaries, series background, and easy help choosing where to start.
Last updated: July 5, 2026
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Inspector DeKok books in publication order
30 books
DeKok and the Somber Nude
by AC Baantjer
1967
A free-spirited young woman disappears, and DeKok soon learns her life was darker than it looked. Blackmail, emotional abuse, and a gruesome discovery turn the search into a murder case.
DeKok and the Sorrowing Tomcat
by AC Baantjer
1969
A young man is found stabbed in the dunes near Noordwijk, and the cold trail lands on DeKok's desk. The murder opens into a broader case with connected killings and the shadow of a money-transport robbery.
DeKok and the Mask of Death
by AC Baantjer
1987
A woman vanishes from a hospital, and soon DeKok learns she is not the only one. With several women missing and the same eerie facial change mentioned again and again, the case grows deeply unsettling.
DeKok and Murder on the Menu
by AC Baantjer
1992
A restaurant menu carries what looks like a full confession to an old shooting in Amsterdam. DeKok follows the bizarre clue back to an unsolved killing and a case that is suddenly alive again.
DeKok and the Careful Killer
by AC Baantjer
1993
A young woman is found dead in a dark, narrow alley, posed with unsettling care. DeKok and Vledder work a difficult case that depends on patience more than quick certainty.
DeKok and the Corpse on Christmas Eve
by AC Baantjer
1993
On Christmas night, a young woman is pulled from an Amsterdam canal, strangled and pregnant. Clues in her handbag point DeKok toward two men and a painful secret.
DeKok and the Dead Harlequin
by AC Baantjer
1993
A double murder in a well-known Amsterdam hotel leaves DeKok with two unlikely leads, a sleepless six-year-old and a respectable accountant. It is an odd, tight puzzle with pressure from every side.
DeKok and the Disillusioned Corpse
by AC Baantjer
1993
A well-insured man is hauled from the Brouwersgracht, and the wound on his head tells DeKok this was no accident. The dead man had several names, and every new fact creates fresh trouble.
DeKok and the Romantic Murder
by AC Baantjer
1993
When a kind nurse is murdered, suspicion falls on a young burglar whose fingerprints were found in her home. DeKok looks past the easy answer and uncovers an older, sadder love story beneath the crime.
DeKok and the Brothers of the Easy Death
by AC Baantjer
1994
Two bodies are found in the Keizersgracht, arm in arm and fingers intertwined, as if they drowned together. DeKok refuses to accept the easy explanation and starts pulling apart the eerie scene.
DeKok and the Corpse at the Church Wall
by AC Baantjer
1994
A supposed vagrant found dead beside the Oude Zuiderkerk is claimed by the family of an eccentric baron. DeKok steps into a baffling case of disguise, family tension, and carefully staged murder.
DeKok and the Dancing Death
by AC Baantjer
1994
A murdered young woman is shocking enough, but the toddler found hidden in a closet makes the case even stranger. DeKok must uncover both the killer and the child's place in the story.
DeKok and the Dying Stroller
by AC Baantjer
1994
A student arrested for drunkenness dies in a cell, only for the police to learn he was poisoned. Vledder is in over his head until DeKok returns and starts asking the right questions.
DeKok and the Naked Lady
by AC Baantjer
1994
An eight-year-old boy brings DeKok a funeral notice addressed to him, and the burial opens the door to a murky murder case. Small details, and one child's quiet role, keep the mystery moving.
DeKok and Murder in Seance
by AC Baantjer
1997
A seance in a blind medium's house ends in murder, leaving DeKok to investigate a room full of nerves, secrets, and performance. It is a neat setup for one of his stranger cases.
DeKok and the Deadly Accord
by AC Baantjer
1997
DeKok tries to help a friend whose daughter is suspected of murder, but the favor turns into something much larger. Before long he is pulled into a dark plot with consequences beyond one arrest.
DeKok and Murder by Installment
by AC Baantjer
1998
What first looks like a private scandal widens into blackmail and a growing body count. DeKok and Vledder keep finding new layers as the case shifts under their feet.
DeKok and Murder in Ecstasy
by AC Baantjer
1998
The robbery of an armored car ends with a murdered driver and a case that refuses to stay simple. DeKok and his colleagues chase the men behind the heist through a tangle of pressure and deception.
DeKok and the Begging Death
by AC Baantjer
1998
A wealthy banker fears a kidnapping during his grandchild's baptism, so DeKok watches the ceremony closely. Soon the warning letters, two prominent murders, and a string of macabre events begin to connect.
DeKok and the Corpse Return
by AC Baantjer
1998
An 18-year-old radio winner arrives hoping to meet the famous DeKok, and instead walks into a murder investigation. A caller claims to have killed someone, but the real problem is finding the missing corpse.
DeKok and the Murder in First Class
by AC Baantjer
1998
Young women are being killed in identical fashion in first-class train compartments, and none of the obvious motives fit. DeKok faces one of his most baffling pattern cases.
DeKok and the Deadly Warning
by AC Baantjer
2003
Between Saint Nicholas Day and Christmas, DeKok gets a corpse, blackmail, death threats, and a mysterious woman on a motorcycle. The holiday season does nothing to make this case kinder.
DeKok and Murder by Melody
by AC Baantjer
2004
DeKok is investigating the murders of two former junkies and their landlady when music starts to look like the missing link. A concert outing becomes part of a clever search for the killer.
DeKok and Murder on Blood Mountain
by AC Baantjer
2004
A funeral for a murdered Amsterdam man should be routine, until DeKok spots someone who is supposed to be dead. The trail leads from Amsterdam to Antwerp and into a slick criminal network.
DeKok and the Dead Lovers
by AC Baantjer
2004
While guarding a display of valuable art, DeKok and Vledder are pulled into the shooting of a young man chained to a radiator. Then a priceless silver vessel disappears, and the case turns toward obsession and collection.
DeKok and the Death of a Clown
by AC Baantjer
2004
A vanished jewel collection and a clown stabbed by the water seem like separate mysteries at first. DeKok keeps digging until the performances, the theft, and the murder start to line up.
DeKok and the Geese of Death
by AC Baantjer
2004
A brutal double killing seems simple once Igor Stablinsky is in custody, but DeKok is not convinced. His doubts lead him to a strange family, a gloomy country house, and a case with a nasty twist.
DeKok and the Murder in Bronze
by AC Baantjer
2004
When a member of a secretive antiquarian society is found murdered with a costly bronze knife in his back, DeKok and Vledder go inside the group. What looks scholarly on the surface hides ritual, rivalry, and plenty of motive.
DeKok and the Vendetta
by AC Baantjer
2004
What begins with a tourist threatened by an infected syringe quickly grows darker when a young woman is found murdered. DeKok is drawn into revenge, fear, and the better-dressed edges of Amsterdam's underworld.
DeKok and Variations on Murder
by AC Baantjer
2004
A woman sees the director of an office building dead in his chair, then looks again and finds the body gone. DeKok has to sort illusion from murder before the vanished victim disappears for good.
Inspector DeKok books in chronological order

DeKok and the Somber Nude
by AC Baantjer
1967Inspector DeKok, Book 1
DeKok and the Sorrowing Tomcat
by AC Baantjer
1969Inspector DeKok, Book 2
DeKok and the Mask of Death
by AC Baantjer
1987Inspector DeKok, Book 3
DeKok and Murder on the Menu
by AC Baantjer
1992Inspector DeKok, Book 4
DeKok and the Corpse on Christmas Eve
by AC Baantjer
1993Inspector DeKok, Book 5
DeKok and the Disillusioned Corpse
by AC Baantjer
1993Inspector DeKok, Book 6
DeKok and the Dead Harlequin
by AC Baantjer
1993Inspector DeKok, Book 7
DeKok and the Romantic Murder
by AC Baantjer
1993Inspector DeKok, Book 8
DeKok and the Careful Killer
by AC Baantjer
1993Inspector DeKok, Book 9
DeKok and the Brothers of the Easy Death
by AC Baantjer
1994Inspector DeKok, Book 10
DeKok and the Corpse at the Church Wall
by AC Baantjer
1994Inspector DeKok, Book 11
DeKok and the Dancing Death
by AC Baantjer
1994Inspector DeKok, Book 12
DeKok and the Naked Lady
by AC Baantjer
1994Inspector DeKok, Book 13
DeKok and the Dying Stroller
by AC Baantjer
1994Inspector DeKok, Book 14
DeKok and the Deadly Accord
by AC Baantjer
1997Inspector DeKok, Book 15
DeKok and Murder in Seance
by AC Baantjer
1997Inspector DeKok, Book 16
DeKok and Murder in Ecstasy
by AC Baantjer
1998Inspector DeKok, Book 17
DeKok and the Begging Death
by AC Baantjer
1998Inspector DeKok, Book 18
DeKok and Murder by Installment
by AC Baantjer
1998Inspector DeKok, Book 19
DeKok and the Corpse Return
by AC Baantjer
1998Inspector DeKok, Book 20
DeKok and the Murder in First Class
by AC Baantjer
1998Inspector DeKok, Book 21
DeKok and the Deadly Warning
by AC Baantjer
2003Inspector DeKok, Book 22
DeKok and the Geese of Death
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 23
DeKok and the Murder in Bronze
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 24
DeKok and Murder on Blood Mountain
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 25
DeKok and the Death of a Clown
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 26
DeKok and Murder by Melody
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 27
DeKok and the Dead Lovers
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 28
DeKok and the Vendetta
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 29
DeKok and Variations on Murder
by AC Baantjer
2004Inspector DeKok, Book 30
Series background & context
Inspector DeKok is an old-school Amsterdam detective who looks less flashy than the criminals he catches. He works out of the Warmoesstraat police station with the younger Vledder at his side, and that pairing gives the books their steady rhythm. Vledder brings energy and impatience. DeKok brings calm, memory, and a way of asking questions until the room gives something up.
Amsterdam matters almost as much as the crimes. These stories move through canals, churches, bars, boarding houses, hotels, hospitals, narrow alleys, and respectable homes with curtains drawn tight. Because Baantjer worked the same city himself, the setting feels lived in rather than decorative. This is old Amsterdam, busy, shabby, funny, secretive, and crowded with people who would rather not explain themselves to the police.
The cases usually begin with an image you remember. A body by a church wall. A murdered clown near the water. A woman who vanishes from a hospital. A corpse that seems to be someone else, or does not stay where it should. From there the books open out into blackmail, inheritance fights, art theft, old grudges, jealous lovers, missing women, businessmen with too much to lose, and the places where polite society touches the underworld.
These are puzzle mysteries first.
DeKok is not a hard-driving action hero. He prefers questions to fists, patience to speed, and intuition to showmanship. Again and again he pushes back when a case looks too neat, especially when other people are ready to call something suicide, accident, or bad luck. Much of the pleasure comes from watching him circle a problem, let Vledder test the obvious theory, and then notice the one detail that changes the whole shape of the case.
Nothing stays neatly in its lane.
That helps give the series its tone. The books can be macabre, but they are not cruel or chilly. Baantjer leaves room for bartenders, widows, drifters, artists, ex-junkies, thieves, heirs, and lonely people, so even the strangest plot keeps a human center. Many of the novels stand alone, which makes the series easy to sample. DeKok and the Somber Nude shows the early missing-person side of the books, DeKok and Murder in Seance leans into their eerie setup, and DeKok and the Death of a Clown shows how neatly Baantjer can connect two apparently separate crimes.
The DeKok books later inspired a long-running Dutch television adaptation, but on the page their charm stays simple. You get a very specific city, recurring characters you settle into quickly, and one odd case after another. If you like classic police procedurals with atmosphere, humane detective work, and mysteries that start strange and keep widening, this series is easy to fall into.
Edited by
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