Flemish crime fiction has been booming the past few years due to authors like Pieter Aspe, Luc Deflo and Stan Lauryssens. Herman (pictured) insists he’s nothing like his peers, who he thinks are all about shock and awe: “The people who get all the attention in Flemish crime fiction write thrillers that do away with the essential pleasures of the genre; they put the emphasis on action, violence and occasionally magic realism. The more successful they become, the more they move away from what I think is interesting in the genre – namely, stimulating your audience to trying to find the solution. So I thought it was time to do something radically different from what they were doing.”

Inspired by his academic background, Herman goes back to basics and has written Nora en de feiten (Nora and the Facts), an old-fashioned whodunit that takes readers on an exhilarating and intellectually stimulating journey. “What’s happening in my novel is that the inspector-in-training finds the solution on the basis of a number of texts,” he says, “and that’s exactly what happens in one of the stories that many people see as the origin of crime fiction, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allen Poe. In that story, you have an amateur detective who solves a murder on the basis of newspaper articles. Texts provide the solution, and that’s what I’ve also tried to do. In my book, there’s no violence and not too much action.”

Nora en de Feiten is set in Antwerp, Herman’s hometown, and gives us a clear picture of the city anno 2004, including its growing Polish community. “The local audience is my first audience,” he says, “because the genre can also be used to consider problematic situations in society, such as Michael Connelly does for the region of Los Angeles. He has a great way of making people think about the situation they find themselves in.” The main character, Nora, is a former literature student who uses skills gained during her studies to solve the murder of a Polish cleaning woman. Herman focuses on language as well as the daily aspects of the job, by meshing strict police procedure with structured thought processes; he creates an intriguing combination of crime and literary analysis.

Nora, a woman with both a stressful job and a family, is a breath of fresh air in this predominately male genre. Nora was inspired by a junior colleague of Herman who wanted to become a police inspector. “I’ve tried to play with images that men may have of women and women may have of men,” he explains. “It’s a bit of a palace of mirrors in terms of gender images. Nora could be seen as acting according to a very limited pattern, but I’ve tried to combine that with a number of thematic readings like sexism at work and power struggles, which also sheds light on the character.”

By being so analytic (dare I say academic), though, Nora en de Feiten lacks the spontaneity and pace that makes contemporary crime novels such page turners. But Herman has succeeded in writing a good old-fashioned and meticulously constructed crime story filled with inside jokes that engages the reader in the puzzle, making his debut stand out from other novels in the genre, which merely aim to entertain.

www.vanhalewyck.be

Fresh Fiction

The Zomer van het Spannende Boek (Summer of the Suspense Book) invades Flemish bookstores from 14 June to 16 August. Special displays will promote the latest local and international crime fiction. Here's a preview.

Postscriptum
Pieter Aspe
The king of Flemish crime fiction returns with a new case for detective Pieter Van In - a household name in Flanders, especially since the TV drama Aspe, based on the character, hit the airwaves in 2004. This time, Van In is investigating the murder of a pilgrim on his way to Santiago de Compostela. His investigation leads to a wealthy family with ties to the Belgian colonial era who are trying to cover up a deep, dark secret. Set in Bruges, like all of Aspe's novels, Postscriptum is filled with greed, revenge and the odd murder.

Iris was haar naam (Iris was Her Name)
Toni Coppers
Former VRT director-turned-novelist Toni Coppers is back with his fourth book starring Brussels' art crime detective Liese Meerhout. He slowly unravels the mystery surrounding the body of a senior NATO colonel who is found in a ditch in the Sonian Forest wearing a strange piece of jewellery. Satanism, several absurd Belgian laws and the disappearance of a girl give this young detective another chance to prove she's more than just a pretty face.

Scrabble Man
Bavo Dhooge
Bavo Dhooge is known for his slick thrillers that combine humour, suspense and quirky characters. His latest novel is set in Hollywood, where movie star Benny Benito decides to give up his serious roles in favour of some light entertainment. Although he doesn't have a funny bone in his body, the audience remains blissfully unaware because he is being held hostage by body double Clint Wilson - who now gets his chance to shine on the silver screen.

Het oog van de naald (The Eye of the Needle)
Jo Claes
In his new novel, Jo Claes starts by killing off a teacher, who was about to become headmistress, in the school basement. Het oog van de naald, a reference to Jan Fabre's infamous monument on the Ladeuzeplein in Leuven, is set in a closed academic environment that's ␣lled with electrifying tension, a little sexual harassment and several suspects. If that wasn't enough, the lead inspector of this case also has some personal issues to deal with, like his very own stalker.