Order of Book Series
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Van der Valk Books in Order

Van der Valk by Nicolas Freeling contains 13 books, published between 1962 and 1989. The first book is Love in Amsterdam / Death in Amsterdam (1962) and the newest is Sand Castles (1989). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
13
Published
1962–1989
Pages on record
2,537 in 11 of 13 books
Reading time
42–63 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,537 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 11 of 13 titles with a page count on record.

See all 13 books in order Printable Van der Valk checklist

Piet Van der Valk is the Amsterdam police detective at the centre of 13 novels by Nicolas Freeling, published between 1962 and 1989. Love in Amsterdam (1962) opens the series, and Because of the Cats (1963), Double-Barrel (1964), The King of the Rainy Country (1966) and Tsing Boum (1969) follow. Arlette Van der Valk recurs beside him. Several books carry a second title, among them Gun Before Butter, also published as A Question of Loyalty.

How many Van der Valk books are there?

Van der Valk has 13 books, released between 1962 and 1989.

Van der Valk Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 13 Van der Valk books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Because of the Cats by Nicolas Freeling, book 2 of the Van der Valk series (1963)
  2. Cover of Double-Barrel by Nicolas Freeling, book 4 of the Van der Valk series (1964)
  3. Cover of Strike Out Where Not Applicable by Nicolas Freeling, book 7 of the Van der Valk series (1967)
  4. Cover of Tsing Boum by Nicolas Freeling, book 8 of the Van der Valk series (1969)
  5. Cover of A Long Silence / Auprès De Ma Blonde by Nicolas Freeling, book 10 of the Van der Valk series (1972)
  6. Cover of The Widow by Nicolas Freeling, book 11 of the Van der Valk series (1979)
  1. 1
    Love in Amsterdam / Death in Amsterdam1962 · 189 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1962189
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Because of the Cats1963 · 228 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1963228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Gun Before Butter / A Question of Loyalty1963 · 249 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1963249
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Double-Barrel1964 · 228 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Criminal Conversation1966 · 246 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1966246
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The King of the Rainy Country1966 · confirmed 2/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Strike Out Where Not Applicable1967 · 206 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1967206
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Tsing Boum1969 · 205 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969205
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Lovely Ladies / Over the High Side1971 · 250 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    A Long Silence / Auprès De Ma Blonde1972 · 250 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Widow1979 · 249 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1979249
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    One Damn Thing After Another / Arlette1981 · 237 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1981237
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Sand Castles1989 · confirmed 2/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Van der Valk?

No separate chronological order is on record for Van der Valk, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Van der Valk books in order?

You should read the Van der Valk books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Van der Valk book also stands alone.

Where to start with Van der Valk

Start with Love in Amsterdam / Death in Amsterdam (1962), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Van der Valk book?

Sand Castles (1989) is the newest Van der Valk book released so far.

Is there a new Van der Valk book coming?

No next Van der Valk book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Van der Valk at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Van der Valk title on record dates from 1989, 37 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Van der Valk books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
2,537 pages across the 11 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 237 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Van der Valk books, 8 of 13, were published in the 1960s.

What the Van der Valk books are about

11 of the 13 Van der Valk books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective, police procedural is tagged on 6 of 11. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Nicolas Freeling

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.