Took a chance with this book as I hadn't read the previous 2 of the series, however I am glad I did. This book is a very enjoyable read, mainly thanks to how fast paced the plot is. Although I held my suspicions of certain characters (no spoilers) throughout the book, the twist still added to the story, and the ending left me shocked and desperately wanting to find out what Jaap decided to do. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who likes a good old crime novel, and applaud Woodhouse for his ability to build suspense, especially in final part of the book. I will definitely be looking to buy the previous 2 as well!

Third book in the Jaap Rykel series. Based in Holland I found this book a little flat, (pun intended) with a very slow start and never really hitting any high points of excitement, tension or suspense. It is however a decent story but not a thriller, an intricate plot surrounding the murders of unconnected people. Can you apply logic to be able to solve this mystery, Jaap uses all his skills to analyse the facts and try to find a lead. Although there is a twist at the end I was not satisfied with ending, but that may be only me wanting all the loose ends resolved. Could mean there will be a fourth story.

I loved it! The Dutch place and people names took a little getting used to but this in no way detracted from this excellent read. Amazingly well told story with a fabulous plot that whilst complex was not confused.
My only regret is that I haven't read Jake Woodhpuse before now but I will be putting that right very soon.

Excellent intense dark thriller based around an Amsterdam detective and his investigation into what at first seems a serial killer but quickly becomes somewhat more complex. Cleverly plotted to keep one on ones toes this intriguing story holds your attention all the way to its climax leaving one with the question "what next?".

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advance copy of Before The Dawn, the third novel in the Amsterdam Quartet of police procedurals.

Jaap Rykel is closing in on a killer when it all goes pear shaped. He arrests Francesco Kamp for suffocating two women but Kamp will only admit to one murder and is shot by Jaap's boss when he tries to escape. As this is happening Rykel gets word of another killing on the island of Vlieland. The case is deeper and far more wide reaching than even Rykel could imagine and it's solution comes at great personal cost to many of the people involved.

Wow! What a read. I loved After The Silence but was not impressed by the follow up, Into The Night, and probably would not have read Before The Dawn if I hadn't been offered a copy. That would have been a huge mistake as it is an excellent police procedural.

The novel is mostly told from the investigative point of view as Rykel tries to make sense of the meagre, conflicting information he has and in contrast to most novels in the genre where the investigation narrows, his widens into a much bigger, more dangerous scenario. It is masterfully done at a fairly steady pace so I was totally immersed, reluctant to put it down and seizing any opportunity to pick it up again.

I think, on reflection, that some of the plot should be hard to swallow but it all seems like a natural consequence of past actions at the time of reading so my disbelief never appeared. I know that this sounds vague but the plot takes some amazing turns and I can't mention them without issuing spoilers. All I will say is that it is clever in both plotting and style - Mr Woodhouse does an admirable job of drawing the reader in and holding their attention from start to finish.

Jaap Rykel is an honourable man doing a job many would shirk from at some personal cost, both physically and mentally. Essentially a loner he doesn't play well with others, especially his boss, Henk Smit, but he has a loving relationship with his pregnant partner, Tanya, even if she is keeping secrets from him. His sardonic asides on the trials and tribulations of life are very funny - most of which I could hear coming out my own mouth!

This is a fairly violent novel although none of it seems gratuitous, just in keeping with the subject matter so it may not appeal to all readers but for those who don't mind Before The Dawn is an excellent read which I wholeheartedly recommend.

I found this difficult to read, it seemed a bit disjointed. I had zero interest in the characters, they were all a bit flat.

Before The Dawn is a great read!!!! Now normally I read the blurb of a book and the decide yeah I like the sound of that I'll give it a go. But 4/5 don't live up to that initial promise. But Before The Dawn more than did I'm please to say, the crimes themselves are chilling and Jaap's investigative style is a pleasant change from the usual tortured alcoholic policeman! There is one complaint I have- it's not really a complaint though because it's a delayed pleasure at least for me- this is the 3rd book in a quartet! Therefore the issues of the past that continue to trouble Jaap and his girlfriend Tanya make for a slightly frustrating read- you began to feel that reading the first two would make this a much smoother read.
The only real criticism of this book is the volume of characters introduced- it is slightly overwhelming at points and meant I couldn't read this when I was tired! As the reader you're not certain if these characters are important and therefore need to be remembered or if they are incidental and therefore can be case aside! That said the story is really good and being set in the Netherlands really makes for a fresh change- not the moody and twisted scandy noir or the addict ridden divorcee policeman of Britain. It's a really well written book and although I couldn't testify to this, it seems to be well researched, as far as the Netherlands and that society!
So this book was enjoyable, the story was really engaging and kept me reading longer than I should have! It's not five stars only because it seems to need the reader to have read the previous two books in the series- I therefore believe that if the last book in the quartet is as good as this- and of course bearing in mind I haven't read the first two, this series could be a five star quartet! The writing is top class and Woodhouse really knows his audience, in that he knows just how to pace the story without making you feel it's too slow and you want to give up or that it's too fast and therefore lacking in depth! That is a talent because the genre of crime fiction is overloaded with poorly paced books with excellent stories!!
Now I'm off to buy the first two in the series and I wait very impatiently for the last in the series to see how it turns out for Jaap and Tanya!

Before the dawn, the third book in a series of four, again features inspector Jaap Rykel, his girlfriend Tanya, his boss Smit and some other characters that played a role in the first two books.
Now, being Dutch myself, I must say it was a rather funny (and sometimes strange) experience to read a crime novel in English where the setting is a large part of the Netherlands and all characters have Dutch names. The funny thing is that ‘Rykel’ is not a Dutch family name ;-) while all other family names in the book are indeed existing family names.
I have recently read another book that is supposed to be set in the Netherlands, and I must say I’m happy to see Jake Woodhouse didn’t make the obvious mistakes the other author made, as spelling the names of cities wrong and using the wrong numbers for highways. The only thing I don’t understand is why Jaap Rykel has no idea where Vlieland is. The Netherlands is a small country and every school child can tell you that Vlieland is the second of the ‘Waddeneilanden’.
Jaap Rykel is a very busy man in this book. Not only he has to work hard to solve the murder of several young women, he also discovers there is something not quite right within the police force in Amsterdam. On top of this, he is constantly worrying about Tanya, who is in the early stages of pregnancy. Tanya herself is mixed up in several cases and has to deal with things from her past.
It is that past that makes this book sometimes too complicated. There are so many characters in this book that it is difficult fort he reader to keep track of who is who. Moreover, when a new character is introduced, you have no idea whether this is a name you have to remember or that it is a character that plays a very minor role and will not return later in the book.
Futhermore, both Jaap and Tanya are constantly thinking about the past, about the things that happened in the first two books in the series. Although I can understand the author wants the reader to have some idea about the past of his main characters, this is just too much. It’s like reading three books at the time.
All in all, a good read but not the most unforgettable.