Behind the glamorous facade of elite Belgian society lies a seedy world unseen by the public eye—but nothing stays hidden forever Inspector Pieter Van In is begrudgingly finishing up a healthy lunch when he hears the news: While restoring their farmhouse, the Vermasts have found a skeleton in the backyard. Van In, who happens to be married to the deputy public prosecutor, is determined to solve the case in double-quick time and squeeze in one last vacation before the birth of his first child. But this murder is trickier than it looks. The Vermasts’ land belonged to the most prominent businessman in West Flanders before it was suddenly handed over to a right-wing charity. The heavily endowed foundation appears to have no expenditures or investments. So who’s financing it—and why? Before he knows it, Van In finds himself in the middle of a complex web—one that involves high-level officials, local law enforcement, and common thugs. The harder he tries to unravel the thread, the more difficult it becomes to uncover the secrets that the charity’s benefactors are trying to hide. This time Van In will have to risk lives to find out the truth.

Inspector Pieter Van In is begrudgingly finishing up a healthy lunch when he hears the news: While moving into a restored farmhouse, a family has found a skeleton in the backyard. Now married to the deputy public prosecutor, Hannelore Martens, Van In is determined to solve the case in double-quick time and squeeze in one last vacation before their first child is born. But this murder is trickier than it looks, and Van In soon finds himself in murky waters. The Vermasts' land previously belonged to Lodewijk Vandaele, the owner of what used to be one of the largest contractor companies in West Flanders before it was suddenly handed over to a right-wing charity. The heavily endowed foundation appears to have no expenditures or investments. So who's financing it--and why?Before he knows it, Van In finds himself in the middle of a complex web--one that involves high-level officials and law enforcement as much as common thugs. The more determined Van In becomes to unravel the thread, the harder it gets to discover the secret hidden by powerful benefactors. This time, Van In will risk lives to find out the truth.

A jet-black comedy debut from Martin McDonagh.

In 15th century Bruges, master painter Hans Memling is about to find himself at the heart of a political storm that stretches from his home city to Plantagenet England.

Most people think they have Flanders - the Dutch-speaking northern half of Belgium - figured out: beer, chocolate and the EU are the standard tag lines. However, dig beneath the surface and you will discover a region of quirk and style. Author Emma Thomson introduces travellers not only to the World Heritage Sites of Brussels' Grand Place or Bruges' romantic canals but also to snug spots, like the bewitched village of Laarne and Geraardsbergen, the real home of Manneken-Pis. Flanders provides something for everyone: the city-break or business tourist seeking restaurants and shopping; the wildlife and outdoor enthusiast after bird-watching and rural walks; the traveller wishing to seek out towns, villages and countryside off the beaten track; and the visitor in search of luxury and pampering. Dress up and join the merry madness of Aalst Carnival, spend the night in a traditional begijnhof, or simply people-watch over a bowl of mosselen-friet in Bruges' medieval town square. Entertaining and instructing in equal measure, Bradt's Flanders is the first guidebook to cover the entire region in depth. Join Emma Thomson on a journey along romantic canals, through bewitched villages and to bohemian cafés in this beguiling corner of Europe. Proost!

The #1 international bestselling crime thriller that introduces Belgian detective Pieter Van In, “a brusque cop with every bad habit you can think of” (The New York Times Book Review). The beautiful medieval architecture of Bruges belies the dark longings of her residents. When the wealthy and powerful Ludovic Degroof’s jewelry store is robbed, nothing is stolen, but the jewels have been dissolved in jars of aqua regia, an acid so strong that it can melt even gold. In the empty safe is a scrap of paper on which a strange square has been drawn. At first, Inspector Van In pays little attention to the paper, focusing on the bizarre nature of the burglary. But when Degroof’s children begin to receive letters with this same enigmatic square, Van In and the beautiful new District Attorney, Hannelore Martens, find themselves engaged in solving the mystery of a complex web of Latin phrases, a baroness’ fallen family, and Degroof’s unsettling relationship with a hostage grandchild, who is being ransomed for a priceless collection of art.

“Heartfield’s impressive novel tells the story of folklore figure Mad Meg (or Dull Gret), who legendarily led a group of women to pillage hell” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In 1328, Bruges is under siege by the Chatelaine of Hell and her army of chimeras—humans mixed with animals or armor, forged in the deep fires of the Hellbeast. At night, revenants crawl over the walls and bring plague and grief to this city of widows. Margriet de Vos learns she’s a widow herself when her good-for-nothing husband comes home dead from the war. He didn’t come back for her—in fact he moves right past her, pulls a secret chest of coins and weapons from under his floorboards, and goes back through the mouth of the beast called Hell. Margriet killed her first soldier when she was eleven, and she’s buried six of her seven children. She’ll do anything for Beatrix, her last surviving child, even if it means raiding Hell itself to get her inheritance back. Beatrix is haunted by a dead husband of her own, and blessed—or cursed—with an enchanted distaff that allows her to control the revenants and see the future. Together with a transgender man-at-arms who has unfinished business with the Chatelaine, a traumatized widow with a giant water-powered forge-hammer at her disposal, and a wealthy alderman’s wife who escapes Bruges with her children, Margriet and Beatrix forge a raiding party like Hell has never seen. “A strange, compelling, genre-bending debut . . . Part horror, part fantasy, part history, and part epic, it combines all of its elements into a commentary on gender, power, and patriarchy.” —Tor.com

After 40+ years of writing about Europe, Rick Steves has gathered 100 of his favorite memories together into one inspiring, award-winning collection: For the Love of Europe: My Favorite Places, People, and Stories. Join Rick as he's swept away by a fado singer in Lisbon, learns the dangers of falling in love with a gondolier in Venice, and savors a cheese course in the Loire Valley. Contemplate the mysteries of centuries-old stone circles in England, dangle from a cliff in the Swiss Alps, and hear a French farmer's defense of foie gras. With a brand-new, original introduction from Rick reflecting on his decades of travel, For the Love of Europe features 100 of the best stories published throughout his career. Covering his adventures through England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and more, these are stories only Rick Steves could tell. Wry, personal, and full of Rick's signature humor, For the Love of Europe is a fond and inspirational look at a lifetime of travel. Winner of the 2022 Society of American Travel Writers' Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award: Best Travel Book, Silver

Four gripping police procedurals set in Bruges, starring “a brusque cop with every bad habit you can think of” (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review). Featuring the bad-tempered, libidinous, alcoholic but skilled police investigator Deputy Commissioner Pieter Van In, these four gritty crime novels from a #1 international bestselling author reveal the darker side of the beautiful Belgian city of Bruges. The Square of Revenge: The perpetrators who broke into an elite jewelry store in Bruges stole nothing, but dissolved a fortune in priceless gems in jars of powerful acid—a perplexing crime that entangles Deputy Commissioner Pieter Van In and his beautiful colleague, assistant district attorney Hannelore Martens, in a wealthy family’s darkest, deadliest secrets. The Midas Murders: Two suspicious deaths and an explosion at a popular tourist site lead Van In and Martens into the heart of a terrorist nightmare that could leave their beloved Bruges in ruins. From Bruges with Love: The discovery of a thirty-year-old skeleton during the restoration of a farmhouse pits Van In against high-level Belgian officials determined to prevent the detective from digging too deeply into the house’s sordid and terrible past. The Fourth Figure: In this novel, nominated for a Hercule Poirot Award, Deputy Commissioner Van In’s investigation of a young woman’s bizarre death is a prelude to a massacre, and it places him in the rifle sights of a sinister satanic cult. In the vein of Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret, “Aspe’s writing is crisp and his characters memorable” (Booklist).

DIVIn the second novel by the international bestselling Pieter Aspe, Inspector Van In races against the clock to thwart a series of terrorist plots One quiet snow-covered Sunday morning in Bruges, a prominent business executive is found dead in the streets, apparently due to an alcoholic hemorrhage, but for Inspector Van In, there is something about the autopsy that does not add up. When he questions the businessman’s friend, a Dutchman, he too is found dead the next morning, burned to death in a house fire. When there is an explosion in the middle of a popular tourist area in downtown Bruges, Van In strives to find the connection between the three incidents, but no one is coming forward to claim responsibility for this terrorist attack. Just an anonymous letter to the police, threatening more bombings—unless they cooperate with a series of demands that would undermine the entire city government. Aided by the spunky and beautiful assistant DA, Hannelore Martens, Inspector Van In finds himself enmeshed in the case that threatens not just the lives of countless innocent people, but the heart of the city he loves. /div