A.C. Baantjer was a renowned Dutch author, best known for his detective fiction novels. He was born on September 16, 1923, in Urk, Netherlands, and died on August 29, 2010, at the age of 86. Baantjer spent the majority of his career as a detective inspector with the Amsterdam Police, a profession that provided him with a wealth of knowledge and experience, which he later used in his writing.
Baantjer is widely read in the Netherlands, and his fame is largely due to the Inspector DeKok series, which he began writing after his retirement from the police force. The series, which consists of 70 novels, features a detective inspector named DeKok, who uses his wit and experience to solve complex criminal cases. The characters in the series are said to be inspired by the complexity and personality of the people Baantjer encountered during his long career in law enforcement.
In addition to the DeKok series, Baantjer wrote other fiction and non-fiction in Dutch and was a daily columnist for a newspaper in the Netherlands. He was also knighted by the Dutch monarchy in recognition of his contributions to literature. Baantjer lived in Medemblik during his writing years, where he continued to produce best-selling novels until his death in 2010. His works remain popular in the Netherlands and have been translated into several languages, including English, German, and French.