Dutch Treats Author Spotlight: Anne van Doorn on Mystery, Short Stories, and Writing Across Borders
Get to know Anne van Doorn, one of the featured authors in the upcoming international mystery anthology Dutch Treats. Based in the historic town of Doorn in the Netherlands, Anne brings a love of short stories, a passion for classic detective fiction, and a bilingual storytelling flair to every page. In this short interview, he shares his favorite American authors, the inspiration behind his work, and what readers can expect from his upcoming novel The Delft Blue Mystery—a blend of Ellery Queen-style puzzle and modern police procedural.
Dutch Treats: Meet Anne van Doorn
• Tell our readers a little about yourself.
I’m Anne van Doorn, a mystery writer from The Netherlands. I live in Doorn, a town of ten thousand people in the wooded Utrechtse Heuvelrug (the Utrecht Hillridge). The last German emperor spent the last years of his life in exile in Doorn and is buried here. When I began writing for publication in 2004, I wrote a series of police procedurals set in this area.
• What are some of your favorite books by American writers, and why do you like them?
I really love the imaginative and fun Carpenter & Quincannon series by Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller; I’ve read the first one, The Bughouse Affair, three times. I’m also a sucker for short stories and read one a day. Some of my favorite short-story authors are David Dean, Richard Helms, and Twist Phelan, but there are many more. Every week, I post a review of a short story on my Facebook page. (If you’re interested, look me up and send me a friend request!)
• Do you have other work available in English? If so, where can interested readers find it?
Two of my stories have been published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. One was my story in Dutch Treats, and the other, “The Doctor Who Fell into Sin,” was in the May/June 2022 issue. A third installment in the series, “The Man Who Tried to Fly,” will appear in an anthology next year. I’m currently working on a series of police procedurals in both Dutch and English. The first book, The Delft Blue Mystery, is a fast-paced story in which two NYPD detectives try to solve the inexplicable death of a former CEO. It’s sort of a cross between Ellery Queen and Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series, but with a contemporary twist of my own.
