December 1946. In a seemingly quiet coastal village, the nightly silence is broken by a shot in Café de Londres. Commissioner Oscar D. is called out of bed. What starts as a banal café brawl unravels like a web of old wounds, silent agreements and lingering war burdens.
During his investigation, the commissioner discovers that the village is still living under the shadow of the war. Former collaborators try to cover their tracks, resistance members demand justice, and somewhere in the dunes hides a man who should never have returned.
The Commissioner is an atmospheric novel inspired by facts full of intrigue, sharp observations and moral ambiguities. A story about justice and retribution, about silence and speaking – and about the question: what does justice mean when everyone has something to hide?
The war is over. The truth is not.
Jean Surmont:
Jean (1958) found the time and peace to pick up his creative pen after his career in education. He has a great interest in history and its influence on the present. In 1992 he made his debut with a biography ‘Willem Elschot, Tussen Droom en Daad’.
For ‘De affaire North’ he delved into the archives of his beloved city of Ostend in the turbulent period of Leopold II. 'De Commissaris' is his second novel.
ProBeeld (Ton de Koning) is responsible for the design of the cover.
