5 Great Books Set in Amsterdam

Have you ever thought about researching your next trip to Amsterdam by diving into a novel? Of revisiting a trip you have made through the eyes of an author (especially now when we can't travel so easily)?

Here we list 5 top reads (across a selection of different genres) that will transport you to the city of bicycles, tulips and Rembrandt.

1. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . .
On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways . . .
Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its secrets she realizes the escalating dangers that await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their salvation or the architect of their downfall?

2. The Girl Who Wouldn't Die by Marnie Riches

HE'S WATCHING HER. SHE DOESN'T KNOW IT…YET
When a bomb explodes at the University of Amsterdam, aspiring criminologist Georgina McKenzie is asked by the police to help flush out the killer.
But the bomb is part of a much bigger, more sinister plot that will have the entire city quaking in fear.
And the killer has a very special part for George to play…
A thrilling race against time with a heroine you'll be rooting for, this book will keep you up all night!
WINNER OF THE 2015 DEAD GOOD READER AWARD FOR MOST EXOTIC LOCATION

3. Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

Seventeenth-century Amsterdam - a city in the grip of tulip fever.

Sophia's husband Cornelis is one of the lucky ones grown rich from this exotic new flower. To celebrate, he commissions a talented young artist to paint him with his beautiful bride. But as the portrait grows, so does the passion between Sophia and the painter; and ambitions, desires and dreams breed an intricate deception and a reckless gamble.

4. The House of Dolls by David Hewson

Anneliese Vos, sixteen-year-old daughter of Amsterdam detective, Pieter Vos, disappeared three years ago in mysterious circumstances. Her distraught father's desperate search reveals nothing and results in his departure from the police force.

Pieter now lives in a broken down houseboat in the colourful Amsterdam neighbourhood of the Jordaan. One day, while Vos is wasting time at the Rijksmuseum staring at a doll's house that seems to be connected in some way to the case, Laura Bakker, a misfit trainee detective from the provinces, visits him. She's come to tell him that Katja Prins, daughter of an important local politician, has gone missing in circumstances similar to Anneliese.

In the company of the intriguing and awkward Bakker, Vos finds himself drawn back into the life of a detective. A life which he thought he had left behind. Hoping against hope that somewhere will lay a clue to the fate of Anneliese, the daughter he blames himself for losing . . .

5. A Cold Death in Amsterdam by Anja de Jager

The first Lotte Meerman mystery

Amsterdam-based Lotte Meerman is a cold case detective recovering from the emotional devastation of her previous investigation. She is angry and mentally scarred - but being a police officer is the only thing she wants to do.

A tip-off leads Lotte to an unresolved ten-year-old murder case in which her father was the lead detective. And when she discovers irregularities surrounding the original investigation that make him a suspect, she decides to cover for him.

Now she has to find the real murderer before she's discovered, otherwise her father will be arrested and she will lose her job, the one thing in life that is keeping her focused and sane . . .