Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Albert Cornelis "Appie" Baantjer (September 16, 1923, Urk, Flevoland – August 29, 2010), often simply known as Baantjer, was a Dutch novelist of detective fiction and a former police officer. He is mainly known for his large series of detective novels revolving around police inspector De Cock and his side-kick, sergeant Vledder. The name of the protagonist simply means "cook" in Dutch, but has an unusual spelling which is at the heart of a running gag that involves De Cock spelling out his name every time he introduces himself to someone.