The Dutch writer Janwillem van de Wetering writes about Amsterdam policemen and the statutes and terrors that govern their lives in his new book The Maine Massacre.

THE MAINE MASSACRE by Janwillem van de Wetering

Houghton Mifflin; 256 pages; $8.95

The demimonde of mystery fans is divided into amateurs and professionals.

What aficionado has not been confined in a summer cottage on a rainy day with someone who does not know about thrillers and keeps announcing every…