2/12/1931 van de Wetering is born

February 12, 1931.  Janwillem van de Wetering was born on this date in Rotterdam.  He died in Maine in 2008.  In between he discovered Buddhism and wrote a lot of popular books.

Many of them were mysteries and involved Amsterdam cops named Grijpstra and de Gier.  He received the French Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in 1984.