Mark Cloostermans wins Knack Hercule Poirot Prize with 'Only the Devil Has a Plan'

During Boektopia in Kortrijk, Mark Cloostermans received the 29th Knack Hercule Poirot Prize for his thriller 'Alleen de duivel heeft een plan'. The award recognizes the best Flemish crime novel, with Cloostermans' work praised for its originality and complexity. He received a €5,000 cheque and a Montblanc pen. Valerie Trouet won the Fred Braeckman Award for her debut novel 'Cuberdon'. Cloostermans, a former literary critic and R&D consultant, returned to Antwerp to establish his own publishing house, Krummholz. His winning novel explores a violent conflict among Moroccan drug gangs.