The Department of Sensitive Crimes

Detective Varg, Book 1

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Saul Reichlin

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo introduced us to Scandi noir. Now, welcome to Alexander McCall Smith's world of Scandi blanc....

Ulf Varg works in Malmo's Department of Sensitive Crimes. Like all Scandinavian detectives he has his issues. In his case these include his unresolved feelings for his colleague, Anna; his impatience over the seeming incompetence of his irritating colleague Blomquist; and his concerns for the health of his hearing-impaired dog, Marten, the only dog in Sweden (and possibly all Scandinavia) who is able to lip-read (in Swedish).

Along with his colleagues, Ulf is called upon to investigate a bizarre attack on a market trader, the disappearance of a handsome man who may or may not exist, and the affairs of a variety of young female students whose relationships with one another leave a great deal to be desired.

Ulf and his team come to realise that the world is a puzzling place, lycanthropy (werewolfism) exists and fish might have something to teach us. There is so much to learn if you are a Swedish detective, and in the first book in this new quasi-Scandinavian series, Ulf Varg embarks on these lessons with spirit and good humour.

©2019 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2019 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

An off beat story with subtle sarcasm narrated by

An off beat story with subtle sarcasm narrated by the master Saul Reichlin. A laid back, easy listening story for the second tier in my library.

Brilliant, absurd and engaging

This book is utterly underrated, so that I couldn’t help rating it. Absurd and brilliant

Absolutely loved it

Alexander McCall Smith never fails to write a lovely story. He's by far my favourite author. I always finish his books with a smile and a good feeling and this one was no exeption.

Absolutely brilliant and delightful, I ‘m hooked for the entire series

What a great book, very nice and likeable characters with normal human behavior instead of al those cliche writing about cops with supwr skills. Very well written and a good performance (of course) by Saul. I’m hooked for the entire series