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The Department of Sensitive Crimes is downsizing in light of a recent downturn of sensitive crime, and staff members are wondering who among them will be transferred elsewhere. As the bickering between colleagues intensifies, Ulf tries his best to stay above the fray. But when Anna, a longtime friend and coworker, appears to blame him for an old case that went sideways, it seems she may be putting her own job prospects above their friendship.
In the midst of all this, Ulf embarks on an important inquiry: a man's cabin has mysteriously disappeared and Ulf is tasked with finding out what happened. How exactly does one steal a house? And, more to the point, how does one track down a stolen house? Meanwhile, a promising veterinary treatment for deafness in dogs has been announced, and Ulf’s dog, Martin, might be the perfect patient.
This latest novel is another masterful, farcical installment in the series that defines the genre that Alexander McCall Smith is singlehandedly championing: Scandi blanc.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
August 29, 2023 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780593700846
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780593700846
- File size: 1144 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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July 31, 2023
A crime ripped from the mind of Mother Goose animates McCall’s witty fourth outing for Swedish police detective Ulf Varg (after 2021’s The Man in the Silver Saab). Fridolf Bengtsson, owner of Sweden’s largest bacon-processing business, arrives at Ulf’s office in the Department of Sensitive Crimes to report that his country cottage has been stolen—literally removed from its foundations and taken somewhere else. While Ulf investigates, he faces an additional pair of time-sensitive problems: in order to cut down on operating costs, he must select a member of his tight-knit team to transfer to another department; and his girlfriend, a veterinarian’s assistant, is nudging him to get experimental cochlear implants for his nearly deaf dog. Ulf and company are extremely pleasant company, lending this farcical mystery all the comforts of a good cozy without most of the clichés, and Smith juggles the various subplots with ease. Simply put, this is good-natured fun. Agent: Robin Straus, Robin Straus Agency. -
August 1, 2023
Alexander McCall Smith's (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series) Detective Varg mysteries star a cerebral, conflicted detective in an appealingly oddball police department in Malm�, Sweden. Ulf Varg (both "Ulf" and "Varg" mean "wolf" in Swedish) is a senior detective in the Department of Sensitive Crimes, which investigates unusual cases, like that of a fish rotting in the vents of a victim's car or, in this, the fourth in the series, the case of a missing cabin. As Varg sets about tracking down the house, he considers a newly available treatment for his deaf dog. Meanwhile, the Sensitive Crimes unit is threatened with downsizing, and Varg and his three coworkers' reactions and bumbling efforts to keep their jobs make this partially an office comedy. Much of the book is given over to the inner workings of Varg's mind, beginning with a long interior monologue about letter writing. Low on plot, low on setting, but high on comical quirkiness.COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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