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Detective Varg #2
The Talented Mr Varg
In the second installment in the best-selling Detective Varg Novels, Ulf and his team investigate a notorious lothario—a wolf of a man whose bad reputation may, much to his chagrin, be all bark and no bite.
The Department of Sensitive Crimes, renowned for taking on the most obscure and irrelevant cases, led by Ulf Varg, their best detective, is always prepared to take on an investigation, no matter how complex. So when Ulf is approached by the girlfriend of Trig Oloffson, who claims her beau (the infamous bad boy of Swedish letters) is being blackmailed, Ulf is determined to help. It turns out that this wild bear of a man may be more of a teddy. And while Swedes are notoriously tolerant, finding out that their beloved rough and tumble ink slinger is more likely to use a pen than a sword . . . well, there are limits. Even for the Swedish.
The case requires all of Ulf's concentration, but he finds himself distracted by his brother's questionable politics and meteoric rise within the Moderate Extremist Party and by his own constant attraction to his married co-worker Anna. When Ulf is then tasked with looking into a group of dealers exporting wolves that seem decidedly domestic, it will require all of his team's investigative instincts and dogged persistence to put these matters to bed.
The Department of Sensitive Crimes, renowned for taking on the most obscure and irrelevant cases, led by Ulf Varg, their best detective, is always prepared to take on an investigation, no matter how complex. So when Ulf is approached by the girlfriend of Trig Oloffson, who claims her beau (the infamous bad boy of Swedish letters) is being blackmailed, Ulf is determined to help. It turns out that this wild bear of a man may be more of a teddy. And while Swedes are notoriously tolerant, finding out that their beloved rough and tumble ink slinger is more likely to use a pen than a sword . . . well, there are limits. Even for the Swedish.
The case requires all of Ulf's concentration, but he finds himself distracted by his brother's questionable politics and meteoric rise within the Moderate Extremist Party and by his own constant attraction to his married co-worker Anna. When Ulf is then tasked with looking into a group of dealers exporting wolves that seem decidedly domestic, it will require all of his team's investigative instincts and dogged persistence to put these matters to bed.
227 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2020
413 people are currently reading
3451 people want to read
About the author
Alexander McCall Smith
673 books12.7k followersAlexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 537 reviews
March 16, 2023
This is a cozy mystery, but the cases were forgettable.
June 12, 2020
Another enjoyable book in this series written in McCall Smith's typical style - gentle, humorous, intelligent and philosophical.
I am sorry though that I still have not developed a particular liking for Ulf! I am ambivalent at best. Compare him for a moment with Isabel Dalhousie who also philosophises her way through life and as a result occasionally gets treated badly by people like Cat. Despite this the reader always feels that she has a backbone and if she ever has to fight for her side she will win. Ulf would quietly go away and justify his position with more words.
Maybe the author has something wonderful in store for him. After all I never expected Isabel to find someone like Jamie for herself. Of course I will keep reading the series - partly in hopeful expectation of Ulf finding himself the woman of his dreams and mostly because it is still an excellent series. Just not quite as excellent yet as some of his others!
I am sorry though that I still have not developed a particular liking for Ulf! I am ambivalent at best. Compare him for a moment with Isabel Dalhousie who also philosophises her way through life and as a result occasionally gets treated badly by people like Cat. Despite this the reader always feels that she has a backbone and if she ever has to fight for her side she will win. Ulf would quietly go away and justify his position with more words.
Maybe the author has something wonderful in store for him. After all I never expected Isabel to find someone like Jamie for herself. Of course I will keep reading the series - partly in hopeful expectation of Ulf finding himself the woman of his dreams and mostly because it is still an excellent series. Just not quite as excellent yet as some of his others!
April 8, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this second book in the Detective Varg series. Knowing that this is Alexander McCall Smith’s take on Swedish crime stories, you will not expect dark Scandinavia-Noir, but a charming and witty story. This features a small unit of detectives who are given cases thought to be of little importance. Much of their workload is filling out requisitions and reports designed to confound them.
In this case, there are a couple of cases of suspected blackmail, and dogs exported under the fraudulent designation as wolves. There is also the surveillance of a husband thought to be having an affair and a Gypsy accused of brawling with a clergyman. These cases do not always end in arrests or legal justice because the kind, good Detective Varg builds trust and has the ability to understand what really is behind reports of immoral or criminal behaviour. He is foremost in his dedication to mercy and forgiveness.
Varg is a moral, sensitive man who belongs in a Sensitive Crimes unit. He lives with his deaf dog that has learned to lip read. He is in love with a married colleague, Anna, but his moral code prevents him from showing it. He carries guilty feelings about an unexpected gift he received which might be considered a bribe, and a dog leash requisitioned from the police department by mistake. He is polite and sympathetic to a very annoying colleague who talks incessantly about trivial matters, and who is avoided by the others.
As in most of the author’s series, there is a quiet philosophy about life in the many conversations and much thought-provoking dialogue. I would have preferred the cases had been positioned more evenly throughout the book instead of investigating and resolving them towards the end.
I would read a further book in the Detective Varg series. I am a big fan of his 10 Scotland Street Series and The Ladies’ Number 1 Detective Agency. Any fan of these series should enjoy the delightful stories of Detective Varg and his fellow workers and their very unusual cases.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this second book in the Detective Varg series. Knowing that this is Alexander McCall Smith’s take on Swedish crime stories, you will not expect dark Scandinavia-Noir, but a charming and witty story. This features a small unit of detectives who are given cases thought to be of little importance. Much of their workload is filling out requisitions and reports designed to confound them.
In this case, there are a couple of cases of suspected blackmail, and dogs exported under the fraudulent designation as wolves. There is also the surveillance of a husband thought to be having an affair and a Gypsy accused of brawling with a clergyman. These cases do not always end in arrests or legal justice because the kind, good Detective Varg builds trust and has the ability to understand what really is behind reports of immoral or criminal behaviour. He is foremost in his dedication to mercy and forgiveness.
Varg is a moral, sensitive man who belongs in a Sensitive Crimes unit. He lives with his deaf dog that has learned to lip read. He is in love with a married colleague, Anna, but his moral code prevents him from showing it. He carries guilty feelings about an unexpected gift he received which might be considered a bribe, and a dog leash requisitioned from the police department by mistake. He is polite and sympathetic to a very annoying colleague who talks incessantly about trivial matters, and who is avoided by the others.
As in most of the author’s series, there is a quiet philosophy about life in the many conversations and much thought-provoking dialogue. I would have preferred the cases had been positioned more evenly throughout the book instead of investigating and resolving them towards the end.
I would read a further book in the Detective Varg series. I am a big fan of his 10 Scotland Street Series and The Ladies’ Number 1 Detective Agency. Any fan of these series should enjoy the delightful stories of Detective Varg and his fellow workers and their very unusual cases.
May 10, 2020
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of mystery writers whose work falls within the cozy subgenre, but none of them hits exactly the right note the way Alexander McCall Smith does. His feel-good vibe is engaging, but it’s never smarmy or cloying; the reader feels respected. Add to that a spot here and there that is straight-up hilarious; I can think of no better time to read his work. This is the second in the Detective Ulf Varg series, and it is every bit as delightful as the first. Can you read this book alone even if you missed the first? Yes and yes.
My thanks go to Edelweiss and Pantheon Books for the review copy. This book is for sale now.
Detective Ulf Varg leads a quiet sort of life; after all, he’s a cop, and this is Malmo, Sweden, hardly a hotbed of crime. He is the lead detective for a special bureau, one that was introduced to us in the first in the series, The Department of Sensitive Crimes. Often the matters under investigation involve misunderstandings, deceptions carried out to avoid embarrassment, and cultural miscues. Ulf spends his down time teaching his deaf dog, Martin, to read lips and taking him to therapy for his depression.
There’s a lot of that in Sweden, you know. Northern latitudes.
And so, it is from his dog’s psychiatrist that Ulf receives a tip of a possible counterfeit dog breeder. Someone out there is breeding husky/wolf mixed dogs, which are then sold to handlers that furnish trained wolves to appear in movies and television shows. Fraud! This could be Varg’s biggest case yet. But then, that wouldn’t be saying much.
Meanwhile, Varg longs for intimacy with his partner, Anna, but he mustn’t act on his feelings. There are departmental policies to be observed, and she is married. Oh, how he pines for her, quietly and in private. He dreams of a woman that will hold his hand as he falls asleep at night, a woman that will touch her toes to his under the covers and wiggle them. There are other women of course, but none like Anna. So when Anna needs a matter of her own investigated on the down-low, Ulf is ready and willing.
The most amusing thread here, as far as I’m concerned, involves Varg’s struggle with bureaucracy. You’ll have to find out the particulars for yourself.
Smith’s novels are my favorite bedtime material, subtle humor that unknots my twisted muscles and helps me gain perspective on whatever worries of the day have climbed in with me. I daresay he could do the same for you, too.
Highly recommended.
My thanks go to Edelweiss and Pantheon Books for the review copy. This book is for sale now.
Detective Ulf Varg leads a quiet sort of life; after all, he’s a cop, and this is Malmo, Sweden, hardly a hotbed of crime. He is the lead detective for a special bureau, one that was introduced to us in the first in the series, The Department of Sensitive Crimes. Often the matters under investigation involve misunderstandings, deceptions carried out to avoid embarrassment, and cultural miscues. Ulf spends his down time teaching his deaf dog, Martin, to read lips and taking him to therapy for his depression.
There’s a lot of that in Sweden, you know. Northern latitudes.
And so, it is from his dog’s psychiatrist that Ulf receives a tip of a possible counterfeit dog breeder. Someone out there is breeding husky/wolf mixed dogs, which are then sold to handlers that furnish trained wolves to appear in movies and television shows. Fraud! This could be Varg’s biggest case yet. But then, that wouldn’t be saying much.
Meanwhile, Varg longs for intimacy with his partner, Anna, but he mustn’t act on his feelings. There are departmental policies to be observed, and she is married. Oh, how he pines for her, quietly and in private. He dreams of a woman that will hold his hand as he falls asleep at night, a woman that will touch her toes to his under the covers and wiggle them. There are other women of course, but none like Anna. So when Anna needs a matter of her own investigated on the down-low, Ulf is ready and willing.
The most amusing thread here, as far as I’m concerned, involves Varg’s struggle with bureaucracy. You’ll have to find out the particulars for yourself.
Smith’s novels are my favorite bedtime material, subtle humor that unknots my twisted muscles and helps me gain perspective on whatever worries of the day have climbed in with me. I daresay he could do the same for you, too.
Highly recommended.
November 21, 2020
Tickling the funnybone
This is a novel full of small absurdities and observations of the ridiculous, which have an accumulative effect on the funnybone. Written in a crisp, no-nonsense style beloved by Scandinavian writers, this, as the author has said, is more Scandi Blanc than Scandi Noir. It is a gentle, intriguing story. Ulf Varg, the head of the Department Sensitive Crimes, wonders if he is just too sensitive for the Department of Sensitive Crimes, and he has a deaf dog who is being treated for depression, and can possibly read lips. The novel also had some lol moments for me. The way the dog lead was procured could sit comfortably in Joseph Heller’s Catch 22.
This is a novel full of small absurdities and observations of the ridiculous, which have an accumulative effect on the funnybone. Written in a crisp, no-nonsense style beloved by Scandinavian writers, this, as the author has said, is more Scandi Blanc than Scandi Noir. It is a gentle, intriguing story. Ulf Varg, the head of the Department Sensitive Crimes, wonders if he is just too sensitive for the Department of Sensitive Crimes, and he has a deaf dog who is being treated for depression, and can possibly read lips. The novel also had some lol moments for me. The way the dog lead was procured could sit comfortably in Joseph Heller’s Catch 22.
August 9, 2021
The series concept is charming and even though I didn't particularly enjoy the first one I decided to read the second one. It's set in Sweden and its in a way very charming with some odd and interesting characters and I can absolutely see why it works well for many readers. But not for me unfortunately. I didn't feel like I had something to "grab onto", something that I wanted to continue reading to find out more about and at the end I was pretty much waiting for it to be over.
May 12, 2020
The Talented Mr Varg is the second book in the Detective Varg series by popular British author, Alexander McCall-Smith. In his role as senior officer of Malmo’s Department of Sensitive Crimes, Detective Ulf Varg has to deal with a minor assault case with cultural sensitivities, fifteen reticent witnesses, and extenuating circumstances revealed too late. The sequelae involve a (probably stolen) Saab front grille that puts Varg in quite an awkward spot. His clever solution backfires rather badly.
His therapist, Dr Svensson sends Varg to group therapy at a Wholeness Centre where he indulges in a bit of car/personality analysis. Anna, the married colleague with whom he tries so hard not to be in love, makes a request of Varg which might present a less honourable man with a dilemma, when she reveals certain suspicions involving an earring and underwear.
When he asks that crashing health bore, Officer Blomquist (lately seconded to the Department of Sensitive Crimes but frustrated by his non-existent case-load) to join him in some covert surveillance concerning this request, he discovers that underneath his generalisations and his endless rambling on carbohydrates and sleep apnoea, fungal infections and garlic, the policeman is actually very perceptive and resourceful.
Meanwhile, one of the participants from the group therapy asks Varg to investigate an alleged case of blackmail. She maintains that her partner, Sweden’s answer to Hemingway, is being blackmailed. But this, if it is indeed blackmail, is, Varg learns, blackmail with a twist.
Being rather philosophical, Varg’s musings often go off on tangents that end up producing thoughts that are insightful, amusing and sometimes, bizarre: “… there are no songs about the fauna of the large intestine” and what sort of car God or the devil might drive. Varg’s opinion of installation art seems to agree with that of Angus Lordie from Scotland Street. And Varg finds he agrees with his neighbour and dog-sitter regarding politicians’ lack of qualifications for running the country.
With his colleagues, Varg often ends up discussing a range of topics as diverse as tattoos and angels. Between them they come up with a creative way to circumvent some obstructive requirements for obtaining supplies stemming from bureaucratic departmental antipathy. The privacy of personal messages is in question.
There seems to be some confusion about Varg’s marital status: clearly, married once; but thereafter, variously (from the series prequel, book #1 and several short stories), Varg is either widowed early in his marriage when his wife drowns; or divorced from the wife who left him for her hypnotist. In this instalment, both! Which points to poor copy-editing.
As with each instalment of this series, this one is very much tongue in cheek, the philosophy laced with plenty of silliness, irony and not a few turns in the plot. Occasionally poignant and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is, as expected. a very entertaining read.
The Bolinda Audio version is expertly narrated by Saul Reichlin.
His therapist, Dr Svensson sends Varg to group therapy at a Wholeness Centre where he indulges in a bit of car/personality analysis. Anna, the married colleague with whom he tries so hard not to be in love, makes a request of Varg which might present a less honourable man with a dilemma, when she reveals certain suspicions involving an earring and underwear.
When he asks that crashing health bore, Officer Blomquist (lately seconded to the Department of Sensitive Crimes but frustrated by his non-existent case-load) to join him in some covert surveillance concerning this request, he discovers that underneath his generalisations and his endless rambling on carbohydrates and sleep apnoea, fungal infections and garlic, the policeman is actually very perceptive and resourceful.
Meanwhile, one of the participants from the group therapy asks Varg to investigate an alleged case of blackmail. She maintains that her partner, Sweden’s answer to Hemingway, is being blackmailed. But this, if it is indeed blackmail, is, Varg learns, blackmail with a twist.
Being rather philosophical, Varg’s musings often go off on tangents that end up producing thoughts that are insightful, amusing and sometimes, bizarre: “… there are no songs about the fauna of the large intestine” and what sort of car God or the devil might drive. Varg’s opinion of installation art seems to agree with that of Angus Lordie from Scotland Street. And Varg finds he agrees with his neighbour and dog-sitter regarding politicians’ lack of qualifications for running the country.
With his colleagues, Varg often ends up discussing a range of topics as diverse as tattoos and angels. Between them they come up with a creative way to circumvent some obstructive requirements for obtaining supplies stemming from bureaucratic departmental antipathy. The privacy of personal messages is in question.
There seems to be some confusion about Varg’s marital status: clearly, married once; but thereafter, variously (from the series prequel, book #1 and several short stories), Varg is either widowed early in his marriage when his wife drowns; or divorced from the wife who left him for her hypnotist. In this instalment, both! Which points to poor copy-editing.
As with each instalment of this series, this one is very much tongue in cheek, the philosophy laced with plenty of silliness, irony and not a few turns in the plot. Occasionally poignant and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is, as expected. a very entertaining read.
The Bolinda Audio version is expertly narrated by Saul Reichlin.
November 2, 2023
I read this fourth of the books in the series so far and while I enjoyed it, I did think the later books are stronger. But, one simply must read them all because McCall Smith is a treasure and such great company in the worst of times.
The dog...the dog is a character and it is absolutely imperative we know what goes on in his life. And he does get into some trouble...trouble I would never have guessed. But Marten is one that everyone feels comfortable expressing love for, so go with it and enjoy the crimes committed that are investigate by the Department ofStupendous Sensitive Crimes.
The dog...the dog is a character and it is absolutely imperative we know what goes on in his life. And he does get into some trouble...trouble I would never have guessed. But Marten is one that everyone feels comfortable expressing love for, so go with it and enjoy the crimes committed that are investigate by the Department of
February 2, 2023
This is a story with several cases that all come out at the end, kind of a karma lesson.
July 5, 2020
A clergyman has punched a gypsy, but no one will testify against him. (Is this a Swedish hate crime?) A writer with a "bad boy" reputation is being blackmailed, but will not say for what or by whom. An Estonian motorcycle repairman is rumored to be selling dogs but passing them off as wolves. A police detective fears that her husband might be having an affair. It takes a sensitive detective to tackle such sensitive crimes, and Ulf Varg is just such a detective. Though nothing is quite as it seems, he can get to the bottom of each problem, aided by his irritating---but also highly competent---colleague Blomquist. He also manages to deal with frustrating police bureaucracy, group psychotherapy, and a depressed dog.
December 10, 2025
The Talented Mr. Varg
It’s a nice title, but not very appropriate for this installment of the Varg saga, I didn't think he was very talented in this one, luckily he had Blomquist to help him out. That doesn’t detract from the story, which as usual in Alexander McCall Smith is very good, it’s the getting there that can be rather long-winded. He does tend to ramble, but in a nice way, I try not to skim the digressions, there wouldn’t be much left of the book without them. They’re very quick reads, partly because they are fairly short, but mostly because you can’t put them down. What amazes me most about these books is that he does such a good job of writing about Sweden, I found a couple of nitpicks, but on the whole the books feel very authentic. And very funny, where else can you read about a deaf, lip-reading dog called Martin!
Heres a photo of a SAAB 93 with an inappropriate number plate. I’m not sure if it’s the correct model for Mr. Varg, but I once owned a third of one similar.
It’s a nice title, but not very appropriate for this installment of the Varg saga, I didn't think he was very talented in this one, luckily he had Blomquist to help him out. That doesn’t detract from the story, which as usual in Alexander McCall Smith is very good, it’s the getting there that can be rather long-winded. He does tend to ramble, but in a nice way, I try not to skim the digressions, there wouldn’t be much left of the book without them. They’re very quick reads, partly because they are fairly short, but mostly because you can’t put them down. What amazes me most about these books is that he does such a good job of writing about Sweden, I found a couple of nitpicks, but on the whole the books feel very authentic. And very funny, where else can you read about a deaf, lip-reading dog called Martin!
Heres a photo of a SAAB 93 with an inappropriate number plate. I’m not sure if it’s the correct model for Mr. Varg, but I once owned a third of one similar.
December 17, 2020
Another tale of Ulf Varg and his team, in which nothing much happens, but the telling of which is very enjoyable.
February 11, 2025
This series is growing on me. I love Detective Varg's lip-reading dog, Martin, the only dog with this ability in all of Sweden! Simon and I are listening to the audiobooks and the narrator pronounces Varg as Var-i-ya. Good to know!
September 26, 2025
Read in a haze of post-Covid-vaccine-headache. Nothing quite like a basically plotless, character-driven book for when you're not too functional. McCall Smith is rarely less than pleasant, and this cast of characters is a decent one; their philosophical maunderings interesting enough.
June 11, 2020
Before I read this book I was a No. 1 fan of Alexander McCall Smith and I believe I have read every book he’s published - and there are a LOT of them. Well, somehow I missed the first Varg book, so I opened The Talented Mr. Varg with breathless anticipation. As I finished p. 288, it occurred to me that I, like Varg’s dog Martin, had become “nominally depressed.” I slogged through it, feeling it was bound to get better, but it never did. Varg has none of the appeal of McCall Smith’s iconic characters- Mma Ramotswe, Bertie, Isabel Dalhousie, or Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. I hope this is the last of this series.
November 5, 2022
Ulf Varg is fighting his attraction to his work colleague, Anna. She seems to be having marital difficulties, and playing right into his hands.
Meanwhile, a "bad boy" author is being blackmailed...maybe.
Varg spends most of his time feeling guilty.
Meanwhile, a "bad boy" author is being blackmailed...maybe.
Varg spends most of his time feeling guilty.
June 29, 2020
It’s possible that I just picked an inopportune time to read the second book in the Detective Varg series; I enjoyed the first one, but hoo boy, reading "The Talented Mr. Varg" was about as much fun as the time I got lost in a nondescript Stockholm suburb trying to find IKEA (true story).
A send-up of brutal Swedish noir, the Varg novels chronicle the Department of Sensitive Crimes, a division of the Malmö police which deals with the sort of minor mysteries Mma Ramotswe investigates at the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. That’s obviously not a problem for me, as I’ve read all 20 of those books, but "The Talented Mr. Varg" spends too little time solving puzzles in favor of meandering digressions about Swedish-Russian relations, bridge construction, dog behavior, prostate problems, tattoos, electric razors…
“Those razors. I have one. It’s waterproof, you know. Well, you can’t put the whole thing in the water—you wouldn’t put the body bit—but you can certainly put the heads under the tap. They have a tap symbol on them, you see, and that’s how you tell whether your electric razor is waterproof or not.” This is said by a colleague of Varg’s known for “his strange world of rambling association,” but all too often, the whole book feels like a series of rambling associations.
A send-up of brutal Swedish noir, the Varg novels chronicle the Department of Sensitive Crimes, a division of the Malmö police which deals with the sort of minor mysteries Mma Ramotswe investigates at the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. That’s obviously not a problem for me, as I’ve read all 20 of those books, but "The Talented Mr. Varg" spends too little time solving puzzles in favor of meandering digressions about Swedish-Russian relations, bridge construction, dog behavior, prostate problems, tattoos, electric razors…
“Those razors. I have one. It’s waterproof, you know. Well, you can’t put the whole thing in the water—you wouldn’t put the body bit—but you can certainly put the heads under the tap. They have a tap symbol on them, you see, and that’s how you tell whether your electric razor is waterproof or not.” This is said by a colleague of Varg’s known for “his strange world of rambling association,” but all too often, the whole book feels like a series of rambling associations.
May 25, 2020
This is a delightful visit to Sweden and its distinctive approach to policing. Our main man is Ulf Varg who works for the Department of Sensitive Crimes. I did not read book 1 first, but I am purchasing it now since it is only 99 cents from Amazon (The Strange Case of the Moderate Extremists. It's just 73 pages, but I want more Ulf!
Why? It has been a while since I read a book that was a mix of problems and strange characters that brings a big smile at the conclusion. There were many laugh-out-loud moments in this zany book. And then there is the deaf, lip-reading dog. Ulf's brother Bjorn is a player in the Moderate Extremists, a right-wing party Ulf does not cozy up to adding to his life problems.
There are many rich observations on psychiatry as the book kicks off with a conference Ulf must attend, a psychotherapeutic day at a wellness center.
Well written entertaining tale!
Library Loan
Why? It has been a while since I read a book that was a mix of problems and strange characters that brings a big smile at the conclusion. There were many laugh-out-loud moments in this zany book. And then there is the deaf, lip-reading dog. Ulf's brother Bjorn is a player in the Moderate Extremists, a right-wing party Ulf does not cozy up to adding to his life problems.
There are many rich observations on psychiatry as the book kicks off with a conference Ulf must attend, a psychotherapeutic day at a wellness center.
Well written entertaining tale!
Library Loan
May 6, 2020
I love this author. There are very few of his books that I don’t love. This is one. This is the second in the Varg detective series and I just am not fond of it. I don’t dislike it. But after his other characters who are so full of life and spirited and witty-Ulf Varg falls flat for me. Part of it might be that the books are intended to give that vibe because of the setting. It’s a bit different from the other series the author writes. I’ll read them because I love the author’s work overall, but I’m not excited about them.
June 13, 2020
Such an enjoyable read, filled with tongue in cheek humor. Mr. Varg has a hearing- impaired dog who can lip-read, a brother who is the head of the Moderate Extremists Party, and an unrequited love for his colleague. Even better than the first book in the series. 4.5 stars.
January 31, 2023
Setting: Malmo, Sweden; present day.
This is the second book in the series featuring Detective Ulf Varg of the Malmo Police's Department of Sensitive Crimes. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book, I was looking forward to further strange crimes and, most importantly, further character development.
I certainly got that, especially in relation to the characters. Ulf is still holding a torch for his married colleague, Anna - although we don't see much of the reciprocity in this 'love' from Anna in this one. However, she does approach Ulf with a strange request as she thinks her husband, Jo, is having an affair. Ulf jumps at this chance to prove that his 'rival' for Anna's affections is about to be ousted, yet his ultimate sense of fairness and kindness means he is also sympathetic to Anna's feelings. The outcome of his enquiries is revealed in due course!
There are also a couple of strange cases that Ulf gets involved with - I had to laugh out loud about the episode with the Saab radiator grille and Ulf's attempts to 'do the right thing' (enough said!). Perhaps didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one - perhaps because the 'novelty' element wasn't there and I knew what to expect - but still a good 4 star read for me and I will be requesting the next one from the library shortly - 9/10.
This is the second book in the series featuring Detective Ulf Varg of the Malmo Police's Department of Sensitive Crimes. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book, I was looking forward to further strange crimes and, most importantly, further character development.
I certainly got that, especially in relation to the characters. Ulf is still holding a torch for his married colleague, Anna - although we don't see much of the reciprocity in this 'love' from Anna in this one. However, she does approach Ulf with a strange request as she thinks her husband, Jo, is having an affair. Ulf jumps at this chance to prove that his 'rival' for Anna's affections is about to be ousted, yet his ultimate sense of fairness and kindness means he is also sympathetic to Anna's feelings. The outcome of his enquiries is revealed in due course!
There are also a couple of strange cases that Ulf gets involved with - I had to laugh out loud about the episode with the Saab radiator grille and Ulf's attempts to 'do the right thing' (enough said!). Perhaps didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one - perhaps because the 'novelty' element wasn't there and I knew what to expect - but still a good 4 star read for me and I will be requesting the next one from the library shortly - 9/10.
July 8, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up
I have to say that I do like the widower Ulf Varg (the name literally means Wolf Wolf), and enjoy the gentle humour in this. I am not a fan of everything McCall Smith writes by any means, but I do like this. True, he's not Swedish and it's set in Sweden, but it has enough of the right feel for me to enjoy this (I'm not Swedish, either). I also enjoy Martin, his deaf dog who they are trying to help out of depressions.
The humour is subtle, and it's not always in the story itself, but sometimes the writing. This might not be your kind of word play, but in one chapter called "A Book for All Tastes" (and being in a bookstore does relate to the story), we hear about Ulf's own tastes in books, most of which are about art. In it he thinks about how, as a detective, he doesn't care for most detective fiction. When he starts thinking about detective fiction written by detectives and lawyers there is this bit:
"...policemen and lawyers may be good at detecting criminals or defending them, but that did not make them masters of prose. These were and then books, as Ulf termed them: books in which the construction and then was used with breathless enthusiasm.
"And then there were his cookery books..."
If you read this expecting another Precious or Isabel (I like the one set in Botswana, but don't care for the Dalhousie ones--just a matter of taste), think again. This widower who works in the sensitive crimes department for the police is a different kettle of fish entirely.
I have to say that I do like the widower Ulf Varg (the name literally means Wolf Wolf), and enjoy the gentle humour in this. I am not a fan of everything McCall Smith writes by any means, but I do like this. True, he's not Swedish and it's set in Sweden, but it has enough of the right feel for me to enjoy this (I'm not Swedish, either). I also enjoy Martin, his deaf dog who they are trying to help out of depressions.
The humour is subtle, and it's not always in the story itself, but sometimes the writing. This might not be your kind of word play, but in one chapter called "A Book for All Tastes" (and being in a bookstore does relate to the story), we hear about Ulf's own tastes in books, most of which are about art. In it he thinks about how, as a detective, he doesn't care for most detective fiction. When he starts thinking about detective fiction written by detectives and lawyers there is this bit:
"...policemen and lawyers may be good at detecting criminals or defending them, but that did not make them masters of prose. These were and then books, as Ulf termed them: books in which the construction and then was used with breathless enthusiasm.
"And then there were his cookery books..."
If you read this expecting another Precious or Isabel (I like the one set in Botswana, but don't care for the Dalhousie ones--just a matter of taste), think again. This widower who works in the sensitive crimes department for the police is a different kettle of fish entirely.
July 26, 2020
The Talented Mr Varg is the second book in the Detective Varg series by popular British author, Alexander McCall-Smith. In his role as senior officer of Malmo’s Department of Sensitive Crimes, Detective Ulf Varg has to deal with a minor assault case with cultural sensitivities, fifteen reticent witnesses, and extenuating circumstances revealed too late. The sequelae involve a (probably stolen) Saab front grille that puts Varg in quite an awkward spot. His clever solution backfires rather badly.
His therapist, Dr Svensson sends Varg to group therapy at a Wholeness Centre where he indulges in a bit of car/personality analysis. Anna, the married colleague with whom he tries so hard not to be in love, makes a request of Varg which might present a less honourable man with a dilemma, when she reveals certain suspicions involving an earring and underwear.
When he asks that crashing health bore, Officer Blomquist (lately seconded to the Department of Sensitive Crimes but frustrated by his non-existent case-load) to join him in some covert surveillance concerning this request, he discovers that underneath his generalisations and his endless rambling on carbohydrates and sleep apnoea, fungal infections and garlic, the policeman is actually very perceptive and resourceful.
Meanwhile, one of the participants from the group therapy asks Varg to investigate an alleged case of blackmail. She maintains that her partner, Sweden’s answer to Hemingway, is being blackmailed. But this, if it is indeed blackmail, is, Varg learns, blackmail with a twist.
Being rather philosophical, Varg’s musings often go off on tangents that end up producing thoughts that are insightful, amusing and sometimes, bizarre: “… there are no songs about the fauna of the large intestine” and what sort of car God or the devil might drive. Varg’s opinion of installation art seems to agree with that of Angus Lordie from Scotland Street. And Varg finds he agrees with his neighbour and dog-sitter regarding politicians’ lack of qualifications for running the country.
With his colleagues, Varg often ends up discussing a range of topics as diverse as tattoos and angels. Between them they come up with a creative way to circumvent some obstructive requirements for obtaining supplies stemming from bureaucratic departmental antipathy. The privacy of personal messages is in question.
There seems to be some confusion about Varg’s marital status: clearly, married once; but thereafter, variously (from the series prequel, book #1 and several short stories), Varg is either widowed early in his marriage when his wife drowns; or divorced from the wife who left him for her hypnotist. In this instalment, both! Which points to poor copy-editing.
As with each instalment of this series, this one is very much tongue in cheek, the philosophy laced with plenty of silliness, irony and not a few turns in the plot. Occasionally poignant and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is, as expected. a very entertaining read.
His therapist, Dr Svensson sends Varg to group therapy at a Wholeness Centre where he indulges in a bit of car/personality analysis. Anna, the married colleague with whom he tries so hard not to be in love, makes a request of Varg which might present a less honourable man with a dilemma, when she reveals certain suspicions involving an earring and underwear.
When he asks that crashing health bore, Officer Blomquist (lately seconded to the Department of Sensitive Crimes but frustrated by his non-existent case-load) to join him in some covert surveillance concerning this request, he discovers that underneath his generalisations and his endless rambling on carbohydrates and sleep apnoea, fungal infections and garlic, the policeman is actually very perceptive and resourceful.
Meanwhile, one of the participants from the group therapy asks Varg to investigate an alleged case of blackmail. She maintains that her partner, Sweden’s answer to Hemingway, is being blackmailed. But this, if it is indeed blackmail, is, Varg learns, blackmail with a twist.
Being rather philosophical, Varg’s musings often go off on tangents that end up producing thoughts that are insightful, amusing and sometimes, bizarre: “… there are no songs about the fauna of the large intestine” and what sort of car God or the devil might drive. Varg’s opinion of installation art seems to agree with that of Angus Lordie from Scotland Street. And Varg finds he agrees with his neighbour and dog-sitter regarding politicians’ lack of qualifications for running the country.
With his colleagues, Varg often ends up discussing a range of topics as diverse as tattoos and angels. Between them they come up with a creative way to circumvent some obstructive requirements for obtaining supplies stemming from bureaucratic departmental antipathy. The privacy of personal messages is in question.
There seems to be some confusion about Varg’s marital status: clearly, married once; but thereafter, variously (from the series prequel, book #1 and several short stories), Varg is either widowed early in his marriage when his wife drowns; or divorced from the wife who left him for her hypnotist. In this instalment, both! Which points to poor copy-editing.
As with each instalment of this series, this one is very much tongue in cheek, the philosophy laced with plenty of silliness, irony and not a few turns in the plot. Occasionally poignant and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is, as expected. a very entertaining read.
August 30, 2025
Ulf Varg is the lead detective in the Department of Sensitive Crimes in Malmo.
Should you wish to know what sensitive crimes means, Ulf's investigations in this book include the selling of false wolves and the blackmail of a famous author.
At the same time as dealing with his job, Ulf has to cope with his intense feelings for a female colleague, his therapist and therapy sessions, his intriguing neighbour Mrs Hogfors who always looks after Ulf's dog called Martin when Ulf is at work, his colleague Blomquist who believes that other people don't like him (they don't as it turns out) and who is very health conscious to the point of tedium, and his familiarity with a family of thieves who give Ulf a present that he can't accept as he'd have to declare it as a gift. The gift is almost certainly stolen property.
There's also a form to fill in for every item that's required in the office and all expenses are audited with great thoroughness so that when the purchase of a lead for a dog is expensed, the claim is denied as the department doesn't have a police dog.
The writing style is witty and engaging and the characters all have slight flaws that are exposed in amusing ways. This is Scandi Blanc, a send-up of those Nordic detective shows we've all heard about and perhaps seen.
If you liked reading the books in the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series by the same author, then this is a good book for you to read.
Should you wish to know what sensitive crimes means, Ulf's investigations in this book include the selling of false wolves and the blackmail of a famous author.
At the same time as dealing with his job, Ulf has to cope with his intense feelings for a female colleague, his therapist and therapy sessions, his intriguing neighbour Mrs Hogfors who always looks after Ulf's dog called Martin when Ulf is at work, his colleague Blomquist who believes that other people don't like him (they don't as it turns out) and who is very health conscious to the point of tedium, and his familiarity with a family of thieves who give Ulf a present that he can't accept as he'd have to declare it as a gift. The gift is almost certainly stolen property.
There's also a form to fill in for every item that's required in the office and all expenses are audited with great thoroughness so that when the purchase of a lead for a dog is expensed, the claim is denied as the department doesn't have a police dog.
The writing style is witty and engaging and the characters all have slight flaws that are exposed in amusing ways. This is Scandi Blanc, a send-up of those Nordic detective shows we've all heard about and perhaps seen.
If you liked reading the books in the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series by the same author, then this is a good book for you to read.
June 2, 2022
This is the second book in Detective Varg series and it was pretty okay overall. I personally felt the story in this book focuses more on the characters than solving cases. But that is okay since I got to know these characters really well. The conversations between characters are funny. I really liked Detective Varg character and his deaf dog, Martin.
In this book, Ulf investigates a blackmail case, an illegal export scheme and Anna's (his co-worker) husband who Anna suspects might be having an affair. The investigations involved a lot of interviews with people, conversations, and they can get pretty monotone at times.
Although I prefer the first book more than this one, I will still read the next book because of the characters.
In this book, Ulf investigates a blackmail case, an illegal export scheme and Anna's (his co-worker) husband who Anna suspects might be having an affair. The investigations involved a lot of interviews with people, conversations, and they can get pretty monotone at times.
Although I prefer the first book more than this one, I will still read the next book because of the characters.
June 26, 2020
2020 bk 218. The Department of Sensitive Crimes is back - and the theme seems to being sensitive to others and their needs. Mr. Varg needs a new grill, another detective in the bureau needs to know if her husband is having an affair, Martin, the dog, needs attention and play, the partner of a famous author needs to know - why is he pulling money from their savings account. All of these and other sensitive matters are handled deftly and in sometimes a bumbling manner. I really enjoy these solutions to matters that may seem trivial to outsiders, but are massively important to those involved.
Do read the first book in the series first, you can sort out the personalities, but it will help to have read the first one first.
Do read the first book in the series first, you can sort out the personalities, but it will help to have read the first one first.
December 13, 2020
How is it possible for Alexander McCall Smith to write so many novels in so many series and make them all so charming and delightful? The Department of Sensitive Crimes is one of my absolute favourites.
June 20, 2021
Book one and two of the Ulf Varg series by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Sweden, were unlike any books I’ve read. It took me ages to figure out what was going on and then I got-it. The story is full of conversational tangents set over a foundation of a gentle plots and populated with warm musings, kind acts and good people (no wonder I was confused).
November 18, 2025
I was a little confused about the various plots in this one, but not in a distressing way. The philosophical moments were appreciated and enjoyed. The main character Detective Varg is absolutely charming. I look forward to reading the 3rd novel in this series, which I already have on my TBR shelf.
October 9, 2022
I absolutely loved this book and raced through it. Better than the first in the series.
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