About the book
Title : The Department of Sensitive Crimes
Author: Älexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Little, Brown Book
Date published : 7 March, 2019
Review
This story revolves around detective Ulf Varg of the Department of Sensitive Crimes of Malmo PD and the myriad of cases assigned to his department for him to solve.
This is a plain and simple detective story which itself is a catch since crime novels are never plain and simple. It is centred around three cases – stabbing attack on a kiosk owner; missing imaginary boyfriend; possible presence of a werewolf in Malmo.
It is sheer opposite of Nordic noir which is cold, dark and nerve-wracking. The range of quirky crime cases thrown at detective Varg left me a bit confused about what’s happening and at the same time amused at the unusual storyline. Characters are as peculiar but amusing as the cases in the book. I loved the lip-reading dog, that was a highlight of this book.
My first McCall Smith experience and I was not unhappy. It will take some time for me to get used to his style of humour.
A good escape from heavy duty crime fiction we are so used to reading.
Rating : 4/5 🌟 for the originality and freshness
P.S. I have received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher
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