The Man with the Silver Saab
A Detective Varg Novel (3)
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4.5 • 19 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In the hilarious new novel in the best-selling Detective Varg series, an eminent art historian is framed and the ace investigators of the department of sensitive crimes are on the case.
Detective Ulf Varg is a man of refined tastes and quite familiar with the art scene in Malmö. So when art historian Anders Kindgren visits the Department of Sensitive Crimes to report a series of bizarre acts that have been committed against him, Ulf and his team swing into action. Fish stuffed into the vents of Kindgren’s car and a manipulated footnote in a recent publication would be cause enough for an investigation, but when a painting Kindgren had confidently appraised as genuine is later declared to be a fake, it’s clear that someone is out to tarnish his reputation.
Meanwhile, Ulf is also weathering personal issues, which quickly spiral out of control. When his lip-reading dog, Martin, engages in a contretemps with a squirrel that results in a grievous wound, Ulf must rush Martin to the veterinarian and weigh the merits of cosmetic surgery for animals. And later, when Martin’s blood is found in the back of Ulf’s classic Saab, Ulf finds himself the subject of a departmental investigation.
In the end, Ulf will have to muster all his detective skills and bureaucratic cunning to restore Kindgren’s reputation—as well as his own.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Smith's delightful third mystery featuring Malmö, Sweden, police detective Ulf Varg (after 2020's The Talented Mr. Varg), art historian Anders Kindgren has been plagued for months by a series of "nasty little events," starting with someone stuffing rotten fish into his car hood air vents. Now the stakes have risen. A painting he recently authenticated has been discovered to be a forgery. Certain that a forgery was substituted for the original after his evaluation, Kindgren wants Ulf, the thoughtful, tolerant head of the Department of Sensitive Crimes, to catch the person trying to besmirch his reputation. The gossamer-thin plot is almost irrelevant. The novel's pleasures lie in Ulf's philosophical asides and comments on how to live a good, just life: "It was hard to remain tolerant; it was hard to do the right thing; but we simply had no alternative. Oppression and violence brought sorrow—and more violence." Smith's gift is to use crime as a structure for writing about morality and making it such a pleasure to read. This is a refreshing change from the standard Scandinavian noir fare.
