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Title details for The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf by Alexander McCall Smith - Available

The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf

#4 in series

by Alexander McCall Smith
David Rintoul
Audiobook
51 of 51 copies available
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51 of 51 copies available
In the hilarious new novel in the best-selling Detective Varg series, Ulf Varg will need to solve both a sensitive crime and his own delicate dilemma if he hopes to preserve the peace.
The Department of Sensitive Crimes is downsizing in light of a recent decrease in sensitive crime, and staff members are wondering who among them will be transferred elsewhere. As the bickering among colleagues intensifies, Detective Ulf Varg 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 downa stolen house? Meanwhile, a promising
treatment for deafness in dogs has been announced, and Ulf's dog, Martin, might be the perfect patient.
This latest novel is another virtuoso, farcical installment in the series that defines the genre that Alexander McCall Smith is single-handedly championing: Scandi blanc.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Detective Varg

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 29, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781705086094
      • File size: 201243 KB
      • Duration: 06:59:15

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      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.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      David Rintoul returns to the role of Detective Ulf Varg in another charming trip to the Department of Sensitive Crimes. This time around Alexander McCall Smith's tongue-in-cheek take on the dour Scandi noir genre sees Ulf investigating the missing cabin of a bacon magnate while negotiating potential downsizing at work. Meanwhile, Ulf's girlfriend is convinced that his deaf dog, Martine, needs experimental cochlear implant surgery. Rintoul strikes the perfect balance of seriousness and satire, drawing out each improbable suspect interview and meandering conversation about trivialities to the brink of absurdity without tipping over. His tone of wry affability as Ulf and his voicings of the various secondary characters, such as the kind but pedantic Blomquist, will keep listeners absorbed and smiling. N.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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