LoveReading Says
An alluring blend of English and Scandi wit and whimsy, Alexander McCall Smith’s Detective Varg series is an addictive joy. The Man with the Silver Saab, the third in the sequence, sees Ulf, of Malmo’s Department of Sensitive Crimes, fall for a colleague as he tries to solve a case involving a respected art historian who’s been implicated in fraudulent misidentification.
As always, Ulf’s hearing-impaired dog, Martin, is prominent. In this instance, the novel kicks off with an unfortunate incident involving Martin and an aggressive squirrel that prompts Ulf to muse on the fact that “a big thing happens while small things are going on around it”.
Ulf’s internal dialogues remain at the fore, too, and really they’re at this heart of this series, along with the first-rate, funny dialogue, and a twisting, labyrinthine plot that sees Ulf and Blomquist almost lose themselves in a maze of art world intrigue.
The Detective Varg Series is our Series of the Month for July 2022. Click here to view our Series of the Month page.
Reviewed by Joanne OwenJoanne Owen’s lifelong love of reading and writing began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, and very much wished that witches (and Mrs Pepperpot) were real.
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The third book in Alexander McCall Smith's new DETECTIVE VARG series
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The Man with the Silver Saab Synopsis
The third book in Alexander McCall Smith's new DETECTIVE VARG series
The Detective Varg Series is our Series of the Month for July 2022. Click here to view our Series of the Month page.
Perplexing, unfathomable and perhaps unimportant, the cases that Malmo's Department of Sensitive Crimes take on will test them to their limits.
Life - and crime - is not always as it seems for Ulf Varg and the other fearless detectives in Malmo's Department of Sensitive Crimes. There are always surprising new cases to take on, and the latest batch is no exception. And that's not to mention Ulf's struggle to contain his feelings for his colleague Anna Bengsdotter. All in all, things are distinctly difficult in Malmo, and it seems up to Ulf and the Department to set them right.
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Alexander McCall Smith Press Reviews
Alexander McCall Smith is talented and prolific . . . His prose is leisurely. You feel the rights words come to him naturally without painful search . . . he is a reassuring writer - Yorkshire Post
'McCall Smith's continuing warm-heartedness makes Ulf such unfailingly good company' Reader's Digest
'Like AA Milne meets Karl Ove Knausgaard' Financial Times
'Wonderfully soothing and relaxing' Daily Telegraph
About Alexander McCall Smith
Sir Alexander McCall Smith is the author of over one hundred books on a wide array of subjects, including the award-winning The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. He is also the author of the Isabel Dalhousie novels and the world’s longest-running serial novel, 44 Scotland Street. His books have been translated into forty-six languages. Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and holds honorary doctorates from thirteen universities. He was knighted by the King in 2024
Author Photo credit: Copyright Kirsty Anderson
Click here to read an exclusive interview with Alexander McCall Smith by Mary Hogarth.
A Lovereading guide to the works of Alexander McCall Smith...
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency was first published in 1998 and then, suddenly, it took off in America to the extent that no less than11 reprints were required in 2003.
Since then, so prolific has been his output, and so has his popularity soared, that there was a time when the sheer multitude of McCall Smith's books led to confusion as to which book fitted into each of the various series under which he writes. One has hardly been able to keep up with the sheer abundance of books published - we reckon at least thirty in less than a decade.
Now, thankfully, things have settled down and the legions of McCall Smiths avid fans can compartmentalise his new books into the four main series under which they sit - The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Series, The Isabel Dalhousie Novels, The 44 Scotland Street Series and The Corduroy Mansions Series with a few more on top!
There are constant features across the whole panoply of McCall Smith's output. Wry and witty observations about the day-to-day lives of normal people. An innocence and delight in the human condition. And, always, a twinkle on the eye shared by writer and reader. He is a happy writer and that makes for happy readers.
He is best known for the following 4 series of novels (they are shown below in the order they were published) :-
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, The Full Cupboard of Life, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Blue Shoes and Happiness, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, The Miracle at Speedy Motors, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built, The Double Comfort Safari Club, The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party, The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe, The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, Precious and Grace.
Isabel Dalhousie series: The Sunday Philosophy Club,Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, The Right Attitude to Rain, The Careful Use of Compliments, The Comfort of Saturdays, The Lost Art of Gratitude, The Charming Quirks of Others, The Forgotten Affairs of Youth, The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds, The Novel Habits of Happiness.
44 Scotland Street series: 44 Scotland Street, Espresso Tales, Love Over Scotland, The World According to Bertie, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, The Importance of Being Seven, Bertie Plays the Blues, Sunshine on Scotland Street, Bertie's Guide to Life and Mothers, The Revolving Door of Life, The Bertie Project, A Time of Love and Tartan.
Corduroy Mansions Series: Corduroy Mansions, The Dog Who Came in from the Cold, A Conspiracy of Friends.
Author Photo © Graham Clark
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