Reviews

Love the characters, not so into the story.

I liked some aspects of it. I thought the parallels between the two cases were so subtle, which made me feel so smart when I saw them. I hated the absence of the resolution, though.

squirrellygoat's review against another edition

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5.0

“A storm in a teacup could be very serious thing for the sailors in that teacup.”

dominicangirl's review against another edition

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funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

kmg365's review against another edition

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3.0

Three and a half stars.

It's difficult to explain the appeal of this series. It's funny, but not in a laugh-out-loud way-- no jokes, just a very high whimsy quotient. It's a police procedural... barely. In this particular short story/novella, there were no arrests made, no stakeouts, and no trials. Ulf Varg is about as soft-boiled as a detective could be. One of the two cases Ulf works on isn't even officially a case, but a favor to his brother, who is a politician with the Moderate Extremist party. Please do not confuse them with their nemesis copycat party, the Extreme Moderates, those scalawags. There's something relentlessly pleasant about this Scandinavian Blanc genre, as Smith has dubbed it. I'm plowing straight ahead into The Talented Mr. Varg now.

mayarelmahdy's review against another edition

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3.0

actiaslunasaturniidae's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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