A review by kmg365
The Talented Mr. Varg by Alexander McCall Smith

4.0

Just when I thought Ulf Varg was the perfect, incorruptible cop, this outing focuses on his foibles, whether it be accepting a gift from a grateful citizen, a small act of retaliation on an annoying co-worker, or failing to return an unneeded dog collar to the supply department, which happens to be waging passive aggressive war on the Department of Sensitive Crimes by insisting that items can only be ordered by their order number, yet failing to provide a key to what items are assigned to which codes. Chiefly, we see Ulf examining his own moral code when he agrees to help co-worker Anna, with whom he is secretly in love, discover whether or not her husband is cheating on her.

I found more food for thought here than in the other Detective Varg books, and even in Smith's novels in general (not that I've read anywhere near all of them). This is a sweet series that occasionally makes you think about your smallest, most mundane interactions with humankind.