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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“Apart from his uncommon skill at devising dense, mulilayered plots, Mankell’s forte is matching mood to setting and subject.” –The New York Times Book Review
“The writing is spare, the characterization deft, the atmosphere strong and the suspense overwhelming.” –Times Literary Supplement
“A gripping, thoughtful police procedural that engages from the first page.” –Irish Independent
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crime and politics in the Baltic,
By
This review is from: The Dogs of Riga: A Kurt Wallander Mystery (2) (Paperback)
"The Dogs of Riga" is one of the earlier books in Henning Mankell's series about his somber fictional Swedish police Inspector Kurt Wallendar and the plot is darker and jerkier than in later stories. I first read the book when it was published in German in 1993 and it's the only one of the series that I regularly enjoy re-reading. There's nothing slick about the story telling: it has a very raw edge to it.The story follows the traditional Wallendar plotline: an exotic foreigner arrives in the peaceful coastal town of Ystad, accompanied by a slew of violent acts and connections to powerful people that shock the overworked local police force. In this case, the foreign dogs who wash up on Sweden's shore are two very dead businessmen with drugs in their systems. Wallendar follows the trail back across the Baltic Sea to Riga, the capital of newly independent Latvia. There he involves himself more in local "affairs" than is politic or safe. Mankell kicked up some dust with this book. The Latvia described is a chaotic mix of gangland crime and corrupt officialdom. Some Latvians took exception to that bleak picture. (Latvia became independent in 1991 and "Hundarna i Riga" was published the following year.) Kommissar Wallendar is often compared to Georges Simenon's Inspecteur Maigret or Colin Dexter's Chief Inspector Morse. In this book, he also shows traces of John Le Carré's Smiley. Mankell has been extremely popular in Europe for a long time. Maybe his books are better read in a cold, damp climate like that of Sweden, but I can't see anything that makes them "difficult for some American readers" as Publishers Weekly advises.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frighteningly Real,
By
This review is from: Dogs of Riga: A Kurt Wallander Mystery (Hardcover)
One of the previous reviewers mentioned that "Dogs of Riga" might be difficult for Americans because of its pervasive 'Scandinavian gloom'. True, I think, but what makes this novel even more unsettling is the thick, murky atmostphere of mistrust and suspicion depicted in the countries of EasternEurope in the early 1990's. It is difficult for Americans to empathize with the fear and suspicion of those times, which is the setting of this novel. The repressive and grim background is indeed the leading force in the novel: it is a force which still impacts life in much of the Eastern Bloc today, accompanied by suspicion and corruption. Against that setting, then, the characters assume heroic proportions. The desire of Wallander to do his job well and bring closure to the deaths, the courage of Major Liepa to confront corruption, and the passion of Baiba Liepa to revenge the murder of her husband--all assume epic dimensions when viewed against the social backdrop. The plot is thickened by the lies, fear, and deceit by which even the ordinary citizen must survive. The labyrinth is constructed with masterful prose and an observant eye, hallmarks of Mankell's craft as a writer. "Dogs of Riga" is a classic of the genre. More complex and better crafted than the typical police procedural, it is a 'must read' for the epicurean mystery reader.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
most disappointing of the series,
By Southern Train (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dogs of Riga: A Kurt Wallander Mystery (2) (Paperback)
This is the weakest of the six books I have read in the series. The translation into English is flat and the language drab. Usually, the element of mystery and suspense is stronger as is the character development of the detective Kurt Wallender and those surrounding his life. Here, the mystery lacks tension and at the end I hardly cared about the resolution. Also, there was little depth in the portrayal of Wallender or his personal circumstances. If you want to read two first rate Wallender mysteries, choose either One Step Behind or Sidetracked [they are quite similar in plot --and both are extraordinary mysteries].
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