The Dogs of Riga

A bit convoluted in the latter part of the book. I felt that the journey took too long, so the concluding scenes were too drawn out.

In Henning Mankell's "The Dogs of Riga" police inspector Kurt Wallander finds himself alone and possibly in peril in post-Soviet Latvia. He is truly a stranger in a strange land.The plot of "The Dogs of Riga", the second in Mankell's Kurt Wallander mystery series, is fairly straightforward. Two bodies wash up on the southern coast of Sweden, near the town of Ystad. Police Inspector Kurt Wallander is placed in charge of the investigation. The investigation reveals that the bodies had drifted across the Baltic Sea from the Republic of Latvia. A Latvia police detective arrives to assist Wallander before the investigation is turned over to the Latvian police force. However, Wallander is soon obligated to travel to Riga, Latvia's capital. Wallander is immersed immediately in the Byzantine politics that engulfed Latvia and the Baltic States in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet empire. He doesn't speak the language, he knows next to nothing of the political situation he has walked into, and yet plods on, determined to get to the bottom, not of the murders of the two Latvians, but of a new-found Latvian friend and colleague.Mankell's Kurt Wallander series is often compared to the Martin Beck detective mysteries authored by the husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. Wallander, like Beck, is a police detective in Sweden. Unlike Beck, whose beat was Stockholm, Wallander works in the small southern-Swedish city of Ystad. The Wallander series takes place in the 1990s while the Beck series took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Although I tend to prefer the Beck series, the Wallander books are entertaining page-turners. Mankell stays well within the `police procedural' formula and has not tried to reinvent the genre. However, he has done a good job, in these first two volumes in the series, of developing the character of Mankell and his supporting cast of characters. Wallander is no Sherlock Holmes and gets results more by perspiration than inspiration. He is also a fully drawn character. We see him dealing with the break-up of a marriage, an estranged daughter, and a father who is developing senile dementia. The supporting characters, particularly his fellow detectives, are also well drawn.Although I think I like the Martin Beck series a bit more, the Kurt Wallander series, so far, has been entertaining. As noted, Mankell stays well within the confines of the police procedural. However, he manages to put together an entertaining plot and keeps the reader `engaged' with his recurring characters. Mankell does not hide clues from the reader. In fact, the opposite is the case. I found myself seeing `clues' throughout this piece wondering if and when Wallander would spot them. Some may find that not to their liking, but it kept me entertained. Recommended. L. Fleisig

This second novel in Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series is a bit slower than the first, but is full of twists and turns. It is a mult-layered mystery that takes place beginning in Ystad and ends in the Baltic country of Latvia and the city of Riga. The story starts when a life raft washes ashore near Ystad with two well-dressed dead men in it and they are eventually traced to Latvia. Wallander and his police department work on the case, but trying to identify these men and find out who killed them is nearly impossible.A policeman from Riga named Liepa comes to Ystad to work with police and Wallander on the case. Major Liepa seems to be an honest man and serious about his work, although he chain smokes so much that it drives the others, including Wallander, crazy. There is no smoking allowed in the Ystad police station.The story takes place after the fall of the Berlin wall and the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. Life in the Eastern Bloc is dreary and people aren't free like they are in Sweden. The mood is as dreary as the weather but Wallander must find out who has killed the men in the life raft and also solve another difficult murder that happens in Riga. It is also interesting that he brings up the case that he solved in the previous book, "Faceless Killers" several times in "The Dogs of Riga."Wallander finds himself in Riga, Latvia after Major Liepa returns home, but he's confused, followed and watched the whole time he's there and isn't even sure why he is there and what he's supposed to be doing. It is winter and sleet, snow and extreme cold are what he is faced with in addition to Latvian police officers that he doesn't trust. Par for the course for Wallander, he hardly ever gets enough sleep or food and winds up exhausted, but running from people who don't want the best for you can make eating and sleeping very hard to do. He keeps in touch with his father who is as cantankerous as always. Wallander returns to Sweden only to go back to Riga under the guise of going skiing in the Alps. He must locate some crucial information before it is too late. This is a very action-packed part of the book.A very enjoyable novel and I am soon on to the third in the Kurt Wallander series.

In THE DOGS OF RIGA-- both four-legged and two-legged--Inspector Kurt Wallander is back with another difficult crime to solve. Two dead men, dressed to the nines, wash ashore in Ystad in a life raft. As usual, initially there are practically no clues. This crime takes Wallander away from Sweden into Latvia, a place he finds colder-- if that's possible-- than his homeland. He warms up, of course, when he falls in love with the widow of another murdered character, Major Liepa of Riga. Inspector Wallander remains the character fans of Mankell have come to love. He doesn't always get along with his father and daughter or his police superiors, he on the best of days bends the rules of conducting an investigation, on other days he breaks them, he doesn't eat well, he has trouble with the opposite sex and he's a tad hypochondriacal but still loves opera. Does he sound like someone you know?I found myself not liking this novel as much as previous ones I have read by Mr. Mankell. It may have been that he was writing about locales and people very foreign to him. On the other hand, a B novel by this most talented of writers is better than those of dozens of his contemporaries.As always, Mr. Mankell writes about big issues, in this instance "the revolutionary events that took place in the Baltic countries during the last year" as he says in a rare "Afterword" written in 1992. He remains one of our very best crime writers.

This is an excellent and worthwhile read, involving the famous Kurt Wallander detective. It is the second book in the series by Henning Mankell, one of Sweden's best writers. The book hints occasionally at the first novel of 'Faceless Killers' but is mostly an entirely separate case.This adventure involves Wallander heading to Latvia and the town of Riga in particular. The story involves more of a thriller basis, but from the very beginning this is a Nordic Noir novel with all the hallmarks of a great detective caper as Wallander realises gradually the dilemma of working away from Sweden.Without giving too much away, this is writing with very little to fault. Mankell does manage to combine realism with tension throughout the story. In particular he excels at dialogue and revealing how Wallander's mind works in stressful situations as well as the politics of Riga/Latvia.I really enjoyed everything this book offers and it's level of impressive descriptions of characters and how involved Wallander becomes in solving the case is extremely well written throughout.This is a terrific thriller and speedier in it's pacing than 'Faceless Killers'. On the whole it reminded me how good a writer Mankell was and yet through his work managed to convey a character who became more well known across the globe as well as in Sweden. Highly recommended.

The usual depressing stuff from Henning Mankell, made worse with the usual lack of happy ending, and somewhat muddled, implausible plot. As Wallander himself said, what did he actually do? I'm becoming much less of a fan the more of these I read, the TV series with Kenneth Brannagh is actually better.Having said all that, Henning Mankell has sold more books than I ever will.Other books you might like to read Cold Steel on the Rocks We Are Cold Steel Kalter Stahl auf den FelsenCold Steel on the RocksWe Are Cold SteelKalter Stahl auf den Felsen

This is the second book in the Wallander series and it’s very well worth the read. In the first book, I found the protagonist unlikable (not necessarily a deal breaker) but in this second instalment he has begun to grow on me. It’s not that all his unappealing characteristics have suddenly gone away; it’s more that he is growing around them which is what I’d hoped would be the case.In terms of the plot focus of this novel, I found it really engaging. It takes readers to a geographical time and place that has, in many ways, been wallpapered over since the harsh reality of the closing years of the Cold War is too raw and too recent for many people to confront. Using Wallander as a lens through which to view Riga in the 90s is very effective, as it throws into sharp relieve the difference between countries and cultures at the time.

As always Henning Mankell is a skillful author who is exceptionally compelling to read with multiple subplots that eventually tie in to the main mystery. I'm a fussy reader but his style of writing is compelling; I'm addicted to reading his books even after a 12.5 hr physical shift at the hospital! Hence my sleep deprivation, that is how good the book reads

This is the second of Henning Mankell's novels featuring Swedish Detective Kurt Wallander. Two mysterious bodies are washed up on a deserted Swedish beach. The trail leads to pre Soviet collapse Latvia, and a deep conspiracy in the paranoid world of a police state of which Wallander has no comprehension. Taking his investigation to Riga, he is like a fish out of water, trying to find the truth in a world of lies. On his own in a strange world, I was reminded of the atmosphere of a Le Carre novel, such as `The Spy Who Came In From The Cold'. There is a sense of paranoia running through the book, with Wallander unable to trust anyone while completely in the dark about what it is that he is actually involved in.Mankell is a fine writer on many counts. He manages to construct clever plots and believable mysteries, showing the police procedural side with fascinating detail. Kurt Wallander is a well written protagonist, with many personal flaws and a difficult private life. In the hands of other writers these might seem like annoying characteristics brought in solely to make the character interesting, but as written by Mankell they seem just right. Finally, Mankell writes with a great feeling for atmosphere. He contrasts the free and open Sweden with the dark and paranoid Riga with consummate ease. There is a sense of moodiness in the books, a dark, heavy feeling which pervades every page, you feel as though you are suffocating under it, then every now and then there is a breath of fresh air, you take a gulp then dive back into the dark and murky world.I loved this book, a great read that really made me think, educated me and, most of all, entertained me with a gripping tale. Highly recommended!