The Man with the Silver Saab
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- Create Date：2021-07-21 18:31:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Alexander McCall Smith
- ISBN：059331610X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In the hilarious new novel in the best-selling Detective Varg series， an eminent art historian is framed and the ace investigators of the department of sensitive crimes are on the case。
Detective Ulf Varg is a man of refined tastes and quite familiar with the art scene in Malm�。 So when art historian Anders Kindgren visits the Department of Sensitive Crimes to report a series of bizarre acts that have been committed against him， Ulf and his team swing into action。 Fish stuffed into the vents of Kindgren's car and a manipulated footnote in a recent publication would be cause enough for an investigation， but when a painting Kindgren had confidently appraised as genuine is later declared to be a fake， it's clear that someone is out to tarnish his reputation。
Meanwhile， Ulf is also weathering personal issues， which quickly spiral out of control。 When his lip-reading dog， Martin， engages in a contretemps with a squirrel that results in a grievous wound， Ulf must rush Martin to the veterinarian and weigh the merits of cosmetic surgery for animals。 And later， when Martin's blood is found in the back of Ulf's classic Saab， Ulf finds himself the subject of a departmental investigation。
In the end， Ulf will have to muster all his detective skills and bureaucratic cunning to restore Kindgren's reputation--as well as his own。
Detective Ulf Varg is a man of refined tastes and quite familiar with the art scene in Malm�。 So when art historian Anders Kindgren visits the Department of Sensitive Crimes to report a series of bizarre acts that have been committed against him， Ulf and his team swing into action。 Fish stuffed into the vents of Kindgren's car and a manipulated footnote in a recent publication would be cause enough for an investigation， but when a painting Kindgren had confidently appraised as genuine is later declared to be a fake， it's clear that someone is out to tarnish his reputation。
Meanwhile， Ulf is also weathering personal issues， which quickly spiral out of control。 When his lip-reading dog， Martin， engages in a contretemps with a squirrel that results in a grievous wound， Ulf must rush Martin to the veterinarian and weigh the merits of cosmetic surgery for animals。 And later， when Martin's blood is found in the back of Ulf's classic Saab， Ulf finds himself the subject of a departmental investigation。
In the end， Ulf will have to muster all his detective skills and bureaucratic cunning to restore Kindgren's reputation--as well as his own。
Reviews
David C Ward
，
The kind， well meaning but slightly sad Inspector Varg gets a shot at happiness。 There’s a case here - trouble in the art world - but it’s really about connections， familial and otherwise。 Also features Martin， the lip reading dog， and Inspector Blomquist who could bore for Sweden。
Marilyn
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Not as good as I was hoping， but still very interesting。
Miriam
，
I listened to the audio book。Detective Ulf Varg， head of the Department of Sensitive Crimes in Malmö， Sweden， bandies about crimes and motives with his sidekick Blomquist and coworker Anna， who， while married， holds Ulf’s heart， and victims of crimes in this farcical Scandi Police Procedural。The third installment of Det。 Varg's cases includes falsely attributed artwork by art experts， a squirrel attack on Varg’s dog， Martin， and brief encounters with his brother politically oriented "moderate ex I listened to the audio book。Detective Ulf Varg， head of the Department of Sensitive Crimes in Malmö， Sweden， bandies about crimes and motives with his sidekick Blomquist and coworker Anna， who， while married， holds Ulf’s heart， and victims of crimes in this farcical Scandi Police Procedural。The third installment of Det。 Varg's cases includes falsely attributed artwork by art experts， a squirrel attack on Varg’s dog， Martin， and brief encounters with his brother politically oriented "moderate extremist" Bjorn。The spate of philosophical dialogue and unending stream of comments and asides related by Varg and Blomquist adds to the farce。Actor David Rintoul （See Dr。 Findlay on BBC） is an interesting choice for narrator， maintaining his straight-laced attitude and intonation， never 'cracking a smile' while reading this zany series of mysteries。For a review of the performance， see AudioFile Magazine http://www。audiofilemagazine。NOTE: The audiobook was not listed in GR when the review was posted。 。。。more
Natalie
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Really enjoyed this and read it in less than 24 hours。 Only criticism is that Martin the dog is meant to be deaf and at one point Varg talks to him in the dark and Martin comes back in the park when shouted which annoyed me a bit when so much is made of his deafness。Apart from that it’s a great read as you’d expect from the marvellous Alexander McCall Smith。
Jan
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A terrific series featuring AMcS’s brilliant observations of humankind。 Detective Ulf Varg， boss of Malmo’s Department of Sensitive Crimes， sets out solving why an art critic’s reputation is being destroyed。 Serious Scandi literature has nothing to fear from this series - with this police force boasting Departments of Commercial Crime， Indecent Activities and Traffic it’s all rather tongue-in-cheek。 Ulf’s musings on his colleagues， crime， his yearnings for meaningful relationships and life in ge A terrific series featuring AMcS’s brilliant observations of humankind。 Detective Ulf Varg， boss of Malmo’s Department of Sensitive Crimes， sets out solving why an art critic’s reputation is being destroyed。 Serious Scandi literature has nothing to fear from this series - with this police force boasting Departments of Commercial Crime， Indecent Activities and Traffic it’s all rather tongue-in-cheek。 Ulf’s musings on his colleagues， crime， his yearnings for meaningful relationships and life in general offer an easy to read series。 The audiobook version is similarly enjoyable through the thoughtful and humorous depiction of the various characters。 And we cannot forget Ulf’s deaf dog Martin which has been taught to lip-read （perhaps the only Swedish dog to do so！）。 。。。more
Olivia
，
Ah。 Disappointing for me。 A somewhat stilted narrative of Ulf， detective， and his wounded dog Martin， their neighbours in this mild Scandi style story。 This lacks the stylistic flow and insightful humour usually associated with McCall-Smith。 Unwillingly completed。
KJ
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Ulf Varg does not disappoint in this instalment。 So glad he is moving on with his life too。
Sharon Albanese
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The knack of AMS books， （well， one of them）， is that whichever series I happen to be reading always ends up being my favourite at the time。 This one has a bunch of immensely likeable characters with wonderful quirks and interesting names， who solve unusual crimes which require a delicate touch in Malmo Sweden。 Throw in some gentle humour and a few plots twists。 What's not to love？ I really love this series and look forward to more adventures from the Department of Sensitive Crimes。 The knack of AMS books， （well， one of them）， is that whichever series I happen to be reading always ends up being my favourite at the time。 This one has a bunch of immensely likeable characters with wonderful quirks and interesting names， who solve unusual crimes which require a delicate touch in Malmo Sweden。 Throw in some gentle humour and a few plots twists。 What's not to love？ I really love this series and look forward to more adventures from the Department of Sensitive Crimes。 。。。more
Stephanie
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Really enjoyed this。 The right balance of humour， character development ， plot， and a bit of philosophy on life。 Some may think the storyline weak。 For me it was more about the characters than plot and it worked。 It was a delightful read。 The best book of the series。
Susan Bray DeLong
，
It is like a comfortable pair of slippers to read a new book by Alexander McCall Smith。 The title， The Man With the Silver Saab， grabbed me immediately， because I had the pleasure of driving a silver Saab。 Albeit a lot more modern than that driven by our delightful hero detective Ulf Varg， of the Swedish Malmö Department of Sensitive Crimes。He is a sensitive， quite good looking man， in his forty’s， who lives widowed with only his deaf dog， Martin， for companionship。 He has cleverly taught this a It is like a comfortable pair of slippers to read a new book by Alexander McCall Smith。 The title， The Man With the Silver Saab， grabbed me immediately， because I had the pleasure of driving a silver Saab。 Albeit a lot more modern than that driven by our delightful hero detective Ulf Varg， of the Swedish Malmö Department of Sensitive Crimes。He is a sensitive， quite good looking man， in his forty’s， who lives widowed with only his deaf dog， Martin， for companionship。 He has cleverly taught this adoring mutt to lip read， which impresses friends when the dog is told to sit and obligingly complies。Our story begins while walking Martin off leash in the park。 Martin has an unfortunate run in with a vicious angry squirrel who bites the poor dog’s nose almost off and lacerates his muzzle with it’s sharp teeth。 Ulf puts the injured dog on the leather back seat where he bleeds copiously。 Frantic to get his injured dog pain relief `Ulf uses his blue light to hasten through the traffic。 This usage was frowned upon by his commissioner unless a life and death emergency。At the vets Martin was treated and his nose was inadvertently sewn on upside down。 But Ulf being the kind man he is couldn’t make a big fuss about this and paid his bill。There are all sorts of crimes that he has to investigate。 The most intriguing concerns a man who amused himself jumping out at women and threatening them with a cucumber。 A cucumber being the most phallic of vegetables。 Another case concerned the reputation of an art critic。 This cerebral man made his living providing the sign of authentication to valuable paintings。 If the painting was judged to be by one of the masters then it’s value shot up。 But if a painting was judged a copy then the owner lost a lot of money。 He had come to Ulf to help him regain his reputation。Unfortunately this art critic had said a painting was original and the auction house had publicised this in it’s catalogue， but a copy was sent in it’s place and a French expert had declared it worthless。 It was the scandal of the art world and the poor man was distraught。We follow Ulf and his annoying colleague as they interview witnesses until they come to a shocking conclusion。Even tho Ulf secretly loves his married work colleague the reader will be delighted that this dear man has a chance to find love when Martin returns to the vet’s office to have his nose stitches and Elizabethan collar removed。Every book by Alexander McCall Smith is a delight as he provides page after page of brilliant descriptions of his characters and their inner most feelings。I look forward to reading more about detective Varg and his dog Martin with the upside down nose。Stay away from squirrels tho Martin！ 。。。more
Sandy Sexton
，
Good fun。
Lorna Harwood
，
The third book in this series has lots more philosophical thinking going on。。。as well as a quirky case for Detective Varg and his sidekick Blomquist to solve。 Resolution also finally surfaces in his inner pursuit of his lovely - but married - coworker， Anna。
Lyn
，
Clever use of the language， wonderful philosophical asides。 Still I gave up as so very little happened and the characters didn’t seem to interest me。 It was funny and witty but in my mind the story just wasn’t interesting enough。 Maybe I have just become too lightweight， or demanding？ Too impatient？
Tim
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Highly （and predictably） entertaining and thought provoking。 I wonder if Swedish writers take umbrage with cries of "cultural appropriation" with the ubiquitous McCall Smith treading so well on their turf。 Highly （and predictably） entertaining and thought provoking。 I wonder if Swedish writers take umbrage with cries of "cultural appropriation" with the ubiquitous McCall Smith treading so well on their turf。 。。。more
Wendy
，
Another lovely humorous dept of sensitive crimes instalment。 So many lovely little incidents and some great witticisms。
Jen Brown
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I wish these books were longerI really loved this book。 The story moved along nicely but I was left feeling it was a a rather abrupt ending and that the books are rather short for the price。
Ken Fredette
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