|
The Dogs of Riga (Harvill Panther) | 
 enlarge | Author: Henning Mankell
Creator: Laurie Thompson
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy New: £4.19
You Save: £2.80 (40%)
New (6) Used (5) from £3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 956
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 1860469590
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781860469596
ASIN: 1860469590
Publication Date: September 5, 2002
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 The Norse Morse in fine form December 20, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've had this book on my shelves for ages, purposely waiting for the TV series to come and go, so that I could assess how the character was portrayed, also knowing that if I enjoyed it (the book) there were another 6 follow-ons.
I can see now why this book would be more difficult to bring into the series as it is set, mainly, in Riga in 1992 where life was a little different from that of today - to say the least.
I remember my days in Eastern Europe and Mankell conveys the grimy atmosphere of the State police rather well. My everlasting view of that part of the world has always been the greyness of everything and Riga is no exception.
The story is well-reviewed elsewhere, so my thoughts turn to Wallander himself. A bleak man, devastated by the break-up of his marriage and the distancing by his daughter, committed to dogged determination to solve a murder mystery. In this story he has to resort to physical force but, nonetheless, needs to use his brain to work out who are the culprits. That he gets it wrong is no bad thing. Nobody, even in fiction, should be perfect!
He yearns for the solace of a loving partner but life and circumstances move against his rather shy approach to solving this problem. Thanks to the TV shows, I can assume he doesn't progress too far. He also always seems to manage a swipe at the social problems in his native country, something which adds a little flavour to his dour attitude in general!
I'm away to read the next book (and the others) now that I am hooked on another great detective character. I understand the author is considering - or may well have begun - another Wallander book. I hope so.
 In which a dogged Scandinavian detective goes 'Le Carre' July 22, 2008
Rather different to the first Wallander novel, this one took me by surprise by venturing into Le Carre territory involving our dogged detective in an international conspiracy in Latvia - so less of a police procedural and more of a spy thriller.
It starts off with two bodies in a life-raft, who turn out to be Latvian. When the Latvian major who comes to Sweden to help investigate is murdered on his return to Riga, Wallander is asked to help the Latvian police, but becomes embroiled in the nationalist struggle to free Latvia from Soviet shackles - it is 1991 and the Baltic states are not yet free.
Although this is only the second Wallander novel I have read, (and I like to stay with the order), I prefer the police procedural - I think it suits the dour Scandinavian inspector's character better. My one quibble with Wallander though is that he is meant to be in his mid-late 40s, but feels ten years older to me with his world-weariness - heavens I'm about the same age as him, but being an optimist mostly feel very much younger!
Entertaining story, but too many twists and turns May 23, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This time inspector Kurt Wallander has to solve the murder on two very well-dressed men, who float ashore the Swedish coast on a raft. The trail leads to Latvia. After his Latvian colleague is also murdered, Wallander ends up in a web of intrigues in an unstable country that is unknown to him and where he does not speak the language. Soon he finds out that one of his two nearest Latvian colleagues is the villain, but which one of the two?
In contrast to Faceless killers by the same author, this book contains much more action, but after a while I became quite dizzy with all the twist and turns that the story took. It is an entertaining story, but Wallander appeared less real to me than in the previous book. After reading the whole series this is actually the weakest one.
 Wallender is a must read April 28, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the second novel in the Kurt Wallender series of books translated from Swedish.
It developes the character of Wallender superbly from the first book (Faceless Killers). Wallender's wife has left him, his daughter rarely contacts him and his father's dementia is an increasing problem.
In this book Wallender investigates a couple of bodies found on a dingy. His investigation stake him to a Latvia just coming out of Russian control and full of people eithet taking the party line or in a private revolution. Which one to trust becomes a question Wallender must answer if he is to solve this mystery.
The book is written with extreme care for the character the author has created. A detective as far away from a James Bond character as you could get, Wallender balances his diablical home life with the life of a dedicated detective of the Swedish police.
As ever Wallenders private life and his investigations get intertwined when he falls in love with the widow of the Latvian detective who helps him at the start of the investigation.
The plot is excellent and the atmosphere of a Latvia still torn between state and republic are expressed beautifully.
However the reason for the success of these novels is the incredible depth of closeness the author brings you with the main character. An intelligent and sensitive man with a sense of humour that is becoming more burdoned with his private life and increased loneliness.
A first rate page turning novel. Very recommended.
Interesting insight into Latvia at the end of the 80's October 12, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When a life raft is washed up on the Swedish coast, carrying two frozen corpses, Kurt Wallander is called in to investigate. When its origin is traced to Latvia in the Eastern Bloc, Wallander hopes to pass the case over to their detectives and move on. Needless to say this doesn't happen and he ends up travelling to Latvia to help with the investigation. So far , so good.
It's after he returns from Latvia that events start to become a bit unbelievable and Wallender turns into Superman.
This book was very different from the only other Mankell novel ("Firewall") that I've read, as "The Dogs of Riga" turned into more of a political adventure than a crime novel.
This emphasis initially annoyed me, because of the vague, unformed references to Latvian politics. Ironically, as the picture became clearer, it was this aspect that eventually gave the book its greatest interest.
In the end what most frustrated me was the way a well trained, experienced detective threw himself into a crazy, mad-cap sceme to rescue Latvia on the basis of a brief infatuation.
|
|
|
| |
