Buy One Get One Free! The Dogs of Riga and The Redbreast - B+

The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

I’ve completed two books in the last couple of days but didn’t have the opportunity to blog in between.  So, instead of splitting these up into two entries, and because the books are both from the same genre, I decided to combine both books into one post.

Isn’t this exciting?  I’ve never done that before!  I don’t know about you, but my feet are tingling!

Both novels are Nordic crime novels.  First up is the second in Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander series, “The Dogs of Riga.”  The novel takes place shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall when power was up-for-grabs in areas of Eastern Europe and criminal elements tested the limits of, and in many cases conspired with, government.  Wallander, a Swedish detective, is called in when two well-dressed, bullet-ridden corpses wash ashore in a life raft.  His investigation into government-sponsored corruption takes him to Riga, Latvia following the murder of a friend.

I like a number of aspects of Nordic novels such as this one.  The novel takes place in a stark setting where most of the characters do not enjoy Western creature comforts.  The protagonists, like Wallander, are flawed as opposed to supermen.  The detectives actually do “detective work,” often without the aid of modern, quick turnaround, CSI-like science.

I’m geeky when it comes to series like this.  I generally start with the first in a series and read the books in order.  I had read “Faceless Killers,” the first Wallander novel, last year.  This is a great series where you can pick up a novel periodically when you’re in the mood.

Next up  is “The Redbreast” by Jo Nesbo.   “The Redbreast” was recommended to me after it had already inexplicably shown up on my Amazon Wish List. 

While not the first novel by Nesbo to feature his protagonist, Harry Hole, “The Redbreast” is the first Hole novel that is available in English.  Listen, I have my “stuff,” like reading a series from Book 1 forward, but I’m not going to go to extraordinary lengths like by learning another language in order to do so.

The novel takes place in Oslo, Norway.  The action shifts back and forth between present day and World War II.  Hole is a recovering alcoholic who, after an unfortunate incident, is reassigned from the crime division to the Norwegian secret service.  While there, he begins investigating a mysterious arms purchase through which he confronts Neo-Nazis and researches the past before the two storylines intersect.

Like Wallander, Hole is flawed.  Like Mankell, Nesbo’s novel has a similar stark Nordic setting.

Which would I recommend over the other?  Well, I’m giving them both B+’s.  If you enjoy the Stieg Larsson “Dragon Tattoo” novels, you will likely enjoy either or both.  Both novels are also less violent than the "Dragon Tattoo" novels.

Live long, read and prosper.  We'll leave the lights on for you.