The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf

“Though [McCall Smith] has the lightest of touches and is always entertaining, he is a deeply serious writer who values truth, honesty, sympathy and kindness. In all his various series, this is nowhere more evident than in the novels featuring Ulf Varg. . . . It is all so charming and agreeable and reads so easily that you are tempted to think of him as a lightweight writer. You will, however, do this only if you do not see that comedy may be as serious, as morally concerned, as darker and grimmer fictions. McCall Smith is always concerned with how people behave, especially how they behave towards others. . . . While always alert to the question of right and wrong behavior, he is a kindly judge.”
—The Scotsman

“A crime ripped from the mind of Mother Goose animates McCall’s witty fourth outing for Swedish police detective Ulf Varg. . . . Ulf and company are extremely pleasant company, lending this farcical mystery all the comforts of a good cozy without most of the clichés, and Smith juggles the various subplots with ease. Simply put, this is good-natured fun.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Alexander McCall Smith’s Detective Varg mysteries star a cerebral, conflicted detective in an appealingly oddball police department in Malmö, Sweden. . . . High on comical quirkiness.”
—Booklist