I’ve read three Henning Mankell books and each one has left me satisfied, like they are a step above the regular mystery read. I don’t know why I don’t do a deeper dive into his work.
Dogs of Riga is another winner and it was inching towards a five-star rating before it fell apart in the last quarter. I’ll get to that. But let me begin by singing the praises of Henning Mankell. In this one, he has his main character spend most of his time in a foreign country, one that is teetering towards the edge of a political meltdown. And he does it in a way that feels respectful to the country’s atmosphere and true to its actual physical climate. Much like when Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther went to Smolensk, a chilly, murky foreign land, I could feel the effects of Mankell’s writing. His prose is excellent and he does a good job contrasting the “have” society of Wallander’s native Sweden with the “have not” one of Latvia.
Unfortunately, the book went from page-turning to groan-inducing in the final quarter. Mankell takes some leaps with his protagonist that strain credulity. And the ending is one of can-you-top-this twists that just left me exhausted and wishing it was over. It didn’t spoil the goodwill I felt towards the book but it certainly tempered my enthusiasm.
Nonetheless, this is a quality series from a good writer. I haven’t read much in the way of Scandinavian fiction, just Mankell, Sjöwall/Wahlöö and Steig Larsson. Nothing will likely top the Martin Beck series (from which Mankell was inspired) but this one is darn good.