The Dogs of Riga
by Henning Mankell
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Read in December, 2006
Gelezen tijdens een luie zondagnamiddag: Honden van Riga (vertaling uit het Zweeds van Hundama i Riga, 1992), de tweede roman van thrillerauteur Mankell met politie-inspecteur Kurt Wallander in de hoofdrol. Het was ook de tweede roman die ik van Mankell las, en de ervaring was deze keer een pak minder positief. Terwijl Midzomermoord een ongemeen spannend en strak opgebouwde roman was, is het duidelijk dat Mankell tijdens Honden van Riga nog niet dat torenhoog niveau had bereikt. De voornaamste i...more
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Read in February, 2008
"The Dogs of Riga" is the 1st book in Mankell's Kurt Wallendar series; the 4th that I've read. It's a good read, enjoyable and intriguing, but not the strongest opening for a series.
Two tortured corpses - no ID, no clues to where they came from - turn up in a liferaft on the Swedish coast. Here we meet Wallander for the first time: a 40ish police inspector starting to question his chosen occupation and asking what constitutes justice. Murder victims are his job and he puts his ...more
Two tortured corpses - no ID, no clues to where they came from - turn up in a liferaft on the Swedish coast. Here we meet Wallander for the first time: a 40ish police inspector starting to question his chosen occupation and asking what constitutes justice. Murder victims are his job and he puts his ...more
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A good mystery, but as a tourist guide to Riga, not so hot!
I will be in Riga in July, and thought I might learn a little about the place. What I got was "don't go there" -- or at least not to the Riga of 1991, as imagined by Mankell. I get the impression he was there, but careful to fictionalise to protect sources.
Ah well, I guess that was as silly as reading Ian Rankin to find great spots to go in Edinburgh. I have been to a spot he described in one of his books, where I sa...more
I will be in Riga in July, and thought I might learn a little about the place. What I got was "don't go there" -- or at least not to the Riga of 1991, as imagined by Mankell. I get the impression he was there, but careful to fictionalise to protect sources.
Ah well, I guess that was as silly as reading Ian Rankin to find great spots to go in Edinburgh. I have been to a spot he described in one of his books, where I sa...more
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Read in June, 2008
Just finished this, after going through many of the Sjowall/Wahloo Martin Beck series.
My 3 stars is based on the translation. I found it to be alarmingly bad at some points, almost as if the translator were not a native speaker! She kept repeating the same phrases page after page...."in his mind's eye" kept popping up, off the top of my head.
I thought the story was decent, and the question of which of the 2 Latvian cops is the bad guy was a nice twist. Wallander is in the mold ...more
My 3 stars is based on the translation. I found it to be alarmingly bad at some points, almost as if the translator were not a native speaker! She kept repeating the same phrases page after page...."in his mind's eye" kept popping up, off the top of my head.
I thought the story was decent, and the question of which of the 2 Latvian cops is the bad guy was a nice twist. Wallander is in the mold ...more
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Read in April, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in March, 2008
I started this Saturday afternoon and pretty much completed in under a day as I wanted to return it to the library.
I felt the language flowed better than it had in 'Faceless Killers', which may have reflected the translator's skills.
Also, the main character while dealing with a degree of mid-life crises was certainly more together than he was in the first novel. One stand out TMI info moment (perhaps reflecting a difference in Swedish culture).
Compelling story.
I felt the language flowed better than it had in 'Faceless Killers', which may have reflected the translator's skills.
Also, the main character while dealing with a degree of mid-life crises was certainly more together than he was in the first novel. One stand out TMI info moment (perhaps reflecting a difference in Swedish culture).
Compelling story.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
crime mystery lovers
I love how Mankell provides a geographical background for his novels. The history of the place ties in to the nuances of the crime or the actions of the criminal. Wallander, the detective in charge of the investigation, is self-deprecating and ultimately, human. He is not like the Phillip Marlowe type detective who doesn't seem to question whether his choices are the "right" ones to be taking. Wallander is always insecure, but always prevails!
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Read in July, 2008
Mankell's one of my dad's favorites, and also a very interesting guy - I heard him speak at a book fair several years ago and he had some great stories to share about his time in Africa. Wallander's a great hero - believably flawed but still upright enough that you're firmly in his corner from the get-go. Smartly paced as well - I'll definitely seek out more of his adventures.
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Read in July, 2008
I guess I'm not a born mystery lover...I want to skip all the police procedures and details...and that is what mystery lovers like. I felt I came into a play late...much of the character development had been done in previous books about the Swedish detective Wallander. I thought the details about Latvia under Soviet control were interesting...made me think of Czechoslovakia.
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Read in January, 2008
I read this after seeing it often very high on international bestseller lists. I don't read a lot of murder mystery books but I was surprised that so many people like this. I thought that the story was uninspired, the tension weak, and the "twists" quite boring. Interesting insight into Latvian culture but other than that not worth your time.
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Read in September, 2007
i am not a big mystery/crime drama reader (despite being addicted to both law & order and csi), but i really enjoyed this book. the plot twists kept me guessing until the end and the main character, kurt wallender, is a real, human, interesting character. i would pick up another of henning mankel's books after reading this one.
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Read in May, 2007
This is Mankell's 2nd novel in his Kurt Wallender crime series. Set in Sweden and translated into English, Mankell's style is very different than what we get here in the US. You will either like him (I do) or you will not. In either case, he's worth reading at least one of his books to see if you enjoy his style.
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Like the first book in the series, this second Kurt Wallander book is very dark. It's a very suspenseful mystery with a carefully constructed and frighteningly accurate setting. Although a mystery, the value of this book comes not from solving the crime as much as resolving conflicts and suspense.
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I picked up this book on tape because my coworker is from Latvia. I thought it would be interesting to find out more about the area. If it wasn't on tape I don't think I would of finished it. There wasn't enough character build up. The storyline carried on and on...and on.
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Read in April, 2008
This mystery with the Swedish detective takes place primarily in Latvia. The descriptions are vivid and it was easy to picture Riga in the early aftermath of the fall of communism. The mystery was compelling and kept me guessing right to the end.
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
Lovers of mysteries and the color grey
Very involving, very oppressive murder mystery from Swedish writer Henning Mankell. Actually very similar to the Norwegian movie Insomnia. Not in plot, perhaps. But certainly in terms of ambiguous characters and unrelentingly gloomy mood.
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
mystery fans
If you haven't discovered Henning Mankell and you are a lover of well conceived mysteries, Mankell and his dour detective, Kurt Wallander are for you. This early one is a slow start but finishes with a bang.
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Read in July, 2008
I picked this up because Mankell was quoted on the back of one of my Sjowall and Wahloo books. Pretty good story about a Swedish detective dealing with the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Marcia by:
Linda Wickertrecommends it for: mystery lovers, people interested in Scandinavia
This was an enjoyable mystery. I was confused until the end. I liked the "gritty" setting in Riga and the layers of intrigue. I am planning to read another book by this author.
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Read in September, 2006
I am a fan of Mankell and his Wallander series. Unusual portrait of a Swedish police commissioner. Social and political undertones.
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