Reviews for The Dogs of Riga (Kurt Wallander Series #2)

The average rating for The Dogs of Riga (Kurt Wallander Series #2) based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-02-02 00:00:00 Vincent Cavuoto Kurt Wallander, Swedish detective, is inexplicably sent to Latvia to investigate the death of a Latvian police officer who was killed ...in Latvia. Wallander doesn't know why he's in Latvia. Henning Mankell doesn't appear to know why Wallander is in Latvia. I don't know why Wallander is in Latvia. After 300 pages of Wallander being driven around Latvia, being cold, eating omelettes, drinking coffee, wandering around with a map, and sitting around asking himself why he's in Latvia, I don't actually care. The subplot of shadowy...whatever they were...freedom fighters...? made no sense whatsoever (seriously, he's investigating the death of a police officer and he voluntarily lets himself be taken around by guys who throw hoods over his head? To hang out with people with whom he can barely communicate in bad English? Who does that?), and the other subplot with the love interest was ridiculous. Wallander is 40-ish, not 14. I should have paid attention to my instinct to drop this in the discard pile, but I was determined to ride it out. I'm going to pay attention to my instincts from now on.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-05-14 00:00:00 Bob Boberson Have you ever been to Latvia? Me neither. Turns out Riga is the capital of this Baltic state. Back in the olden days of 1991 and thereabouts, this evil empire called the Soviet Union (once and again called Russia - home of the Rooskies) controlled a big chunk of the globe, especially the cold wintry parts. Including Riga, Latvia. (**I was happily showed otherwise when I first posted this review, check out the comments below and the friendly reader from sunny and warm Riga) Another cold and dark place, though with happy trees and surly and reclusive police detectives is Sweden. Henning Mankell's second Kurt Wallander novel was better than the first, 1991's Faceless Killers, and much of the enhanced praise comes from Mankell's use of and exploration of the dichotomy between these northern countries and at this time and place. The Cold War was winding down, The Scorpions were releasing a song called "Wind of Change", Ronald Reagan was telling eastern folks to tear down a wall, and Hey, let's face it, there was a lot of transformations in the world. In Latvia, citizens would get the choice (more or less) about whether to stay in the Soviet orbit or go it alone and free. Mankell makes another interesting observation in that not all Latvians wanted Coca-Cola capitalism, were just hunky dorey with communism but were dissatisfied at how the revolution was going. Mankell also provides a good explanation for how, when the Iron Curtain fell, Russian style gangsters were more than ready to fill the void created by the end of totalitarian rule. Why? Because they were already there and in business. A lifeboat with two dead Russian thugs, having been tortured and shot, washes up on the shores of Sweden. Inspector Wallander and his shift of Swedish police officers investigate until a Latvian police major arrives. Later, Wallander is summoned to Riga to help the Latvian police and he gets embroiled in the changes sweeping the communist world. An inspired, introspective but dynamic story told with style and character.