The Department of Sensitive Crimes

Alexander McCall Smith’s latest series is The Department of Sensitive Crimes: A Detective Varg Novel. The department in Mälmo, Sweden investigates crimes including a stabbing and missing persons, but as in McCall Smith’s other novels, the crimes are neither explicit nor sensationalized. Instead, this book has a similar feel to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The story and characters meander at a leisurely pace. At first, I struggled to get into the book’s rhythm and felt it was too much like Ladies' Detective. By the end, though, I felt fondness for Varg and his colleagues and may be willing to revisit them in the future.

Before She Knew Him

Peter Swanson’s Before She Knew Him is a twist on the mystery-suspense genre. From practically the beginning of the novel, the reader, and the main character, Hen, know who the murderer is. The suspense comes from the tension between a feeling of complacency knowing who the murderer is—and maybe even trusting him a little bit—and not really knowing what the murderer will do next. The ending has two surprises (one I guessed; the other I didn’t). It was a satisfying read, although there are some times the writing drags and doesn’t seem to be moving the story forward, and good for summertime entertainment.