NOVELIST Alexander McCall Smith is to launch into a new series of detective novels, set in Sweden and featuring a detective and his lip-reading dog.
The No 1. Ladies’ Detective Agency writer, 69, said the new books would not fit the gritty Scandi noir genre. Instead, they may form a new category he calls “Scandinavian blanc”.
The first book, called The Department of Sensitive Crimes, will be published next spring and will introduce his loyal readers to detective Ulf Varg and his hearing impaired dog Marten.
Their first mystery is an apparent case of lycanthropy – the mythical transformation of a person into a werewolf. McCall Smith said: “I’ve started a new series set in Sweden – I call it ‘Scandi blanc’ as opposed to Scandi noir.
“My central character is a Swedish detective called Ulf Varg – Ulf means ‘wolf’ in Danish and Varg means ‘wolf’ in Swedish so he’s Wolf Wolf. He lives in Malmo and works in this department which deals with unusual crimes.
“He has a dog called Marten, and he’s hearing impaired – he’s the only dog in Sweden who can lip read, but only in Swedish.
“The whole thing is just having great fun. My books never involve any serious crimes – nobody is ever killed in any of my books.”
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