The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Älexander McCall Smith (2020)

Laura’s Rating: 2/5 Stars
This book caught my eye in the store and I loved the idea of quirky, unexplainable cases (I was hoping for X-Files vibes).
The Analysis:
Detective Ulf Varg works for the Department of Sensitive Crimes in Sweden, investigating cases that are a bit too unusual or strange for the regular police force to handle. For example, a man gets stabbed in the back of the knee. A person that doesn’t exist is missing. A mysterious creature haunts a hotel but things aren’t quite as they seem. Ulf tries to solve these puzzling cases while also navigating how to handle a crush on a coworker and a nosey local police officer.
The writing style of this book was a bit quirky and characters often went on tangents that I think were supposed to be amusing but just felt awkward or off topic. The main disappointment for me was that not much happens. Cases get solved and a few character developments occur but even those felt a bit bland. For having such an interesting caseload, most of Ulf’s discoveries turned out to be pretty normal. The book almost feels like when you have a ghost encounter story or a conspiracy theory that seems exciting and wild, and then someone points out that there is a logical, boring explanation for the phenomenon.
There’s a few heartwarming and amusing scenes in The Department of Sensitive Crimes, but nothing that stood out as fantastic. I wanted to like this book so much, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations.
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