The Man Who Smiled: A Kurt Wallander Mystery (Kurt Wallander Mysteries (Hardcover)) [Hardcover]

Will Ystad, the midsized Swedish city that never thaws, have to bid farewell to the brilliant/vulnerable/Maigret-like Detective Chief Inspector who's kept it law-abiding all these years?His colleagues, his boss, his doctor, his dad, everyone-including himself, Kurt Wallander (Before the Frost, 2005, etc.)-is certain he's packing it in. He's killed a man-justifiably, in defense of his own life, but with shattering emotional consequences. For the first time in his long career, Wallender feels useless, "like the clockwork man who had lost the key that normally stuck out of his back." Returning to Ystad after months of sick leave, Wallander fully intends to hand in his papers, but then something unpredictable, or perhaps exceedingly predictable, rouses the dormant copper in him: a meaty mystery that provides an irresistible opportunity to add luster to the Wallander name. Everyone in the Ystad PD has written off the death of elderly lawyer Gustaf Torstensson as accidental. Only Wallander is astute enough to recognize it for the homicide it is and spot its heinous connection to the rich and powerful man with no smile. True, Wallander has a certain helpful piece of inside information, but never mind. What matters is that the game is once more afoot.Slow as an ice floe, but the Wallander Weltschmerz maintains its peculiar grip. (Kirkus Reviews)

An exquisitely drawn lead character and a beautifully constructed atmospheric piece of Nordic noir --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

"an exquisitely drawn lead character and a beautifully constructed atmospheric piece of Nordic noir" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

One of the latest titles to be adapted for the award-winning WALLANDER television series, starring Kenneth Branagh. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

After killing a man in the line of duty, Kurt Wallander resolves to quit the Ystad police. However, a bizarre case gets under his skin.

A lawyer driving home at night stops to investigate an effigy sitting in a chair in the middle of the highway. The lawyer is hit over the head and dies. Within a week the lawyer’s son is also killed. These deeply puzzling mysteries compel Wallander to remain on the force. The prime suspect is a powerful corporate mogul with a gleaming smile that Wallander believes hides the evil glee of a killer. Joined by Ann-Britt Hoglund, Wallander begins to uncover the truth, but the same merciless individuals responsible for the murders are now closing in on him. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

A disillusioned Inspector Kurt Wallander is thrown back into the fray when he becomes both hunter and hunted in this adventure from the pen of Sweden's master of crime and mystery. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Absorbing, chilling and dripping with evil atmopshere' The Times

After killing a man in the line of duty, Inspector Kurt Wallander finds himself spiralling into an alcohol-fuelled depression. He has just decided to leave the police when an old friend approaches him for help investigating his father's suspicious death. Kurt doesn't want to know. But then his friend is found shot dead. Against his better judgment, he returns to work to head what may now have become a double murder case. But while Wallander is on the trail of the killer, somebody is on the trail of Wallander, and closing in fast.

'Impeccable storytelling' Daily Express

'Superb' Daily Telegraph

www.kurtwallander.co.uk

Also available in Vintage:

[Sidetracked jpeg]; [One Step Behind jpeg]; [Firewall jpeg]; [Faceless Killers jpeg]; [The Fifth Woman jpeg]

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

HENNING MANKELL is the prize-winning and internationally acclaimed author of the Inspector Wallander Mysteries, now dominating bestseller lists throughout Europe. He devotes much of his free time to working with Aids charities in Africa, where he has a second home. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.