Review
`a perfect valedictory novel...this is Mankell at his best' --Daily Express
`Mankell is undoubtedly a skilled writer with plenty of breadth, but it's clear that his subtleties of character, plot and pace achieve greatest expression in the Wallander series' --The Independent on Sunday
`It's a fine finale for the fretful policeman and it's hard not to feel you'll miss the old bugger' --Metro
`It's sparse, poignant and a fitting swan song for one of literature's truly great detectives' --Shortlist
`Laurie Thompson's fluent, precise translation from the Swedish' --The Independent, i
`a novel that works on a number of levels: as a compelling investigation into a Swedish cold-war spy ring, a philosophical assessment of policing and its social function, and a very personal evaluation of a person's worth in the grand scheme of things...Written in Mankell's downbeat style (beautifully translated by Laurie Thompson) it has a fatalistic tone that is entirely fitting for the final testimony of one of crime fiction's great protagonists...a hugely satisfying novel that ranks alongside Mankell's best, a heartbreaking tale of descent into despair and darkness that serves as a totem for what great crime writing can achieve' --The Irish Times
`The Troubled Man had me gripped' --Eurocrime
`So The Troubled Man delivers in full as a whodunit, as all the Wallander books do, beneath their impassive surface...The Troubled Man is a sorrowful- how can it be? - but fully satisfying conclusion to a great series. No Mankell reader will think of missing it' --The Scotsman
`To his fans this valediction will be greeted with sadness but it is also deserves applause, if only for the considerable services rendered' --Express
``Unlike Larsson...Mankell's characters are complex and nuanced...The retirement of the terse, divorced, heavy-drinking Wallander is as significant as the retirement of the terse, divorced, heavy drinking John Rebus. This bleak, moving and gripping finale marks the perfect end to a brilliant career.' --Scotland on Sunday, David Stenhouse
`A fine finale for Mankell's fretful Swedish policeman, Hurt Wallander, and as the shadows close over him for the last time, it's hard not to feel you'll miss the old bugger.' --Metro
`Written in Mankell's downbeat style (beautifully translated by Laurie Thompson), it has a fatalistic tone that is entirely fitting for the final testimony of one of crime fiction's great protagonists. The result is a hugely satisfying novel that ranks alongside Mankell's best, a heartbreaking tale of descent into despair and darkness that serves as a totem for what great crime writing can achieve.' --The Irish Times, Declan Burke
`Mankell is a category one writer in every respect.' --Observer, Brian Oliver
'This fine mystery, a fitting way to bid farewell to the wonderful Kurt Wallander, brings the frisson of old-world spy intrigue satisfyingly together with old-fashioned detective work...The detective work is painstaking, clever and fascinating as always' --Time Out
`The mystery element is well crafted here, but of secondary importance: Mankell, and we, are more concerned with seeing how Wallander is facing up to the indignities of old age...As this novel closes, Wallander seems more than ever a symbol of Sweden's struggle with its place in the world.'
--Daily Telegraph, Jake Kerridge
`If he stops now, this is a fitting conclusion. Moving with wonderfully sparse language, it is a magisterial march towards the great unknown.' --BigIssueCymru
`A tangled story of espionage and betrayal, with its roots in the Cold War.'
--The Mail on Sunday
`This is a fascinating book, beautifully written (and translated).'
--Literary Review
`The Troubled Man is a moving portrait of a man entering old age.' --TLS, Review by Tom Shippey
`An eloquent, moving and fitting farewell to one of fiction's greatest detectives.' --The Times
`I saw Henning Mankell ... bind an entire room with his storyteller's spell' --The Telegraph
`The Ystad detective's many fans won't want to miss finding out how Wallander, now in his 60s, deals with a cold-war mystery involving Soviet submarines in Swedish waters, as well as his new role as a grandparent and the spectre of his own impending dementia.' --The Irish Times, Weekend Review
`The first new Wallander book in 10 years is a bittersweet experience, as it also signals the end of our time with the sorrowful sleuth. ... it's portrayal of the inspector's mental and physical frailties that makes this an unexpectedly emotional read.' --ShortList.com
`The first new Wallander book in 10 years is a bittersweet experience, as it also signals the end of our time with the sorrowful sleuth. ... it's portrayal of the inspector's mental and physical frailties that makes this an unexpectedly emotional read.' --Shortlist.com
'But for anyone who has admired previous appearances by one of the greatest fictional detectives so far, this farewell needs to be read.'
--The Times
`The last Kurt Wallander novel was a fitting farewell to the fictional detective who sparked the Scandinavian noir fashion.'
--Sunday Express
Book Description
Product Description
Every morning Håkan von Enke takes a walk in the forest near his apartment in Stockholm. However, one winter's day he fails to come home. It seems that the retired naval officer has vanished without trace.
Detective Kurt Wallander is not officially involved in the investigation but he has personal reasons for his interest in the case as Håkan's son is engaged to his daughter Linda. A few months earlier, at Håkan's 75th birthday party, Kurt noticed that the old man appeared uneasy and seemed eager to talk about a controversial incident from his past career that remained shrouded in mystery. Could this be connected to his disappearance? When Håkan's wife Louise also goes missing, Wallander is determined to uncover the truth.
His search leads him down dark and unexpected avenues involving espionage, betrayal and new information about events during the Cold War that threatens to cause a political scandal on a scale unprecedented in Swedish history. The investigation also forces Kurt to look back over his own past and consider his hopes and regrets, as he comes to the unsettling realisation that even those we love the most can remain strangers to us.
And then an even darker cloud appears on the horizon...
The return of Kurt Wallander, for his final case, has already caused a sensation around the globe. The Troubled Man confirms Henning Mankell's position as the king of crime writing.
From the Inside Flap
Every morning Håkan von Enke takes a walk in the forest near his home in Stockholm. However, one winter's day he fails to come home. It seems that the retired naval officer has vanished without trace.
Detective Kurt Wallander is not officially involved in the investigation but he has personal reasons for involving himself in the case as Håkan's son is engaged to his daughter Linda. A few months earlier, at Håkan's 75th birthday party, Kurt noticed that the old man appeared uneasy and seemed eager to talk about a controversial incident from his past career that remained shrouded in mystery. Could this be connected to his disappearance? When Håkan's wife Louise also goes missing, Wallander is determined to uncover the truth.
His search leads him down dark and unexpected avenues involving espionage, betrayal and new information about events during the Cold War that threatens to cause a political scandal on a scale unprecedented in Swedish history. The investigation also forces Kurt to look back over his own past and consider his hopes and regrets, as he comes to the unsettling realisation that even those we love the most can remain strangers to us.
And then an even darker cloud appears on the horizon...
The return of Kurt Wallander, for his final case, has already caused a sensation around the globe. The Troubled Man confirms Henning Mankell's position as the king of crime writing
From the Back Cover
'A heartbreaking tale of descent into despair and darkness that serves as a totem for what great crime writing can achieve' Irish Times
'A magnificent finale, it's to be hoped that Mankell may be persuaded to revive his grumpy Nordic inspector... He is far too good to lose' Financial Times
'This is Mankell's goodbye to Detective Kurt Wallander. And by the time you get to the end, you'll be wanting another. But it would hard to beat this tale of murder and loss which leads back to the heart of the Cold War' Daily Mirror
Every morning retired naval officer Håkan von Enke takes a walk in the forest near his apartment in Stockholm. Then, one day he fails to come home.
Detective Kurt Wallander is not officially involved but Håkan's son is engaged to his daughter Linda. A few months earlier, at Håkan's 75th birthday party, he was eager to talk to Kurt about a controversial incident from his past. Could this be connected to his disappearance? When Håkan's wife Louise also goes missing, Wallander is determined to uncover the truth but the investigation will force him to look back over his own past, as he comes to the unsettling realisation that even those we love the most can remain strangers to us.
And then an even darker cloud appears on the horizon...
'A perfect valedictory novel...this is Mankell at his best' Daily Express
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
