The Troubled Man: A Kurt Wallander Mystery

by Henning Mankell
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The first new Wallander novel for a decade, and the final installment in the bestselling series from the godfather of Swedish crime

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Synopsis

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...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.

Editorial Reviews

"A magnificent finale, it's to be hoped that Mankell may be persuaded to revive his grumpy Nordic inspector, complete with his stomach cramps, failing eyesight and Ikea furniture. He is far too good to lose" - Financial Times

"A perfect valedictory novel...this is Mankell at his best" - Barry Forshaw, 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" - James Urquhart, 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" - Siobhan Murphy, Metro

"It's sparse, poignant and a fitting swan song for one of literature's truly great detectives" - Shortlist

"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" - Declan Burke, Irish Times

"So The Troubled Man delivers in full as a whodunnit, as all the Wallander books do, beneath their impassive surface...The Troubled Man is a sorrowful - how can it not be? - but fully satisfying conclusion to a great series. No Mankell reader will think of missing it." - David Sexton, Scotsman

"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" - David Stenhouse, Scotland on Sunday

"To his fans this valediction will be greeted with sadness but it is also deserves applause, if only for the considerable services rendered" - David Connett, Express

"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

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