This was the last Kurt Wallander mystery that Mankell published in English before his death (in 2015). As a novella of 150 pages or so it works really well, although maybe that’s because I’ve read all the other doorstoppers in the series, I didn’t need backstories. The 20-page essay Mankell wrote on Wallander, included at the end of the book, was fascinating too. Mankell explains how he came up with the character of Wallander as a vehicle to explore the changing nature of Sweden in the 90s and 2000s, but was pleasantly surprised his struggles resonated with so many around the world. And they still do to me.

No. 11 of 12 books I intend to read and review in 2025.

I’m Patrick Sherriff, an Englishman who survived 13 years working for newspapers in the US, UK and Japan. Between teaching English lessons at my conversation school in Abiko, Japan, I write and illustrate textbooks for non-native speakers of English, release Hana Walker mystery novels, short stories, paint, and write essays and Our Man in Abiko, a monthly  newsletter   highlighting good writing in English, often about about Japan, art, crime fiction and teaching.