Fans of Kurt Wallander are in for an unexpected treat as they probably thought they had read the last about this popular detective. This short book was published many years ago in Holland in response to a ploy to get more people reading: anyone buying a crime novel would receive a free book. Henning Mankell decided to revive the story after it was dramatized by the BBC. The events take place in 2002. Kurt, whilst looking at a house he is interested in buying, stumbles across a macabre object in the garden. Thus ensues an intriguing case involving missing persons and wartime immigrants. As always in these stories there is a great sense of place and the atmosphere of Sweden is richly portrayed. Many of Wallander’s colleagues will be familiar to readers and we learn a little more about his daughter, Linda, who is now in the police force and working at the same police station in Ystad as her father. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Some cases aren't as cold as you'd think Kurt Wallander's life looks like it has taken a turn for the better when his offer on a new house is accepted, only for him to uncover something unexpected in the garden - the skeleton of a middle-aged woman. As police officers comb the property, Wallander attempts to get his new life back on course by finding the woman's killer with the aid of his daughter, Linda. But when another discovery is made in the garden, Wallander is forced to delve further back into the area's past. A treat for fans and new readers alike, this is a never before published Kurt Wallander novella.
'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
'Wallander is among the very best fictional crimebusters' Daily Telegraph
The real test of thrillers of this kind is whether you want to spend time in the detective's company. I certainly do'
Sean French, Irish Times
Author
About Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell was born in Stockholm in 1948. He is the prize-winning author of the eight novels in the Inspector Wallander Series which has been translated into many languages and consistently tops the best-seller lists throughout Europe. His novel Sidetracked won the CWA Gold dagger in 2001. Mankell has worked as an actor, theatre director and manager in Sweden and in Mozambique, where he is head of Teatro Avenida in Maputo. He died in October 2015.
