Henning Mankell — The Troubled Man

Random House 2012 Paperback, 509pp. On a winter's day in 2008 H kan von Enke, a retired high-ranking naval officer, disappears during his daily morning walk in the Liljan-forest near Stockholm. He has recently celebrated his 75th birthday. To Kurt Wallander this becomes a highly personal case. Enke is Linda Wallander's father-in-law and the grandfather of her baby daughter. Although the investigation is handled by the Stockholm police, Wallander cannot help getting involved. When Louise von Enke,H kan's wife, also disappears under mysterious circumstances, Wallander's involvement becomes serious. Some clues point to the past, to the time of the Cold War, to right-wing extreme groups, and tohired killers from the old Eastern Europe. In particular, certain events at the beginning of the eighties, when Sovjet submarines on numerous occasions were accused of violating Swedish terrritory, play an important part. It occurs to Wallander that he may be on to a huge secret which involves espionage and the whole of Swedish postwar history. The series of events and complications are increasingly hard for him to comprehend. At the same time an even darker cloud appears on the horizon. (ISBN: 9780099548409). Fair.