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The Troubled Man

A Kurt Wallander Novel
by Henning Mankell
The Troubled Man: A Kurt Wallander Novel. Knopf. Mar. 2011. c.368p. tr. from Swedish by Laurie Thompson. ISBN 9780307593498. $26.95. F
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After his stand-alone historical Daniel, Mankell returns to his beloved detective Kurt Wallander in this tenth and possibly final installment of the best-selling series. Wallander delights in the birth of his first grandchild and enjoys the company of his daughter, Linda, but struggles with his role as an older and increasingly forgetful investigator for the Ystad Police. When the parents of Linda's partner go missing, Wallander finds himself deep in a decades-old mystery involving foreign spies, submarines, and Cold War politics. He strives to understand the complexities of the case while also dealing with the loneliness of old age, the sadness of friends' passing, and an alarming tendency to forget where he is and what he's doing.
VERDICT Wallander might be aging, but Mankell is dead on in crafting an intricate plotline equal to the skills and insight of his famous detective. This is essential for fans of the series, and it succeeds as a stand-alone in the crowded field of dark, psychological Scandinavian thrillers. [150,000-copy first printing; see Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/10.]
Reviewed by Catherine Lantz, Morton Coll. Lib., Cicero, IL , Feb 01, 2011
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