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Book Summary and Reviews of The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell

The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell

The Troubled Man

A Kurt Wallander Novel

by Henning Mankell

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  • Mar 2011, 384 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The much-anticipated return of Henning Mankell's brilliant, brooding detective, Kurt Wallander.

On a winter day in 2008, Håkan von Enke, a retired high-ranking naval officer, vanishes during his daily walk in a forest near Stockholm. The investigation into his disappearance falls under the jurisdiction of the Stockholm police. It has nothing to do with Wallander - officially. But von Enke is his daughter's future father-in-law. And so, with his inimitable disregard for normal procedure, Wallander is soon interfering in matters that are not his responsibility, making promises he won't keep, telling lies when it suits him - and getting results. But the results hint at elaborate Cold War espionage activities that seem inextricably confounding, even to Wallander, who, in any case, is troubled in more personal ways as well. Negligent of his health, he's become convinced that, having turned sixty, he is on the threshold of senility. Desperate to live up to the hope that a new granddaughter represents, he is continually haunted by his past. And looking toward the future with profound uncertainty, he will have no choice but to come face-to-face with his most intractable adversary: himself.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. 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." - Library Journal

"Starred Review. Masterful... Mankell deftly interweaves the problems of Swedish society with the personal challenges of one man trying to understand what happened and why." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. [M]oving and oddly inspiring. An unforgettable series finale." - Booklist

This information about The Troubled Man was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Judie McDonald

The Troubled Man
Henning Mankell is a fabulous writer. I have been absorbed by all of his books. They appeal on the emotional as well as the intellectual level. My only complaint with this one is the ending. I can't believe it's the last of Kurt Wallender, and the story seemed rather abrupt. I'm in withdrawal!!

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Author Information

Henning Mankell Author Biography

Author Henning Mankell was the acclaimed author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries plus more than 20 other novels, both series and stand-alones. The Kurt Wallander series has been published in thirty-three countries and consistently tops the bestseller lists in Europe, receiving major literary prizes (including the UK's Golden Dagger Award in 2000) and generating numerous international film and television adaptations.

Born in a village in northern Sweden in 1948, Mankell divided his time between Sweden and Maputo, Mozambique until his death in October 2015 from cancer.

Kurt Wallander Series Order (dates are English-language publication dates):

  1. Faceless Killers (1997)

  2. The Dogs of Riga, (2001)

  3. White Lioness (1998)

  4. The Man Who Smiled, (2005)

  5. Sidetracked (1999)

  6. The Fifth ...

... Full Biography
Link to Henning Mankell's Website

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