
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.
From the Hardcover edition.
Henning Mankell was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of a judge. He grew up in the towns of Sveg and Borås. His grandfather, also called Henning Mankell (1868–1930), was a well-known composer. At the age of 20, Mankell was the assistant director at the Riks Theater in Stockholm, and he was also writing. In the 1970s he moved to Norway, where he lived with a woman who was a member of the Maoist Communist Labour Party, although he never officially joined the Party. He moved to Africa and lived in several African countries, and in 1985 he founded the Avenida Theater in Maputo, Mozambique, where he continues to spend about half of every year. In 1997 he began his most well-known series of novels, a series of murder mysteries set in Ystad, Sweden, featuring the police detective Kurt Wallander. He also established a publishing house, Leopard Förlag, to publish young talents from both Africa and Sweden. He is married to Eva Bergman, daughter of Ingmar Bergman.

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.
From the Hardcover edition.
Henning Mankell was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of a judge. He grew up in the towns of Sveg and Borås. His grandfather, also called Henning Mankell (1868–1930), was a well-known composer. At the age of 20, Mankell was the assistant director at the Riks Theater in Stockholm, and he was also writing. In the 1970s he moved to Norway, where he lived with a woman who was a member of the Maoist Communist Labour Party, although he never officially joined the Party. He moved to Africa and lived in several African countries, and in 1985 he founded the Avenida Theater in Maputo, Mozambique, where he continues to spend about half of every year. In 1997 he began his most well-known series of novels, a series of murder mysteries set in Ystad, Sweden, featuring the police detective Kurt Wallander. He also established a publishing house, Leopard Förlag, to publish young talents from both Africa and Sweden. He is married to Eva Bergman, daughter of Ingmar Bergman.