Dark, Powerful and Impossible to Put Down

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	• The Man Who Smiled (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) Henning Mankell Vintage, 2007 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 31 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

My hero!

I have read all of Mankell's books and I simply adore Kurt Wallander. Mankell's series starring Wallendar never disappoints. Plot really doesn't matter as much as getting inside Kurt's head. I want to go to Ystad and look for him....I'm sure he is really there looking out the window of his apartment at the gray and gloomy streets.

"The Man Who Smiled" made me smile

Henning Mankell has another winner in the Kurt Wallendar detective series. Each of his books has a similar dark tone, so if you enjoy the style of his past novels, you will enjoy this one as well. Likewise, if for whatever reason, you didn't like a previous work, you are not likely be happy reading this one either. While every book in the series stands alone, for those of you who have not read any of his previous works, I would suggest that you read one of his earlier works first, since the "hero" grows through the experiences of each book and some references are made to previous situations in this book. While Henning Mankell is a best selling author in Sweden and is well known in other European countries, he has not caught on in the same way in the U.S. I think that if people read one of his books, a lot of them would become fans, but he has never had the marketing blitzes and book launches that benefit many of the NYT best selling authors. I also read and enjoy other series of novels by authors such as Lee Child which have a much more classic hero, and yet I also enjoy the travails of Kurt Wallendar (the everyman) as he deals with the crises of dealing with an aging parent, a teenage child, failed relationships, and growing older and more out of shape. And yet somehow, he does his job in an outstanding fashion, solving interesting and challenging crimes in his own unique style. I would highly recommend this book to anyone paradoxically looking for realism in their escape fiction.

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Dark, Powerful and Impossible to Put Down

Investigator extraordinaire Kurt Wallander of the Ystad Police Force in Sweden has been kind of down, living in isolation for the past year, because he had to kill a man on his last case. Then an old friend, Sten Torstensson, who needs help, because he doesn't believe his father committed suicide, asks Kurt for assistance, but Kurt begs off. He seemingly has no stomach for anymore police work. Then Torstensson dies under suspicious circumstances and now Kurt can't stay away. He ends his sabbatical and goes back to work.

It's not long before Kurt, who is taking anti-depressants and drinking a lot of alcohol, ties in the death of his friend and his friend's father with to a guy who has more money than anybody ought to have, more power too. A rich and powerful guy who kills without a blink, a man who can kill with a smile.

This is the fourth book in the series and was originally published in Sweden in 1994, but the last to be translated into English, so sadly I had to read them out of order, but that didn't take away any of the enjoyment. I love the way Mr. Mankell weaves the very essence of Sweden into his stories and they way he makes his people, especially Kurt Wallander, live and breath. Like each and everyone of the books is in the series, once started, I couldn't put it down.

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The Man Who Smiled

One of the best, (and they are all good), Kurt Wallender mysteries I have read.

Strong characters, weaker plot

Been meaning to read a Wallander book. The good news: Wallander is a compelling figure---full of remorse for what his job calls him to do; a lonely man undecided on maintaining his self imposed exile; a smart and resouceful cop. The writing---when it is good---is very good: the set up chapter is the murder of a lawyer and it is chilling; the passages where wallander interacts with a new female cop, older cop dealing with younger one, gets the tension just right ; a passage where Wallander realizes with a moment of clarity that someone is trying to kill him is pitch perfect. And the weather is a character in itself. The plot though is not up to the writing and is an excuse for it. Powerful magnate vs. small police department, with the second outwitting the first is serviceable but not believable. Looking forward to Henkell's next.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7

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