She also connects him to a mystery involving Hans’s parents, Swedish submarines, Russian espionage and (in the role of the Great Satan) the United States.Hans’s father, Haken von Enke, is the troubled man of the title, even if Wallander can go toe to toe with him when it comes to worrying. Henning Mankell is here with the next installment in the Wallander series. Wallander is a focused thoughtful detective who works well with his staff and in this book with nearby towns and cities police forces. Henning Mankell then proceeded to write numerous novels and plays since then and cemented his place as one of the greatest novelists of all time. He’s still good at it. To belabor the point, Mr. Mankell writes of Wallander’s feeling “as if he were turning into an hourglass with the sand silently running out.”Then there’s “a darkness in which he could find no lamps to light.” And the terrible questions: “Was he already getting close to his devastating dotage, when he would become increasingly helpless?” On one typically wretched night he talks to himself aloud, saying, “Kurt Wallander is lying in his bed, thinking of death.”Fortunately Mr. Mankell gives Wallander a few things to live for. "Henning Mankell's Wallander" played to great acclaim in Sweden, and a British remake starring Kenneth Branagh was on PBS' "Masterpiece Theater." Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.
If your only exposure to Kurt Wallander is through Kenneth Branagh's brilliant portrayal, you have missed some of the introspection and much of the details of these fabulous mysteries (though not by much).
Before Wallander has had a chance to ponder these revelations, Haken does something shocking. In addition, a grisly sucide of a young teenager from the Domenican Republis at the start of the book sets the grim tone of the book. Mankell is a gifted writer; to the point he never seems to know what Wallander is going to do next. Sidetracted is a phychological thriller that is both fast paced and riveting. BUT...the spline was slanted and not straight as the seller claimed. “After that there is nothing more,” the swan song reads in part. Author of "Harry's War" Henning Mankell created a series of books and we'll developed characters to read, understand and appreciate for those who enjoy detective and mystery that are above average. The book’s gruff remark that the missing can take their secrets with them becomes Mr. Mankell’s excuse for leaving a lot of loose ends messily untied.
Ed Benjamin. If you haven't met police detective Kurt Wallander yet, read Mankell. This is an excellent book on several levels. 5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet from Henning Mankell… Sidetracked doesn't disappoint in this tale of a hatchet and ax wielding murderer, a slave trade in girls from Latin America and an assortment of highly placed and rich villains woven into another chilling story.... only exposure to Kurt Wallander is through Kenneth Branagh's brilliant portrayal, you have missed some of the introspection
Mankell draws the reader into the complex mind of a serial killer, allowing for a deep understanding of both the "hunted" and the "hunter". Mankell does a great job weaving the story from multiple viewpoints and really keeps the reader engrossed. While the mood of the story is often gloomy – rain, personal worries, fear that his (Wallander’s) girlfriend is seeing another man, illnesses, old age, deaths, needing to give up planned vacations, lack of sleep, Wallander’s new boss being unsure of himself – this atmosphere does not detract from the story. Why see it at the movies? Wallander is a focused thoughtful detective who works well with his staff and in this book with nearby towns and cities police forces. Mankell adds more drama by adding another factor, Wallander's health. In fact, I looked forward to reading this book and enjoyed it. This is a book that stays with the reader and is so thought provoking for a long time. We learn a lot about his health problems (diabetes, memory loss) and his health habits (not great). Read them, and anything else Mankell has written. Fiction and Nonfiction Author. And they are never entirely resolved.
Entertaining, realistic, nail-biting without being over the top.
The very human Wallander has to deal with an aging father, an aimless daughter and a long-distance girl-friend (at middle age), but directs his crew brilliantly, solving homicides that don't follow the rules. But how can he resist it? He … In the title above it says it's number five, so who knows?Mankell is the best Swedish crime procedural writer in the market today. There are nearly a dozen Wallander novels, related mostly just by the characters. Couldn't put it down I found it very thrilling from start to finish, and pretty tragic when you realized who the villain was and their motivation. Henning Mankell always manages to come up with original ideas for gruesome murders. He disappears.This isn’t a police case for Wallander. Pages were clean and it was in decent shape like advertised.
Sidetracked by the perpetrator, standard procedure, cultural and heritage, past experiences in murder cases makes for reading lengthy confused thoughts and feelings of getting nowhere.Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2015