BOOK REVIEW... OCIO magazine favourites The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell About the book: Every morning Håkan von Enke takes a walk in the forest near his home in Stockholm. However, one winter’s day he fails to come home. It seems that the retired naval officer has vanished without trace. Detective Kurt Wallander is not officially involved in the investigation but he has personal reasons for involving himself in the case as Håkan’s son is engaged to his daughter Linda. A few months earlier, at Håkan’s 75th birthday party, Kurt noticed that the old man appeared uneasy and seemed eager to talk about a controversial incident from his past career that remained shrouded in mystery. Could this be connected to his disappearance? When Håkan’s wife Louise also goes missing, Wallander is determined to uncover the truth. His search leads him down dark and unexpected avenues involving espionage, betrayal and new information about events during the Cold War that threatens to cause a political scandal on a scale unprecedented in Swedish history. The investigation also forces Kurt to look back over his own past and consider his hopes and regrets, as he comes to the unsettling realisation that even those we love the most can remain strangers to us. And then an even darker cloud appears on the horizon... The return of Kurt Wallander, for his final case, has already caused a sensation around the globe. The Troubled Man confirms Henning Mankell’s position as the king of crime writing Where to buy: Bookworld Stores.
Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon About the book: An old woman is found dead; it appears to be natural causes - a heart attack; except there are a few marks on the corpse which aren’t absolutely consonant with that verdict. Brunetti can’t ignore them, and is led into an investigation which leads to a dreadful evil behind the death. The way Leon tells the story exactly parallels the nature of the crime and the evil: they’re hidden things, things society would sooner ignore, things which require careful vision to see. So the investigation unfolds gently, slowly and not always obviously; yet always inexorably, until we are brought, with Brunetti, to the truth, and the central evil of the book. Each of Donna Leon’s books has a different register; she is ready to try new ways of writing and unfolding a plot. And that means, inevitably, that not every one of her fans will like each book. Yet, to me at least, this one is a gem: understated but vital, and never after effect for the sake of effect. A great read and very intriguing, very difficult to put down once you have started. Where to buy: Bookworld Stores.