The Troubled Man

An Inspector Wallander Mystery

By: Henning Mankell

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Every morning Håkan von Enke takes a walk in the forest near his apartment 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 his interest 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.

©2011 Henning Mankell (P)2011 Random House Audiobooks

A meditation on life as well as a spy story

It seems a satisfying tradition of Scandinavian detective stories that both the human condition and the individual psyche are examined in them. In the Troubled Man, the plot concerns a disappearance of two people that seems linked to spying dating back to the Cold War. Increasingly emerging from the background is Wallander's attempts to understand what is happening in his body and brain as he ages. He also reflects on the events of his past life and the continuing, in fact growing sadness associated with them. The result is a disquieting meditation on ageing and the fears it evokes within us as well as Henning Mankell's usual compelling storytelling. I find myself continuing to think about this story long after listening to it. The narrator does it full justice.

Another Great Mystery

Kurt Wallander solves his last case before descending into dementia. As a Mankell/Wallander fan, I regret writing these words but find this ending somehow appropriate for the dogged detective whose case investigations never faltered despite personal life baggage and the infirmities of aging. The Troubled Man gives us Wallander working on a case of Swedish spys (who knew!)tied to submarines, Russia and the the good old USA while he grows to adore a grandaughter. This story deals the detective some blows with the death of a loved one and his ex-wife's mental health and sobriety problems. Despite his malaise and life's foilbles, the beleaguered policeman ultimately outwits the criminals and he and daughtter Linda come to a more mellowed relationship. The finely etched and eccentric character of Detective Kurt will be missed but perhaps Linda, who is impatient to return to police work, will carry on the Wallander name.

Mankell delivers again!

Like returning to visit an old friend, this series has been engrossing, real and of a consistently high standard. Wish there were more like this.

Love Wallander

Would you listen to The Troubled Man again? Why?

Yes. In my late 50's so am really able to relate to where Wallander is at.

What other book might you compare The Troubled Man to and why?

No comparison.

Which character – as performed by Sean Barrett – was your favorite?

Sean Barrett does EVERY character to perfection.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It's a Wallander to cherish

Any additional comments?

Wallander and Sean Barrett were made for each other.

Gripping

Powerful plot ingeniously and touchingly developed. The mood dark throughout. Don't expect to be cheered up.