The reader is treated by the author of the ever-popular Kurt Wallander series to a sweeping narrative with origins in the mid-19th century United States and spanning four continents. The tale begins in a little town in Sweden where a rare [if ever] occurrence of the mass murder of several inhabitants takes place. The police are mystified until they arrest a local ne’er-do-well who confesses to the murders but then hangs himself in his cell. Case closed.
But little makes sense to a woman judge who was raised in the village by foster parents when she visits the town and begins to uncover various clues raising questions about the police solution. She continues to ponder the why of it all, including taking a photograph of a possible perpetrator with her when she visits China with a friend. Needless to say, this act places her in a great deal of danger.
The story gives the author an opportunity to use his critical eye on a wide number of topics, as he is wont to do in the novels he pens, from the Swedish judicial system and how society has changed to events taking place in China, from Mao to the present day. Powerful in its scope and written with Mankell’s accustomed skill with an excellent translation, the book is highly recommended.
