First published 1998
Kurt Wallander walks the beaches of Skagen, ready to quit police work forever. Then lawyer Sten Torstensson tracks him down with disturbing news. Sten's father died under mysterious circumstances near Brösarp, his car stopped by a chair placed in the middle of a country road. A life-sized doll sat in that chair, surrounded by autumn fog rolling across the hills. The next day, as Wallander prepares to submit his resignation, he reads that Sten Torstensson has been murdered. Wallander abandons his retirement plans and returns to active duty. His investigation uncovers layers of financial crime, but behind the complex web of corruption lurks a single figure. This man carries himself with elegance and confidence. He makes decisions without hesitation. Most unsettling of all, he never stops smiling.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Brösarp, Skagen
Period: 20th-century
371 pages · Paperback · Ordfront Förlag
Content warnings: murder