First published 2011
Detective Kurt Wallander faces his most personal case when Håkan von Enke, a retired high-ranking naval officer, disappears during his daily walk through Liljans forest on a winter day in 2008. The missing man is the grandfather of Wallander's own granddaughter, making this investigation deeply personal. When von Enke's wife Louise also vanishes without a trace, Wallander's commitment intensifies. His investigation pulls him backward through time into the shadows of the Cold War, revealing connections to right-wing extremist groups and assassins from former Eastern Europe. Wallander senses he has stumbled upon a conspiracy that may dwarf even the Wennerström affair, Sweden's most notorious espionage scandal. He finds himself caught in a web of complications he struggles to comprehend. As Wallander navigates these dangerous waters, an even darker cloud begins to form on his personal horizon.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, detective, political-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-investigation, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Liljans Forest, Sweden
Period: 2008
367 pages · Hardcover · Knopf