A nice easy read. The novella was Mankell's last Wallander book and included a synopsis on how the character and the books came about. Wallander has aged and is trying to move on as a surprisingly complex plot over 150 pages unfolds. Still a great sense of place in the writing. sorry it is the last of the Wallander books. ( )

Una novela breve con la intención de que fuese la última de la serie, aunque no lo fue. La trama aquí no tiene demasiada importancia, aparte de que se trata de resolver un asesinato de más de medio siglo atrás. Lo importante es el retrato de un Wallander tirando a viejo, que se busca una casa para retirarse y se resigna a que lo más parecido que tiene a un matrimonio es vivir con su hija. Llama la atención que el equipo de trabajo aquí se reduce a un solo compañero y al novio de la hija, que realmente hace de auxiliar. Aparecen, claro, la jefa y la fiscal, pero nadie más. La comisaría se ha quedado casi vacía. Se completa el tomo con un texto de Mankell sobre los libros de la serie, supongo que para llegar al número de páginas deseable. Supongo que me ha gustado porque me identifico con la edad y las circunstancias laborales; afortunadamente, no con las personales. ( )

I picked up this little beauty at the library. Great book! An aging police detective, feeling morose about his life, visits a home out in the country with intent to purchase. The only problem is that he finds a hand sticking out of the garden dirt. Hmmm.... Does he really want to purchase it now? ( )

Kurt Wallender goes to inspect a house he is considering buying, and discovers a skeletal hand emerging from the garden. This kicks off an investigation going back many decades, made more difficult by a lack of missing persons reports in the period in question.

Although I've read a lot of Scandi noir, I haven't read much Mankell. Wallender is not a character that appeals to me. I'm all for characters who bring their human problems to the case, but those problems need to have some kind of grounding that makes them relevant, such as Erlendur's childhood-based obsession with missing people. Wallander's brand of self-pity does not add to the story, it just provides a whiny inner dialogue that does not enhance it. ( )

Unfamiliar with the author this was on the library popular list, though I honestly have no idea why. Characters are blah as is the plot and reads like a novice wrote it. I found Wallander, the central character about as interesting as watching paint dry :) ( )