The Man Who Smiled

Product Description [Library Edition Audiobook CD format in sturdy Vinyl case with cloth sleeves that keep compact discs protected.] [Read by Dick Hill] A disillusioned Inspector Kurt Wallander is thrown back into the fray as both hunter and hunted in this new adventure from Sweden's master of crime and mystery. Crestfallen, dejected, and spiraling into an alcohol-fuelled depression after killing a man in the line of duty, Inspector Wallander had made up his mind to quit the police force for good. But when an old acquaintance, a solicitor, seeks Wallander's help and later turns up dead, Wallander realizes that he was wrong not to listen. Warily, he returns to work to head the case. A rookie female detective has joined the force in his absence, and he adopts the role of mentor to her as they fight to unravel the mystery. Review ''An exquisitely plotted search for motive and evidence. Dark and moody, this is crime fiction of the highest order.'' --Publishers Weekly (starred review) ''Mankell is a master of the traditional arts of the crime novel, narrative pacing, and suspense.'' --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''Few of this genre's writers -- few of any genre's writers -- have been able to balance the ordinary and the grotesque with such literary dash and page-turning brio.'' --Boston Herald ''An essential purchase for mystery collections.'' --Library Journal''Dick Hill's performance is a prime example of art that is so finely crafted that it draws no attention to itself. Hill rattles off Swedish character and place names as naturally as a native speaker, and he's beautifully understated as the gloomy Wallender agonizes over his personal failures . . . . Guaranteed to have listeners looking for more from Mankell, Wallender, and Hill.'' --AudioFile About the Author HENNING MANKELL is internationally Sweden's most-read author. His novels, which include the bestselling Kurt Wallander mysteries, have been translated into thirty-seven languages with more than thirty million copies in print worldwide. He has received the Crime Writers' Association's Macallan Gold Dagger and the German Tolerance Prize and has been a three-time finalist for the Los Angeles Times Mystery/Thriller Book Prize. He divides his time between Sweden and Mozambique, where he has worked as a director at Teatro Avenida since 1985. From AudioFile Depressed and world-weary after having killed a man in the line of duty, Detective Kurt Wallander returns from two years of wallowing in guilt to investigate the murders of a father and son, both prominent lawyers. His investigation takes the brooding Swede into an intricate web of deception and horror. Dick Hill's performance is a prime example of art that is so finely crafted that it draws no attention to itself. Hill rattles off Swedish character and place names as naturally as a native speaker, and he's beautifully understated as the gloomy Wallender agonizes over his personal failures. There are currently nine Wallender novels. This one, the fourth in the series, is guaranteed to have listeners looking for more from Mankell, Wallender, and Hill. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine