Book of the Week and bibliography- Henning Mankell, The Man from Beijing

Henning Mankell is one of my favourite crime writers, with his Kurt Wallander books (currently being televised by the BBC) being especially collectible. They are superbly written, and Wallander is a fascinating character. Mankell lives in Africa for most of the year, and signed copies of his books are therefore relatively uncommon. However, he will be visiting London for a few days this month and will sign copies of his most recent stand along novel, The Man from Beijing, which will be well worth picking up. I will provide a bibliography of his earlier books later this week.

"One cold January day the police are called to a sleepy little hamlet in the north of Sweden where they find the vitcim of a savage murder lying in the snow. As they begin their investigation they notice that the village seems eerily quiet and deserted. Going from house to house, looking for witnesses, they uncover a crime unprecedented in Swedish history. When judge Birgitta Roslin reads about the massacre she realises that she has a family connection to one of the couples involved and decides to investigate. A nineteenth-century diary and a red ribbon found in the forest nearby are her only clues. What Birigtta eventually uncovers leads her into an international web of corruption and a story of vengeance that stretches back over a hundred years."


UK Bibliography

The Kurt Wallender novels are very collectible at present, and Mankell's children's books and other novels less so. A number of the early Wallender books were first published in English in the US from 1997 on. The listing below focuses on UK editions.


Kurt Wallender

2000 Faceless Killers (Harvill, London; £60-80)
2000 Sidetracked (Harvill, London; £30-50)
2001 The Fifth Woman (Harvill, London; £75-100)
2001 The Dogs of Riga (Harvill, London; £165-250)
2002 One Step Behind (Harvill, London; £60-80)
2003 The White Lioness (Harvill, London; £20-30)
2004 Firewall (Harvill, London; £15-20)
2005 The Man who Smiled (Harvill, London; £10-15)
2008 The Pyramid (Harvill, London; £20-30)
2011 The Troubled Man (Harvill, London,17.99)


Other books

2000 Secrets in the Fire (Allen & Unwin; paperback; uncommon, but little collected, so inexpensive if you can find a copy)
2002 Playing with Fire (Allen & Unwin; paperback; inexpensive)
2003 Return of the Dancing Master (Harvill, London; £10-15)
2005 A Bridge to the Stars (Andersen Press; paperback; uncommon, but likely to be inexpensive)
2006 Depths (Harvill, London; £15)
2006 Chronicler of the Winds (Harvill, London; £10-15)
2007 Shadows in the Twilight (Andersen Press; paperback; inexpensive)
2007 When the Snow Fell (Andersen Press; paperback; inexpensive)
2007 Kennedy's Brain (Harvill, London; £10-15)
2008 The Eye of the Leopard (Harvill, London; £15)
2008 The Journey to the End of the World (Andersen Press; paperback; inexpensive)
2009 Italien Shoes (Harvill, London; £15-20)
2010 The Man from Beijing (Harvill, London; £20)