Review: AN EVENT IN AUTUMN, Henning Mankell

• first published in Dutch in 2004, reprinted in Swedish 2013
• English translation published 2014
• translated from Swedish into English by Laurie Thompson
• ISBN 978-1-846-55807-8
• 169 pages

Synopsis ( Random House, UK)

Some cases aren’t as cold as you’d think
Kurt Wallander’s life looks like it has taken a turn for the better when his offer on a new house is accepted, only for him to uncover something unexpected in the garden – the skeleton of a middle-aged woman.

As police officers comb the property, Wallander attempts to get his new life back on course by finding the woman’s killer with the aid of his daughter, Linda. But when another discovery is made in the garden, Wallander is forced to delve further back into the area's past.

A treat for fans and new readers alike, this is a never before published Kurt Wallander novella

My Take

One of the best parts of this book, apart from the story, is the Afterword in which Henning Mankell explains how the story was published  and where it fits in the continuum of the Wallander stories. There is a longer section titled HOW IT STARTED, HOW IT FINISHED AND WHAT HAPPENED IN BETWEEN which is also worth reading. In it he talks about his relationship with Wallander, and how he feels about the depictions of Wallander in the three TV series that have been produced.

AN EVENT IN AUTUMN comes just before the last in the Wallander series, THE TROUBLED MAN, which I have yet to read. Wallander is living and working with his daughter Linda, with whom he has a rather crusty relationship. He is looking to buy a house and looks at one which Martinson's wife has inherited. He has made up his mind to buy the house when he stumbles over something in the back yard. The object turns out to be a skeletal hand sticking up out of the soil.

This is a novella and doesn't have the depth, or the number of plot lines, of a full blown novel. The characterisation is a bit thin, but nearly all the characters are those we have met in earlier novels. Nevertheless Wallander fans will enjoy it.

My rating: 4.5

I've also reviewed
THE PYRAMID
THE MAN FROM BEIJING
5.0, THE FIFTH WOMAN


Kurt Wallander (this list is from Euro Crime)
The numbers on the right indicate the correct order, while the dates are the order of publication in English. 

• Faceless Killers	1997	1
• The Dogs of Riga	2001	2
• The White Lioness	1998	3
• The Man Who Smiled	2005	4
• Sidetracked	1998	5
• The Fifth Woman	2000	6
• One Step Behind	2002	7
• Firewall	2004	8
• The Pyramid (The Wallander Stories)	2008	9
• The Troubled Man	2011	10