It was a crime of senseless violence. On a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse, an elderly farmer was bludgeoned to death, his wife left to die with a noose around her neck. As if this didn’t present enough problems for Ystad police inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word, his only tangible clue, was “foreign.” If publicized, it could be the match that would inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.
In this case, unlike the situation with his ex-wife, his estranged daughter, or the young prosecutor who has piqued his interest, Wallander finds a problem he can handle. He quickly becomes obsessed with solving the crime before the already tense situation explodes—though it will require all of his talent to do so.
Henning Mankell (1948–2015) was Sweden’s most-read author worldwide. 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.
Dick Hill was one of the most awarded narrators in the business. We was named by AudioFile magazine as a Golden Voice and also as a Voice of the Century. He earned several of the prestigious annua Audie Awards for Best Narration and thirty-four AudioFile Earphones Awards. In addition to narrating, he both acted in and wrote for the theater. He passed away in 2022.