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The Man Who Smiled (Kurt Wallander #4)

by Henning Mankell, Laurie Thompson (Translator)

3.93 · Rating Details · 15,026 Ratings · 658 Reviews

Dalgliesh.
"The Man Who Smiled" begins with Wallander deep in a personal and professional crisis after killing a man in the line of duty; eventually, he vows to quit the Ystad police force for good. Just then, however, a friend who had asked Wallander to look into the death of his father winds up dead himself, shot three times. Ann-Britt Hoglund, the department's first fem ...more

Hardcover, 325 pages

Published September 19th 2006 by New Press, The (first published 1994)

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Community Reviews

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Apr 14, 2017 James Thane rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction, henning-mankell, kurt-wallander

The opening of the fourth novel in this series finds Kurt Wallander in a deep depression. At the conclusion of the last book, he shot a man to death, and even though it was clearly a case of self-defense, he's devastated by the fact that he has taken another man's life. After brooding over the incident for more than a year, Wallander resolves to quit the police force and is at the point of turning in his papers when a very bizarre case grabs his attention.

An elderly lawyer has died. The reader k ...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Melissa rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 11, 2014 Harry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: detective-mystery, nordic-crime-fiction, police-procedurals

Book Review

The second review of two crime novels whose titles hint at laughter and joy, Mankell's novel The Man Who Smiled is in my opinion the best to date in the Wallander series. In the first review, we discovered the significance of how morose Martin Beck finally came to emit a burst of laughter in the last paragraph of that novel: The Laughing Policeman. I find this significant. Let's face it: laughter, joy, humor, these are not exactly the words I would describe as pertinent to Nordic crim ...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Don rated it it was ok

This is my second book in this police procedural series, set in a small city in southern Sweden. I found this less than fully compelling. Here are some of my problems with the book:

1. The pacing is slow, and the book bogs down a bit in the middle.

2. The mystery at the heart of the book is suspected financial crime by the principal of a large and secretive complex of businesses. The murder of several people, and the attempted murder of a couple of others, trigger the police investigation and appa ...more

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May 20, 2015 Linda Branham Greenwell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scandinavian-european-mystery, 2015

A Kurt Wallender police procedural - or not... since Wallender does not always follow police procedures :)
It is best if you read these books in order... even though each one is a "stand alone" in many ways, there are references in Wallenders personal life that will be unclear if you have not read the books in order. This is book 4 (1 is FAceless Killers, 2 is Dogs of Riga, 3 is White Lioness)
This book begins with Wallender doubting himself and dealing with the occurrences in Book 3 where he had ...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Karmen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: pbs-received, ebay

Wonderful book. Presenting truly how police work impacts a man's psyche. The shooting, though justifiable, weighs heavily on Kurt. A year has passed and he is resolved, after 25 years service, to retire from the police force.

During a visit to Denmark, he is visited by Sten Torstensson, an old friend, now practicing lawyer in his father's firm. His father had been recently found dead in an "accident". Kurt declines his request to investigate the matter deeper.

Returning to Sweden, he finds an obit ...more

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Aug 01, 2009 Nancy Oakes rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction-scandinavia, translated-crime-fiction, crime-fiction

The Man Who Smiled is number four in the Wallander series, picking up some time after Wallander's experiences in book 3, The White Lioness. As book four opens, Wallander is still on sick leave, and has made the decision during a period of incredibly intense depression that he will not be continuing on in his career as a policeman. But all of that changes when a friend seeks him out to ask him for help regarding the case of his father's death. The police had ruled it a car accident, but the frien The Man Who Smiled is number four in the Wallander series, picking up some time after Wallander's experiences in book 3, The White Lioness. As book four opens, Wallander is still on sick leave, and has made the decision during a period of incredibly intense depression that he will not be continuing on in his career as a policeman. But all of that changes when a friend seeks him out to ask him for help regarding the case of his father's death. The police had ruled it a car accident, but the friend is convinced that it was not. Wallander tells him that the police are most likely correct -- but then his friend is also mysteriously killed. This prompts Wallander to return to the job to find out what lays behind the deaths of father and son ... and uncovers much more than he bargained for.

While the plot will keep you turning pages and provide you with more than a few tense moments, what really made this book stand out was the character of Kurt Wallander. For the first time, really, since I started this series, I really got an insight into how Wallander thinks and what makes him a great cop. Mankell's characterization of Wallander is absolutely stunning, making him much more human in this book as compared to all of the other ones. It was absolutely amazing to be allowed into Wallander's thought processes -- I think Wallander became very real for me in this book for the first time in the series. When a character can become that real, it's definitely a sign that his or her creator is a top-notch writer.

The author does not only offer up a first-rate criminal and first-rate policemen here; he also raises several questions about the future of police forces, about the decline of the whole basis of the modern Swedish state as the profits of corruption become more entrenched, and about issues of morality & the true nature of justice in a world where crime is constantly changing and the police and justice system are trying to adapt. These questions are not relevant just to Sweden, but everywhere.

A bit on the gloomy side, this is not a book for readers looking for a lighthearted crime novel. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a superb reading experience, but I suggest starting with book one, Faceless Killers, and continuing the books in series order. Mankell is an excellent writer, definitely not to be missed. ...more

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Mar 20, 2010 Brad rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: doing-the-dishes, swedish-lit, television-tie-in, north-atlantic, detective

There are many book related things I could say about the fourth Wallander installment -- The Man Who Smiled. Stuff about the excellent introduction of Ann-Britt Höglund and Wallander as a character and the breakneck pace and the way the BBC adaptation of this differed in good ways and bad. But reading this particular book led me to a realization, and I'd rather talk about that.

I have often wondered why, even though I am compelled to read detective fiction -- which at its best still tends to see There are many book related things I could say about the fourth Wallander installment -- The Man Who Smiled. Stuff about the excellent introduction of Ann-Britt Höglund and Wallander as a character and the breakneck pace and the way the BBC adaptation of this differed in good ways and bad. But reading this particular book led me to a realization, and I'd rather talk about that.

I have often wondered why, even though I am compelled to read detective fiction -- which at its best still tends to see the world as more black and white than I -- the genre fills me with anxiety and sadness. The obvious answer is because "terrible things" happen in these books, and those things make me feel bad. But that answer has never flown for me, and I rejected it the very first time I wondered why.

I know the answer now, and it came to me in the final discussion between Dr. Harderberg and Kurt Wallander:

"You have to understand that [selling human organs] is but a tiny part of my activities. It's negligible, marginal. But it's what I do, Inspector Wallander. I buy and sell. I'm an actor on the stage govered by market forces. I never miss an opportunity, no matter how small and insignificant it is."

Human life is insignificant, then, Wallander thought. That's the premise on which Harderberg's whole existence is based.

And therein lies my anxiety and sadness. I myself believe that "human life is insignificant." Or rather that human life is no more or less significant that any other life, from microscopic bacteria to the smallest plant or insect to the largest and most complex of mammals. All of it. The whole shebang. And that these books I read situate what I believe in the black side of their balck & white outlook.

Every killer I've ever seen in every detective/mystery/serial killer book I've ever read is written to believe the same thing (The Man Who Smiled just happened to make it explicit in a revealing way), suggesting that people who believe that humanity is insignificant must be "bastards," must be traitors to humanity, must be, in some way, depraved. That stresses me out. And it is just not true.

That belief in human insignificance or the lack of human superiority does not equal evil or wickedness or wrong. Of course it can, but so can anything. The truth is that people who believe these things are just as likely to love all life. They are capable of great good too.

But I am faced daily by the fact that I am in an extreme minority. It is harder for people to understand what I believe than it is for the religious majority to understand how the atheist minority can behave morally without the dictates of a god (and that is a pretty serious misunderstanding, so imagine my despair).

When I read a book by an author like Henning Mankell, I am faced with what makes me a societal outsider in the starkest of terms.

Perhaps I should stop depressing and stressing myself, stop reading these stories, but I am compelled to continue reading them because I must remain engaged with the humanist majority, keeping the debate alive in my head. If I don't, I'll tuck my head in my shell and desiccate in the desert heat. ...more

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Apr 28, 2015 Ubik 2.0 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-e-book

Astenersi amanti del thriller mozzafiato.

Leggendo i non pochi commenti negativi a “L’uomo che sorrideva” è doveroso sgombrare immediatamente il campo da un equivoco: molti romanzi di Mankell, e questo in particolare, NON sono dei thriller e a ben vedere non sono neppure “gialli” finalizzati a risolvere il rebus dell’individuazione (in modo deduttivo o intuitivo) del colpevole.

Si tratta di storie che tendono a concentrarsi soprattutto sull’analisi dell’indagine, della struttura mentale e organizz Astenersi amanti del thriller mozzafiato.

Leggendo i non pochi commenti negativi a “L’uomo che sorrideva” è doveroso sgombrare immediatamente il campo da un equivoco: molti romanzi di Mankell, e questo in particolare, NON sono dei thriller e a ben vedere non sono neppure “gialli” finalizzati a risolvere il rebus dell’individuazione (in modo deduttivo o intuitivo) del colpevole.

Si tratta di storie che tendono a concentrarsi soprattutto sull’analisi dell’indagine, della struttura mentale e organizzativa degli investigatori, Wallander ma non solo, descrivendo con particolare verosimiglianza un lavoro pieno di dubbi, incertezze, errori, false piste, incomprensioni fra colleghi, interminabili e ripetitive riunioni nel corso delle quali a volte si aggiunge un piccolo tassello all’indagine, a volte neppure quello, col conseguente senso di frustrazione e avvilimento che avvolge i componenti del team investigativo.

Poco allettante davvero per il lettore alla ricerca di azione, suspense, inchieste che procedano per lampi di genio e non tramite la minuziosa ricostruzione dei fatti e delle loro miriadi di possibili interpretazioni.

Sull’altro piatto della bilancia c’è tuttavia l’estrema umanità dei personaggi, coi loro problemi familiari e psicologici (quale altro “eroe” poliziesco potrebbe andare in depressione per oltre un anno a causa delle ripercussioni morali della fortuita uccisione di un criminale?!), il realismo del contesto in questa regione a sua volta priva di asperità e bellezze del paesaggio, ma piatta, nebbiosa e incolore.

Solo alla fine, forse per compensare questa staticità, Mankell ci propina un frettoloso finale alla James Bond, e questa forse è l’unica caduta di stile del libro, confermandoci che l’autore risolve la prevedibilissima conclusione dell’inchiesta quasi come un atto dovuto da esaurire rapidamente e senza dedicarvi particolare inventiva: ulteriore delusione per chi si aspetta la catena di mirabolanti colpi di scena, rovesciamenti di situazione e voltafaccia con cui si tendono a condire i finali di tanti attuali polizieschi!

Ma lasciate perdere, questa è Ystad…
...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Claudia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gialli-thriller-noir, marsilio, narrativa-scandinava

Wallander torna al lavoro dopo un periodo profondo di crisi per la quarta indagine raccontata da Mankell. Questa volta il colpevole per l'omicidio di due avvocati è quasi ovvio, ma mancano le prove.
Più che gialli i libri di Mankell sono romanzi sulla vita, sul modo di essere degli scandinavi. Mi ha colpita una frase di Wallander riguardante il mestiere di pittore del padre:
"In quante case, su quante pareti poteva essere appeso quel quadro con o senza gallo cedrone e con un sole che non tramontav ...more

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Sep 23, 2016 Dany rated it liked it

I rounded it up to 3 stars. Not my favorite one, but I still want to continue with the series.

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Apr 01, 2017 Annelie Bernar rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Un apparente incidente stradale, un avvocato freddato da dei colpi di pistola nel suo studio legale e poi il ritrovamento di una mina antiuomo nel giardino della segretaria dello studio legale delle due vittime ; infine una carica esplosiva nel serbatoio dello stesso Wallander, che rischia per un pelo di porre fine alla sua carriera- e alla sua vita. Ci sono abbastanza elementi per far presagire al lettore che anche questa indagine sarà una bella gatta da pelare per il nostro investigatore. Un i ...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Anna rated it really liked it

Shelves: bookcrossing, 2011

This is the second Kurt Wallander book I've read, and enjoyed quite a bit.
Wallander is on sick leave after accidentally killing a man on duty, walking on a beach in Denmark, when a friend of his comes to ask for help. He suspects the death of his dad was not an accident. A few days later that friend is killed, and Wallander makes his decision to return to work to find justice for his friend, to find out who killed him, and what really happened to the father of his friend. Before long, the secret ...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Mj rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, henning-mankell, mystery-suspense-thriller, 2012

This is the 4th book in the Kurt Wallander detective series and like all previous books, I enjoyed this one even more than the one before. This is primarily because I get to know Kurt Wallandaer a bit more each time and like/love him even more with each book. The Man Who Smiled was also filled with clues and intrigue that kept me fully engaged throughout in trying to solve the crime.

Kurt Wallander is fierce and soft. He has a gruff exterior but is very sensitive and soulful - which is a big reas ...more

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Jul 26, 2013 Charles Kerns rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, loc-sweden-euro_cold_places

In my country of "make my day" and "bring it on," this book may be a hard start for US readers. Detective Wallander drops into a year of depression after shooting a bad guy. He is ready to quit the force, but he finally gets his mojo back and is ready to pop anyone. Happy ending.

(you get the sense the writer went through this too, maybe after being financially forced to write yet another Wallander mystery)

The book's mid-section, also, might be a hard read. In Sweden police have meeting after me ...more

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Sep 24, 2009 Ian Mapp rated it did not like it

Shelves: crime

This is a real crock of a book.

Wallander is depressed cause he shot a crim and still has relationship problems with his father - which is just layed on as a break from the investigation to show that he has problems outside work.

Is he coming back into the police after his bout with depression and hard drinking. Yes he is and on day one - he is given the case of a father and son pair of solicitors who are murdered. And he is welcomed back as a returning hero.

For a crime book - this contains no red ...more

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May 24, 2015 Mr. Gottshalk rated it really liked it

Well, if I wasn't hooked on this author and his Inspector Detective Kurt Wallander I am now! It's not that the mystery is so great...I saw the villain a mile away, but didn't get the motive. It's in the thinking of what it takes to be a great cop that has me constantly thinking. You have to have instincts, the ability to work around the clock, the knack to lie when necessary to get what you need to crack a case, and the grumpiness of Wallander to see angles in a case when other cops and detectiv ...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, a-favorite-author, nordic-noir, translated-mystery, thank-you-charleston-county-library, listened-in-the-car

Wallender is an old friend in our home from when he was first available in English. This was an audio read, with a fabulous voice actor, who really got the different characters down beautifully. We loved being back in Sweden, though felt a bit schizophrenic, because we've been reading so much Nordic crime stuff, and also a bit of Harry Bosch, too. Everyone seems to have left the police force, but only Kurt is welcomed back; the Harrys in the other stories are still on the skids with their respec ...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Junying rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone

Every time I read a Mankell book, I'm reminded why I keep picking up one of his books out of hundreds on my to-read list. I just love his stories and his writing.

I read more of Henning Mankell than any other authors, living or dead. That must have said something, right?

Now that I have read most of his books, I am going to ration myself. I want him to beat cancer and keep writing - my fingers are firmly crossed and he has my prayers, I know that he will always be one of the greatest, as well as ...more

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Aug 19, 2009 Lobstergirl rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Billy Graham

Recommended to Lobstergirl by: Masterpiece Mystery

Shelves: mystery-thriller, fiction

I love the gloomy, foggy, windy, damp, or bitterly cold (etc.) Swedish setting, which mirrors Kurt Wallander's depression, angst, and solitude. The unraveling of the mystery is a bit less complicated than you'd like it to be.

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Sep 28, 2014 Thomas Strömquist rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This must be included in the "Scandinavian crime"-phenomenon by the gravitational pull of others (including some of Mankell's granted). The bad guy (the smiling one) is so far from believable that it makes the book virtually unreadable. I did finish it, but I don't remember why.

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Nov 27, 2012 Irene B. rated it really liked it

I started and stopped this book several times, but the plot was engaging and the Wallendar character's point of view was well-stated.

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Jul 21, 2017 Dulce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Impossível não comparar o Kurt Wallander, ao Harry Hole, acho-os tão genialmente parecidos.

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Feb 19, 2016 Luana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ormai Henning Mankell è diventato, almeno per me, una garanzia: infatti, anche questo quarto volume dedicato alle indagini del mitico, ma molto tormentato, Commissario Wallander mi ha conquistato.

Ancor di più rispetto ai romanzi precedenti, Kurt Wallander è davvero il perno attorno a cui ruota tutta la vicenda: all'inizio lo troviamo in congedo, a camminare inquieto sulle spiagge spoglie della Danimarca e ancora sconvolto dai traumatici eventi raccontati nel volume precedente. In bilico sul camm Ormai Henning Mankell è diventato, almeno per me, una garanzia: infatti, anche questo quarto volume dedicato alle indagini del mitico, ma molto tormentato, Commissario Wallander mi ha conquistato.

Ancor di più rispetto ai romanzi precedenti, Kurt Wallander è davvero il perno attorno a cui ruota tutta la vicenda: all'inizio lo troviamo in congedo, a camminare inquieto sulle spiagge spoglie della Danimarca e ancora sconvolto dai traumatici eventi raccontati nel volume precedente. In bilico sul cammino da prendere: eppure, quando sembra essere pronto a lasciare la polizia e a cercarsi una nuova strada, una notizia inaspettata e il senso colpa provocatogli dall'aver rifiutato la richiesta di aiuto di un amico, lo riportano di nuovo in prima linea. Coadiuvato dalla sua squadra, lui è quello che più di tutti trascina avanti un'indagine che sembra essere sempre sul punto di arenarsi.
Sullo sfondo ci sono l'omicidio di un padre e di un figlio, entrambi avvocati: il primo sembra essere vittima di un incidente d'auto, il secondo viene ucciso da tre colpi di pistola. Wallander ci metterà poco a scoprire che a tirare le fila di tutta questa vicenda è l'uomo che sorride, ovvero (SPOILER Alfred Harderberg, imprenditore svedese che fa affari, molto spesso loschi e poco puliti, praticamente in tutto il mondo. Il primo dei due avvocati viene ucciso per aver scoperto le frodi messe in atto dal suo cliente, mentre il figlio viene eliminato per paura che possa essere venuto anche lui a conoscenza della verità). Il nostro povero ispettore si troverà a dover fare i conti con la vera faccia di un potere senza scrupoli che ha i mezzi e gli strumenti necessari per fare quello che vuole e per stroncare vite a piacimento (non mancano i tentativi di omicidio, oltre alla scoperta di una terza vittima): il suo avversario non ha nessun particolare rimorso di coscienza, ma si diverte a trarre il massimo profitto da qualsiasi attività.
In questo romanzo, trova anche spazio una particolare attività criminale che, mai e poi mai, avrei associato alla Svezia, ovvero il traffico di organi umani: nonostante l'orrore che può suscitare una tale pratica, nel romanzo ci viene presentata come un altro modo per fare soldi. Solo leggendo si capirà come tutto questo si colleghi all'omicidio di due avvocati. E tuttavia, questo non fa che confermare l'opinione che il protagonista porta avanti fin dal primo libro: la Svezia, con tutta la sua democrazia e civiltà, sembra essere sull'orlo del baratro. I crimini, in costante aumento anche nelle cittadine di provincia, si fanno sempre più efferati e la violenza è ormai gratuita e incomprensibile. Verrebbe da chiedersi, come fa uno dei personaggi del romanzo, se esistano ormai dei limiti alla malvagità degli essere umani.

Menzione speciale anche per il nuovo membro della squadra investigativa di Wallander: Ann-Britt Höglund, giovane donna dal grande potenziale. Il suo arrivo è particolarmente interessante perché mette in moto certe dinamiche all'interno della stazione di polizia di Ystad: tanto per cominciare c'è il confronto generazionale, soprattutto tra lei e Wallander, ma soprattutto ci sono l'antipatia e la poca considerazione di alcuni dei colleghi maschi, che si sentono minacciati dal suo arrivo e che sono terrorizzati all'idea di essere scavalcati da una donna. Soprattutto all'inizio, le capacità di Ann-Britt sono sempre messe in discussione e il suo contributo non sarà quasi mai giudicato degno di considerazione. Sarà proprio Wallander il primo a doversi ricredere, arrivando ad apprezzare il lavoro della collega (sono peraltro rimasta molto sorpresa del fatto che lui non si sia dichiarato innamorato di lei dopo cinque minuti...doveva essere proprio depresso!).

Adesso vedremo cosa Mankell avrà in serbo per il povero Kurt nel prossimo romanzo. ...more

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Mar 08, 2017 Jacquie rated it liked it

Detective stuff. Decent

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May 08, 2012 Dorothy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: police-procedurals, swedish-mysteries

A problem that I have with almost all the Swedish novels that I read (and there seem to be quite a lot of them) is that often the language is incredibly stilted. Since I'm reading the books in English and I'm not familiar with the Swedish language, I can only assume that it is a problem with the translation, that it must be especially hard to render Swedish into English and make it flow easily over the page. Nowhere do I notice this problem more than with the books of Henning Mankell. I often fe A problem that I have with almost all the Swedish novels that I read (and there seem to be quite a lot of them) is that often the language is incredibly stilted. Since I'm reading the books in English and I'm not familiar with the Swedish language, I can only assume that it is a problem with the translation, that it must be especially hard to render Swedish into English and make it flow easily over the page. Nowhere do I notice this problem more than with the books of Henning Mankell. I often feel like I'm reading a Saturday Night Live parody of a Swedish scene. That was especially true with The Man Who Smiled.

We're now more than a year after the time when Kurt Wallander, the famously depressive, dour, angst-ridden Swedish detective, was forced to kill a criminal in the course of duty. It was self-defense, but still he is riven with guilt and has had to take sick leave from his job because of his emotional distress. He has tried unsuccessfully to find solace in booze and promiscuous sex, but in the end, he is more depressed and sick at heart than ever. He has decided, at length, that he will resign from the police and perhaps seek a job in security.

While he is pondering all of this on a beach in Denmark, a lawyer friend visits him and asks for his help in investigating his father's recent death. He had apparently died in an automobile crash and it was put down as an accident, but the son doesn't believe it. Kurt is too self-absorbed to really listen to what the man is saying and he refuses to help. A few days later, he learns that his friend has been murdered. At last something piques his interest! He decides to go back to work and to find out what happened to his friend as well as the friend's father - both lawyers. Not far into the investigation, someone plants a land mine in the backyard of the two lawyers' secretary. Then, while Kurt and a colleague are out on the road, pursuing their investigation, someone plants a bomb in his car and only his instinct that something is wrong saves them from being incinerated.

This is a complicated story involving a powerful Swedish billionaire with business interests around the world. Kurt comes to suspect that he is at the center of the evil that seems to be consuming Sweden, even though he is highly respected with an unassailable reputation. How will a simple police inspector, with limited resources and constant self-doubt and second-guessing every decision he makes, ever be able to crack the protective shell surrounding the billionaire and find proof of what he suspects?

These stories are interesting in their exploration of how the Swedish system of justice works and how police investigative units work. Apparently, it is a very collaborative effort with meetings every day to share information and brainstorm. Indeed, they spend so much time in meetings that - as one who spent much of her professional career in meetings - it is a wonder to me that any crime ever gets solved!

The personality of Wallander continues to be the prime point of interest to the stories. He is such a sad sack that often the reader (this reader anyway) just wants to shake him and say, "Get over it and get on with it!" So much agonizing over everything. It's hard to see how he ever finds the energy to get out of bed in the morning and go get his man. And yet, somehow, he always does. ...more

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Aug 24, 2013 Tiffani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, read-in-2015

It's been awhile since I read one of Henning Mankell's Wallander's novels. I can't think of why it's been so long. I think I wanted to save them and not read them all at once, lest I run out too quickly. Whatever the reason was, I'm back on the Wallander train - this series is absolutely fantastic.

This one begins with a deeply depressed Kurt Wallander. He killed a man in the line of duty and even though the shooting was justified, he feels horrible that he is directly responsible for someone's d It's been awhile since I read one of Henning Mankell's Wallander's novels. I can't think of why it's been so long. I think I wanted to save them and not read them all at once, lest I run out too quickly. Whatever the reason was, I'm back on the Wallander train - this series is absolutely fantastic.

This one begins with a deeply depressed Kurt Wallander. He killed a man in the line of duty and even though the shooting was justified, he feels horrible that he is directly responsible for someone's death. Let me just pause here and say how refreshing it is to have a police officer who genuinely feels guilty and sad about ending another person's life. This kind of remorse is often overlooked in novels. In real life it is even worse. For Wallander, an officer who rarely uses his gun, killing a human being, criminal or not, is devastating. And so as the novel begins, Wallander is on leave and dealing with his grief very badly. There's too much drinking, inappropriate behavior, and many solitary walks along cold foggy beaches.

He is all set to quit the police force. Then an old friend finds Wallander trudging along the beach on yet another cold and foggy day and asks for Wallender's help. The friend's father recently died in a car accident, only the son doesn't think it was an accident and ask Wallander to look into it. Wallander declines and assures his friend that the officer in charge of his father's case is quite good at his job. Not long after their encounter on the beach Wallander's friend is found dead, and this time it is clear it was murder. Racked with guilt at having refused his friend, Wallander abruptly changes his mind about quitting and sets out to find out who murdered his friend and his friend's father. So begins another international Wallander mystery.

The Man Who Smiled was a pleasure to read. One thing about Mankell, he doesn't waste time. So many books (that I enjoy) start off so slowly and I have to remind myself that the story will pick soon. That is not necessary with Mankell. The Man Who Smiled grabbed my interest right way and held onto it. The murders Wallander is tasked with solving are never run of the mill cases with simple motives. There is often an international aspect and some degree of commentary about the state of the world at large. This book was no exception. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone so I'll leave out those aspects here and simply say this is a great read, especially for anyone looking for an international mystery. ...more

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Feb 01, 2010 Tori Hoeschler rated it did not like it

Ok, by my definition, this book is not a mystery. This is a book ABOUT a mystery, and unless I'm totally missing a point here, it's just not a good book at all.
Here we have a story about a detective, Kurt Wallander, who has come out of retirement to solve the mysterious death and apparent murder of two local attorneys. I'm just going to stop right here and say that the reason he goes into retirement is because he's conflicted over killing some criminal in a face off I assume took place in a pre Ok, by my definition, this book is not a mystery. This is a book ABOUT a mystery, and unless I'm totally missing a point here, it's just not a good book at all.
Here we have a story about a detective, Kurt Wallander, who has come out of retirement to solve the mysterious death and apparent murder of two local attorneys. I'm just going to stop right here and say that the reason he goes into retirement is because he's conflicted over killing some criminal in a face off I assume took place in a previous book in the series. The author must've been so pleased with his initial telling of this prequel climax that he feels compelled to reference it almost every other page of this book, and let me tell you, it gets old. FAST. We get it: Wallander feels bad about killing a man in the line of duty so let's all take some Paxl and move on with our lives.

Now, less than 20 pages into the book the reader is told who the killer is so in my experience, when you know who did it, the remainder of the book is typically dedicated to fleshing out a really intriguing back story that ultimately leads to additional suspense at the end. Not the case here. Not only are you told who did it, but you get to spend the next 250 pages waiting for our melancholy hero to catch up to your foregone conclusion. Think that's fun? Well you're wrong. You don't actually get to read about how he catches up to the conclusion; you get to read about how he feels about catching up. There is literally a 30 page section where the author pontificates about how Wallander can't help but feel that something is amiss. His can just feel it in his gut. Three people have turned up dead, two more murders have been attempted, including an attempt on Wallander himself, and his gut is telling him something is amiss. Congrats, Wallander, your gut has a profound grasp of the obvious.
What I'm assuming was meant for a dramatic ending is actually a melodramatic, unbelievable 20 page stint at the very end of the book that actually had me saying out loud, "You have to be kidding me. I waited 300 pages for THIS??? That was it???" Absolutely infuriating!
Again, I say it, maybe I'm missing something but this is one of the most tedious and un-gratifying non-mysteries I've ever read. ...more

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May 22, 2013 Roderick Hart rated it really liked it

This novel features Mankell’s well-known detective, Kurt Wallander. In the previous book, Wallander had killed a criminal. Though he had little choice this event set him back so much he was off work for a year and seriously considered resigning from the police force. Why didn’t he? Because it was the only life he knew and also because a lawyer sought him out, seriously concerned that his father, also a lawyer, had been murdered.

The son is correct, his father had been murdered, though it was made This novel features Mankell’s well-known detective, Kurt Wallander. In the previous book, Wallander had killed a criminal. Though he had little choice this event set him back so much he was off work for a year and seriously considered resigning from the police force. Why didn’t he? Because it was the only life he knew and also because a lawyer sought him out, seriously concerned that his father, also a lawyer, had been murdered.

The son is correct, his father had been murdered, though it was made to look like an accident. But when the son is also murdered, with no attempt made to disguise the fact, Wallander is drawn into the investigation. And improbable as it may seem, the main suspect appears to be a man called Harderberg, a self-made businessman on an international scale who is also big in charitable giving.
[This review contains spoilers]

When an attempt is made to murder Wallander himself, the only possible conclusion is that those behind it are worried that the lawyer’s son who had sought him out had passed on sensitive information. He hadn’t, but they had no way of knowing that.

This book is one of the better titles in the Wallander series, but it does have weaknesses. As always in these books, insights are felt to be there but just out of reach, and as always people say things which our detective feels instinctively are significant - but either he can’t remember exactly what was said, or he can but isn’t sure what it signifies. And these events happen too often.

But if we accept all that, there is still the problem of the ending. Wallander is captured by Harderberg and his two murderous henchmen. Amazingly, and improbably, he gets the better of his captors as they escort him to the helicopter from which he is about to be dropped without a parachute.

On the plus side, Mankell is excellent at evoking the machinations of an international business empire though, in the process, drops some unwelcome names, in particular that of the late Robert Maxwell whom some of us had managed to forget.

...more

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Dec 16, 2015 Etienne Mahieux rated it really liked it · review of another edition

La Scanie étant la région la plus méridionale de la Suède, un esprit inattentif pourrait s'imaginer que c'est également la plus riante. À en croire Henning Mankell, c'est un endroit tellement mélancolique qu'Elseneur, de l'autre côté du bras de mer, c'est le Club Med par comparaison. Demandez à Shakespeare.
Kurt Wallander, pilier de la police locale, est d'ailleurs au début de "L'Homme qui souriait" en état de dépression profonde et de démission quasi imminente. C'est un événement pourtant fort t ...more

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About Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell was an internationally known Swedish crime writer, children's author and playwright. He was best known for his literary character Kurt Wallander.

Mankell split his time between Sweden and Mozambique. He was married to Eva Bergman, Swedish director and daughter of Ingmar Bergman.

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