A nice easy read. The novella was Mankell's last Wallander book and included a synopsis on how the character and the books came about. Wallander has aged and is trying to move on as a surprisingly complex plot over 150 pages unfolds. Still a great sense of place in the writing. sorry it is the last of the Wallander books. ( )

I picked up this little beauty at the library. Great book! An aging police detective, feeling morose about his life, visits a home out in the country with intent to purchase. The only problem is that he finds a hand sticking out of the garden dirt. Hmmm.... Does he really want to purchase it now? ( )

Kurt Wallender goes to inspect a house he is considering buying, and discovers a skeletal hand emerging from the garden. This kicks off an investigation going back many decades, made more difficult by a lack of missing persons reports in the period in question.

Although I've read a lot of Scandi noir, I haven't read much Mankell. Wallender is not a character that appeals to me. I'm all for characters who bring their human problems to the case, but those problems need to have some kind of grounding that makes them relevant, such as Erlendur's childhood-based obsession with missing people. Wallander's brand of self-pity does not add to the story, it just provides a whiny inner dialogue that does not enhance it. ( )

Unfamiliar with the author this was on the library popular list, though I honestly have no idea why. Characters are blah as is the plot and reads like a novice wrote it. I found Wallander, the central character about as interesting as watching paint dry :) ( )

Kurt Wallander's life looks like it has taken a turn for the better when his offer on a new house in the country is accepted. Unfortunately while exploring the garden, he discovers a skeletal hand reaching out from the ground. It turns out to be the skeleton of a middle-aged woman. As police officers search the property for more remains, Wallander attempts to get his life back on course by finding the woman's killer. When another discovery is made in the garden, Wallander is forced to search even further back into the past in his attempt to put things right.

Set in 2002, this compelling short novel (176 pages) depicts an episode in the life of Kurt Wallander shortly before the Swedish detective ended his career in 2011's The Troubled Man. There is an extensive afterward by the author in which Mankell discusses his long term relationship to Wallander and the difficulty he had in ending the series. If you are already a fan of Kurt Wallander you will probably enjoy this novella which was originally conceived in 2002 as a BBC show and only recently translated into English. If you are interested in the Wallander series this is certainly not the one to start with. Many of the familiar characters are there there is not enough time to give them any depth. Recommended for fans only. ( )