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The Man from Beijing / Henning Mankell
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This thriller is global in scope, taking place as it does on four different continents. A horrific mass murder takes place in a remote village in the north of Sweden. The weapon is a samurai-like sword. The police peg a local crazy who offered a confession before taking his own life, but Birgitta Roslin, a judge from Helsingborg, who has a family link to two of the victims, sees an international connection to a “man from Beijing”. The police are quick to dismiss her theories, but turn back to her when things come full circle and Birgitta almost finds herself a murder victim. Mankell abandons his Kurt Wallander character in this novel and with Birgitta Roslin introduces a fascinating replacement. One hopes we’ll see more of her. ©Ken Vesey, 5 May 2010

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