Bleak and not particularly enthralling mystery novel
Known for his Wallander books, Mankell's latest venture is After the Fire. It tells us about Fredrik, our narrator and retired elderly doctor, whose house is burnt down on the remote Swedish island where he lives. The story revolves around his encounter with various people as the mystery of the arson event unravels. Slow-going, it plods along with a good deal of introspection and often emotionless thought. Involving a few other characters, not much happens for most of the book.
As you will have gathered, I was not inspired by this novel and would only recommend it to die-hard Mankel fans.
4
