The release date for the English version of 'Sidetracked' by
Henning Mankell is May 2003. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
Kurt Wallander is sent to a nearby field of rapeseed where a young girl has been hanging around all day in the critically acclaimed film Sidetracked. He gets there in time to see her light herself on fire after dousing herself with gasoline. The next day, he receives a call from a beach where the previous justice minister of Sweden has been killed by axe and scalping. Wallander is desperate to track down the murderer before he commits another crime since the crime clearly fits the profile of a deranged serial killer. However, a few roadblocks stand in the way of his investigation: a department preoccupied with the prospect of looming budget cuts and the trivialities of World Cup soccer; a shakily tenuous long-distance relationship with the widow of a policeman who was murdered; and an unsettling obsession with the young girl who set herself on fire. Sidetracked is a clever mystery that is made all the more fascinating by a sharp social awareness.