The Return of the Dancing Master by
Henning Mankell
hbk out September 03
Published by Harvill
at £14.99
The early pages of this book worried me. The prologue dates back to the aftermath of
the Second World War and the execution of Nazi war criminals. We then fast forward
to the end of the 90s and the lonely cottage in a Swedish forest of an elderly recluse
with a passion for the tango. Is it possible that Herbert Molin is a former Nazi for
whom retribution awaits? The set-up is the stuff of crime fiction clichés, but what is
interesting about Mankell is that he manages, in this long but never boring novel, to
give a fresh spin to a well-worn situation. Molin's murder is dramatic and memorable
and soon it is being investigated not only by the local cops but also by Stefan
Lindman, a former colleague of Molin, who is on sick leave because he has been
diagnosed as suffering from cancer of the tongue. To some extent, the explanation for
Molin's murder is predictable, and Mankell lets the cat out of the bag early on. But
Molin's killing is followed by the murder of a neighbour – and it is clear that not only
is the motive different, so is the culprit. Mankell excels at set pieces and the evocation
of bleak settings and situations. His plotting is patchy, with too many improbabilities
for comfort, and his eagerness to make political points occasionally wearisome. These
weaknesses preclude him from greatness – at the moment. But this discursive stand-
alone from the author of the Wallander mysteries has plenty of power and is likely to
linger in the memory after other, more smoothly constructed but less intriguing, books
have faded from mind.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
The Return of the Dancing Master by
Henning Mankell
