Sidetracked

A demented killer is on the warpath and only Wallander can stop him: "Mankell at his best . . . If you haven't bought Sidetracked, do so ASAP" (Los Angeles Times Book Review).   Inspector Kurt Wallander's long-anticipated vacation plans are interrupted by two horrific deaths: the self-immolation of an unidentified young woman and the brutal murder of the former minister of justice. As the police struggle to piece together the few clues they have, the killer strikes again and again. What connection is there between a retired minister of justice, a successful art dealer, and a common petty thief? Why does the killer scalp his victims? And could there be some connection between the young woman's suicide and the murders?   Sidetracked, winner of the Best Crime Novel of the Year in Sweden, is an outstanding entry in the series that inspired the BBC program Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh. Mankell, called "the King of Crime" by the Economist, infuses police procedural with a searing critique of contemporary society, from the disintegration of the family and the exploitation of women to corruption and scandal at the highest levels of government.   "Connoisseurs of the police procedural will tear into this installment like the seven-course banquet it is." —Kirkus Reviews