The Man Who Smiled

The Man Who Smiled

First edition (Swedish)
Author	Henning Mankell
Original title	Mannen som log
Translator	Laurie Thompson
Language	Swedish
Series	Kurt Wallander #4
Genre	Crime, Mystery novel
Publisher	Ordfront
Publication date	1994
Publication place	Sweden
Published in English	September 2005
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages	336 pp (Eng. hardback trans.)
ISBN	1-84343-098-3 (Eng. trans.)
OCLC	60513794
Preceded by	The White Lioness
Followed by	Sidetracked

The Man Who Smiled (original: Mannen som log) is a novel by Swedish crime-writer Henning Mankell, and is the fourth in the Inspector Wallander series, although the English translations have not been published in chronological order.

Synopsis

After killing a man in the line of duty (in The White Lioness), Inspector Kurt Wallander finds himself spiraling into an alcohol-fueled depression. He has just decided to leave the police when an old friend, Sten Torstensson, asks him to secretly investigate the recent death of his father in a car accident. At first Kurt dismisses his friend's suspicions as unlikely, but then Sten is found murdered in exactly the same manner as a Norwegian businessman shortly before. Against his previous judgement, Kurt returns to work to investigate what he is convinced is a case of double murder.

Adaptations

In 2003, The Man Who Smiled was adapted by Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Television into a two-hour television movie, starring Rolf Lassgård as Wallander. The Man Who Smiled has also been adapted into a 90-minute television episode for the BBC's Wallander series starring Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. It was first broadcast on 10 January 2010.