8 /10 1 Votes
Original title Villospår Country Sweden Publication date 1995 Originally published 1995 Followed by The Fifth Woman Genres Crime Fiction, Mystery | 4/5 Goodreads Translator Steven T. Murray Language Swedish Published in English 1999 Publisher Ordfront | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preceded by The White Lioness, The Man Who Smiled Similar Henning Mankell books, Kurt Wallander Mystery Series books, Crime Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sidetracked (first published as Villospår in 1995) is a crime novel by Swedish author Henning Mankell, the fifth in his Kurt Wallander series. Winner Gold Dagger 2001.
Contents
Synopsis
In the sweltering Swedish summer of 1994, a sadistic serial killer begins preying on elderly, successful men, violently slaughtering them with an axe before collecting their scalps as trophies. Meanwhile, Wallander witnesses a young woman from the Dominican Republic set herself on fire, and must also cope with his increasingly despondent father, who's determined to make one final trip to Italy. As he investigates the two cases, the Ystad detective uncovers a sinister link to prostitution rackets and the white slavery trade.
Adaptations
In 2001, Sidetracked was adapted by Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Television into a two and a half hour television movie, starring Rolf Lassgård as Wallander. In 2008, British broadcaster BBC One broadcast a 90-minute adaptation for its Wallander television series starring Kenneth Branagh.