One cold January day the police are called to a sleepy little hamlet in the north of Sweden where they find the vic
tim of a savage murder lying in the snow. As they begin their investigation they notice that the village seems eerily quiet and deserted. Going from house to house, looking for witnesses, they uncover a crime unprecedented in Swedish history.
When judge Birgitta Roslin reads about the massacre she realizes that she has a family connection to one of the couples involved and decides to investigate. A nineteenth-century diary and a red ribbon found in the forest nearby are her only clues.
What Birigtta eventually uncovers leads her into an international web of corruption and a story of vengeance that stretches back over a hundred years.
In The Man from Beijing, Mankell’s approach is different then most mystery’s. Answers in life are not always easy, neat or predictable. Mankell’s web spins in themes of globalization, east versus west, legacy, and prejudice while taking us from 1860’s to modern day, as well as covering Sweden, China, USA, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. This mystery covers a lot of ground, and does it well.