THE TROUBLED MAN

Håkan von Enke is a troubled man. At a birthday party, he confides to Swedish police detective Kurt Wallender the story of a 1980 incident that involved an unidentified submarine illegally entering Swedish waters when he was a naval admiral. When von Enke goes missing soon after, Wallander investigates even though it’s not his case; von Enke is his daughter’s future father-in-law. Robin Sachs is terrific at voicing the gloomy Wallander (also a troubled man) as he faces his demons of old age, memory loss, diabetes, and lost loves. Sachs is untroubled by the Swedish names and locations, and he rolls through them without hesitation or unnecessary showiness. He also creates distinctive character voices with authentic accents for Wallander’s fellow detectives, von Enke, and von Enke’s American friends. This is Wallander’s last outing, a development that will result in many troubled fans. A.B. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2011]