Italian Shoes / Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell's new standalone novel opens similarly to its 2006 predecessor, Depths, on an island in the Swedish archipelago. Its themes of isolation and estrangement are similar too - but with one huge difference. There are no murders and little violence in Italian Shoes. A departure for a bestselling crime author best known for his creation of Inspector Wallander it may be, but Mankell's focus remains the same: this book is a voyage into the soul of a man.