Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell has died, aged 67 after battling cancer. He earned a global reputation for his novels featuring Inspector Kurt Wallander.
One of the figureheads of the so-called 'Scandi-noir' brand of fiction, his books sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
Following his diagnosis with cancer last year, he admitted that his "anxiety (was) very profound."
He dealt with the experience of serious illness in his most recent book Quicksand: What It Means To Be A Human Being. His publisher said on it's website that "He passed away quietly last night in the wake of disease".
Mankell was awarded the Crime Writers' Association's Macallan Gold Dagger and the German Tolerance Prize, among many others.
Kenneth Branagh in Wallander
His best-selling mystery novels follow policeman Kurt Wallander through Sweden and Mozambique and were turned into a hugely popular BAFTA award winning TV drama starring Kenneth Branagh.
Today Branagh paid tribute to him saying, "In life and in art Henning Mankell was a man of passionate commitment. I will miss his provocative intelligence and his great personal generosity."
The original, Swedish version of Wallander - featuring Krister Henriksson in the title role - was also screened on BBC Four in the UK.
Mankell is survived by his his wife of seventeen years, Eva Bergman, the daughter of legendary Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman and his son, Jon Mankell, a film producer who helped bring Stieg Larsson's Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series to the big screen.
sorry to hear of the death of Henning Mankell. His #wallender books were classics.
— Sheila O'Flanagan (@sheilaoflanagan) October 5, 2015
I interviewed Henning Mankell @edbookfest a few years back, just as his books were being published in English. His life read like a novel.
— Ian Rankin (@Beathhigh) October 5, 2015
RIP Henning Mankell, and thank you.
— Arlene Hunt (@arlenehunt) October 5, 2015
