Since I was on vacation last week, I decided to tackle two 400+ page novels.

• Sidetracked, by Henning Mankell. This is the fourth Kurt Wallander mystery. I can't say they keep getting better, because the third book in the series, The White Lioness, was my favorite thus far. But this ranks second, and kept me captivated. The novels are set in Sweden (Mankell is Swedish, and the books are translated from Swedish). I love the way national boundaries mean little, and are easily crossed, in Europe.
• Echo Burning, by Lee Child. Robert Parker's PI, Spenser, is the ultimate tough guy. But I'd read that Lee Child's creation, Jack Reacher, might be tougher. I'll need to read more Lee Child books before rendering a verdict. But I found Jack Reacher to be a very unique fellow, and Echo Burning kept me glued to the page. I didn't like the way Reacher figured everything out, using clues not available to the reader (my same criticism of Chandler novels). But I'll definitely read more tales about Jack Reacher.