Henning Mankell was a Swedish writer best known for his crime novels that were adapted for television, including the BBC series Wallander.

The moody drama follows the character Kurt Wallander, an existential detective, as he solves crimes in southern Sweden. The series was first adapted for Swedish television in 2005 and starred Krister Henriksson. In 2008 an English-language version premiered on the BBC, with Kenneth Branagh as the soul-searching investigator. The latter version, which also airs in the U.S., has won six BAFTA TV awards, including for best drama.

Mankell also wrote the novels for several other adapted television shows and miniseries that were released internationally, including Faceless Murder, Sidetracked, The Man from Beijing and Kennedy’s Brain.

His novels have sold more than 40 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages.

Mankell died October 5, 2015, in Göteborg, Sweden. He was 67.