Swedish crime writer's final book to be published next year

Swedish author Henning Mankell in 2013. AP photo / Nora Lorek

The final book of Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell will be published next year.

Harvill Secker has announced Quicksand - a collection of essays - will be available in February 2016.

The publisher describes the book as "a fascinating memoir-of-sorts".

"Quicksand is a new collection of thought-provoking and fascinating short essays. It was inspired in part by Mankell's diagnosis and treatment for cancer, and it covers this alongside topics as varied as art, jealousy, Ice Ages past and present, and the future of our planet."

Mankell died on October 5 this year. He became a worldwide phenomenon with his crime writing, thrillers and atmospheric novels set in Africa. His prize-winning and critically acclaimed Inspector Wallander Mysteries continue to sell all over the globe and his books have been translated into forty-five languages and made into numerous international film and television adaptations: most recently the BBC television series Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh.

Before his death, the Manning wrote: 'In January 2014 I was informed that I had cancer. However, Quicksand is not a book about death and destruction, but about what it means to be human. I have undertaken a journey from my childhood to the man I am today, writing about the key events in my life, and about the people who have given me new perspectives. About men and women I have never met, but wish I had. I write about love and jealousy, about courage and fear. And about what it is like to live with a potentially fatal illness."