The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell

The Man from Beijing is a novel by Swedish writer Henning Mankell first published in Swedish in 2007 under the title Kinesen (The Chinaman). The English translation by Laurie Thompson was published in February 2010.
In January 2006 the police make the gruesome discovery of the bodies of 19 people who have been brutally murdered in the remote hamlet of Hesjövallen in northern Sweden. The protagonist Birgitta Roslin, a district judge from Helsingborg, realises she has a family connection with some of the victims. Roslin's curiosity is raised by clues found at the scene and leads her to unofficially investigate the massacre. The narrative also chronicles the lives of several characters living during the mid-19th century in China and the United States, whose experiences are somehow also connected to the mass killings. As the plot unfolds, extending across three continents, Roslin unintentionally becomes embroiled in a web of international corruption and political intrigue.
Henning Mankell (born 3 February 1948) is a Swedish crime writer, children's author and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most famous creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander.
Henning Mankell was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and grew up in Sveg (Härjedalen) and Borås (Västergötland). Henning Mankell's father, Ivar, was a judge and his grandfather, also named Henning Mankell (1868–1930), was a composer. At the age of 20 he had already started a career as author and assistant director at the Riksteater in Stockholm. In the following years he collaborated with several theatres in Sweden... (Summary by Wikipedia)