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Product Description
From Amazon.com
If you remember with pleasure those dark and gloomy Martin Beck mysteries by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, you'll be glad to plunge into the first of Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallender mysteries to appear in English. Wallender's personal life can occasionally seem more depressing than even a provincial Swedish detective should be asked to bear, but his investigative skills are strictly first rate. And Mankell's story of the brutal murder of an elderly farm couple uncovers an unusual aspect of life in modern Sweden--a streak of fear and prejudice against the many newcomers from Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe who have sought asylum there.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
In his first appearance in English, Swedish bestselling author Mankell combines thriller-quality entertainment with a depiction of anti-foreigner prejudice in Sweden, painted here as a very chilly place indeed. Since his wife walked out on him, Kurt Wallender, a middle-aged cop in the small town of Lenarp, has drowned his sorrows in opera and far too much liquor. Such consolations can't help him absorb the scene at the Lovgren farm, where elderly Johannes Lovgren has been brutally beaten and stabbed to death and where his wife, Maria, is found barely alive with a noose around her neck. Rydberg, a police force old-timer, says the noose's unusual knot and the word foreigner, which Maria uttered before she died, are important. Wallender puts those clues on the back burner when he learns that Johannes, ostensibly a simple farmer, had a secret life involving wealth and connections unknown to his wife. However, a leak to the press complicates the investigation by arousing anti-immigrant feelings, some of which are expressed in anonymous threats. Mankell is clearly a skilled writer, and his portrait of Wallender (who periodically slides beneath respectability) is effective. But he provides essential information only at the last minute, which makes the solution feel more like an appendix than a conclusion. Also, American readers may find odd Mankell's bundling of his upright anti-racism message with broad notions of what constitutes acceptable social control.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Faceless Killers,
By
This review is from: Faceless Killers: The First Kurt Wallander Mystery (Paperback)
I was looking for something to fill a void after reading the Ian Rankin/Insp. Rebus books. This hit the spot. Very interesting. Good plot and character development. I can't wait to read the next one.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Puzzler of a Story,
By Ian Gordon Malcomson (Victoria, BC) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Faceless Killers: The First Kurt Wallander Mystery (Paperback)
This is my first introduction in novel form to the character Detective Inspector Wallander and his ability to solve baffling and complex murder cases in the land of Sweden. As a Wallander Mystery watcher, I have just taken to reading Mankell's novel on which the PBS series was based. This introductory novel has everything a good murder, who-dunnit, mystery has to offer: an involved plot, an intriguing setting, lots of hair-raising encounters and some great moments of suspense. For me, it is Mankell's writing style that makes this novel tick. He takes his time in building the story, developing the main characters and connecting all the events to reach a logical and satisfying outcome. When I read "Faceless Killers", I was kept guessing right to the end as to where Mankell was taking me, but in retrospect it all made sense. Brought into the literary mix are whole bunch of cultural and national issues. This book portrays Sweden as a country besieged by racial intolerance, distrust and new moral and political realities thrust on it daily by the European Union. The cross-cultural conflicts emerging in this story are the forces the likes of Wallander have to contend with to bring their quarry to justice. This novel contains crimes of opportunity whose roots are found deep in Sweden's newly-arrived dislocated migrant population. In the end, the two unrelated murders that Wallander solves suggest that there is two sides to this issue as to who poses the greatest threat to society: the insider or the outsider. A real sizzler of a novel that should cause the reader to focus on the role of the individual in the context of the larger group when looking at the overall social implications of crime. Laying the blame at feet of a particular minority for a gruesome crime is not helpful in bringing the culprit to justice.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Could Not Put It Down,
By AllNightReader "Cassie" (Regina Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Faceless Killers: The First Kurt Wallander Mystery (Paperback)
I had never read any of Henning Mankell's books before and found this one left behind in a hotel room. Decided to read it for no reason except I noted that the author is Swedish and my family is Danish. Some kind of friendly association plus the fact that I'm a mystery reader. Well, I couldn't put it down. I took it home and evaded housework just to keep reading it. It's an excellent story with a plot that marches along steadily and what seemed like accurate policing details. The kicker is the Swedish slant to every day life and the intriguing portrayal of the chief detective Wallander; a morose and down at the mouth guy going through a divorce but highly successful at what he does. He is on every page and his character development makes the story. I will definitely read more of Mankell's work and it's worthwhile to look up the author on the Web. He's a philanthopist of the first order who donates much of his income to helping the impoverished in Africa. I just hope he keeps writing books like this one.
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