Customer Reviews

Faceless Killers: The First Kurt Wallander Mystery

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This book is definitely different from the police novels I've read in the past. The majority of the ones I've read had been rather fast paced filled with lots of intrigue and twists that I'm racing through the novel at an alarming rate. This one was very different. It wasn't fast paced but it was steady and although a little slow at times, it actually got me interested as the criminal investigation went on. It was a gradual procedure, and not one that would take overnight to solve. It had its exciting moments, but moments where you had to sit down and reflect as to what was going on, and it was a much different kind of police procedural novel I have ever seen so far. It was a good balance of careful analysis and examination mixed with intrigue and action. The plot did a good job of drawing you into the crime and having you also reflect and examine on how to solve it. I felt just as frustrated like Kurt was feeling when it felt as if he kept on reaching dead ends and cold trails that would lead nowhere in solving the crime.

The thing I liked the most was the character in Kurt Wallander. He's very real and three dimensional. He had his own issues to solve and it involved a total different story arc on its own aside from the murder case so you're not entirely focused on the mystery. You also got to see the "human" side of Kurt as well which I enjoyed and very much liked. It gave the story a much more realistic feeling to it and not something sensation or "Hollywood" about the entire plot. Kurt had his own faults too and so did his colleagues. I also liked how the story also focused on the secondary characters as well (especially his partner Rydberg, who also has major problems of his own). It was great to see realistic almost "fleshy" characters in the book.

I guess what I didn't really like was I'm not used to this style of writing, so I was really expecting this big flash bang sensational ending where I would be left speechless. This book isn't meant to be that way. The case was closed, and solved and that was that. No big gunfight. No SWAT team. No hostages. No Channel 6 news helicopters flying overhead (har har). It was simple, clean cut, and done. Then again the entire book was like that; clean and to the point. It was like one giant puzzle being put together and having the satisfaction of having it completed on time. Nothing celebratory or excitement just job done, go home and relax. I suppose that's how it's really done and if so, then it's another good job at keeping the story realistic.

Would I read the books following this? sure, why not? it's a short read and I don't regret picking this book up. Although it's not exciting as I hoped it would be, it held my attention enough to keep me going, as I was curious as to who did it and why. Secrets were exposed, and closure was met, and all loose ends were tied. It was well done and complete.

Overall, don't be looking for grand excitement in this one. Just a good realistic police detective novel. It's realistic, and interesting as it takes you along a journey through Sweden and their way of life. It's definitely worth giving it a try if you're up for something mellow and a more on the serious side of the police force.

It is always fun to find a new author to enjoy. I discovered Henning Mackell while discussing books with a friend who's reading interests are even more divergent than mine over cocktails in Bermuda. Not only did she suggest I read the author, she gave me the book to read the next day. A day and a half later I was a fan.

Kurt Wallender is not your typical police detective and this is not your typical whodunit. It starts with a next door neighbor in a farming community noting that the sound of the night was different. The next door neighbor's horse was not whinnying. Looking more closely it appearred that the kitchen window was open on a very cold night. Looking more closely, it was clear that it was smashed in. Inside he discovers that the couple have been brutally attacked - the husband has sustained wounds that the M.E. says any four kinds of them would have killed him. His wife is alive, but barely. She has a noose arround her neck. Pretty violent stuff for a poor Swedish farming commmunity.

Kurt Wallender has his own problems. His wife has left him. His teen age daughter has gone also. He is drinking too much and dreaming x-rated encounters with a black woman. He is acting chief and mounts the investigation into what seems to be a random crime with no purpose other than to kill.

Despite his personal problems, he is a first rate detective and you are drawn along quite easily into what it must be like to really be in this line of work. It is a profession that has much less glamor than many novels give it, but it is also a profession that has exacting standards, required methods and sometimes when all else fails, luck and hunches help.

The news of the case horrifies people and when word leaks out that the wife said the word "foreign" before dying, it opens a dark underside in the Swedish populace. Immigration in Sweden is a hot topic and refugees are held loosely in encampments. Threats start to come in against the refugees. One is assaulted. One is killed and a second hunt begins in parallel with the first. A Swedish KKK is on the loose.

This is a well told story which will hold your interest and I suspect also interest you in the sequels which follow with Detective Wallender. What more can you ask for?

I really enjoyed this book. it is a fairly straightforward plot, but it is interesting nevertheless, and not without some twists and turns. character development is good; i certainly cared about Wallander. the best thing about this book is the haunted character of Wallander, the realistic nature of the story and its impact on the characters, a bit of swedish life and culture, and, best for me, its inside account of police procedure. i absolutely recommend this one for lovers of Rankin, Connelly, Connolly, Pelecanos, etc.

This first book in the Kurt Wallander series revolves around a very simple plot. The "mystery charm" is not really there, but the main character, Kurt Wallander, is so interesting that you will be hooked to leran more. That is why I am giving this series at least one more shot at improving the plots!

I started reading Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series this past autumn, and I've enjoyed all six that I've read. This is the first one in that series, and not only does it depict the resolution of a brutal murder, but also reveals the struggle Wallander has with aging and his relationship with his father. The book also confronts the struggle that contemporary Sweden faces with recent immigration, and the problems with has posed for a relatively homogenous society. I strongly recommend the book, and the rest of the series.

M

This is the first of Mankell's Kurt Wallander series and, in the course of reading, one comes across plenty reasons to persevere with the others. It's about a tenaciously driven workaholic hard-drinking middle-aged policeman in a chilly north European country, estranged from his wife with a tumultuous relationship with his young adult daughter. As others have pointed out, there is nothing new there so far and the similarity to DI Rebus is striking. Mankell's voice however is very much his own and the most striking similiarity is that he is one of the few writers of crime fiction in the same league as Rankin. So if the gap between instalments of the Rebus series is too much for you to bear, there are few better places you could look for consolation than here. As with the Rebus series the sense of place is beautifully realized but the place itself could not be more different: instead of the dark streets of Edinburgh we get the rural landscape of southern Sweden with its patchwork of small towns. And Wallander, if not much less demon-ridden, is a far softer character than Rankin's SAS-trained urban Scottish hardman.

A peculiarly shocking murder of an elderly couple occurs deep in the Skanian countryside and while Wallender and his colleagues follow false lead after false lead, they have also to deal with the ugly political fallout. They have failed to keep form the public the incendiary fact that the last utterance of one victim was the single word "Foreign" and in a climate of growing hostility to asylum seekers this soon engenders murderous consequences. The plot is nicely developed and finely paced and Wallander's often troubled relationships - notably with his estranged wife and daughter, with his aging father, with his once close friend Sten Widen, with his colleagues, especially his dying mentor Rydberg and with the sharp and attractive new prosecutor Anette Brolin - are beautifully rendered. Great stuff.

A couple of farmers is murdered on their farm. When found, the wife is still barely alive and her last word is "Foreigner". And she has a rope around her neck with a strange knot in it. Inspector Wallander recognizes the importance of this knot and spends time and effort to solve this riddle. The solution points to a foreign sailor - and there is a camp with foreigners seeking asylum nearby.

This sets the tone of the book. The hate of foreigners comes to the fore and begins to grow all the way to riots against them.

As so often, Mankell wrote a book that is only partially a mystery. The rest is an indictment of various conditions humans are prone to establish. For comparison, see the White Lioness, ranting against apartheid in South Africa.

All this makes the book overly long and not entirely enjoyable.