Faceless Killers

This is Henning Mankell's first Kurt Wallander crime novel, a case his Swedish detective handled in 1990 when he was 42 years old. But after finishing eight full-length novels, Mankell wrote five short stories, collected in The Pyramid, which describe pre-1990 cases since Wallander started as a police patrolman. I turned to this Swedish crime writer after reading Stieg Larsson's exceptional trilogy involving Lisbeth Salander because of publicity claiming that those who enjoyed the Swede Larsson's marvelous books will enjoy Mankell. I found I had several problems with the Mankell books. First, as Mankell realized, "facts" about Wallander's life mentioned in The Pyramid are different than in this volume, and this is somewhat annoying, although it does not ruin the story if one thinks that this is a somewhat different character. Second, Mankell is a totally different writer than Larson. Larsson's books are far more dramatic and proactive, with more unusual and interesting characters, and suspense that never lets up. Larsson's people move with emotion and determination, driven by hate and desire and revenge. Mankell's stories move at leisurely pace, driven, so it seems, by fate, the weather, by a man just happening to come into the police station, a man who neither Wallander nor his staff knew about. Mankell fills his tales with information that is unrelated to the story, such as what sweater Wallander decides to wear because of the outside temperature, feelings of loneliness, worry about his daughter, and that he needs to stop during his driving to pee. Nevertheless, although different, Mankell's books are good. This case involves the murder of an old man and his wife, an old woman, who live in near isolation on a farm. They have a horse that is apparently fed by the murderer or murders after the couple is killed. A rope is tied around the wife's neck for no purpose; it has a knot that is clearly used outside of Sweden. The wife lingers before she dies long enough to say "foreign."

Now this was a find. Recently, I was reading book reviews in either _Booklist_ or _Library Journal_ and came across a rave for the latest Mankell translation, _One Step Behind_. When my next opportunity to order a few books came around, I put several Mankell titles on the list and _Faceless Killers_ is the first in his Kurt Wallander series. Mankell is a Swedish author and his books are translations and have been hailed as the first series to truly live up to the standards set by authors Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo and their Martin Beck mysteries. I can't comment on that, never having read a Martin Beck, but I sure enjoyed this book.As the story opens, an elderly farmer discovers that his neighbors, also elderly, have been attacked. The husband has been gruesomely tortured and killed and his wife left for dead. Before she dies in the hospital, her last word is "foreign." With anti-immigrant sentiment running high already, the last thing the police need is for this to slip out to the media, but someone in the department leaks the information and suddenly refugee camps in the area are being firebombed. When a Somali refugee is killed, seemingly at random, Wallander and his men have two difficult cases to untangle.This was a very strong mystery, with a great central character and careful attention to settings. Wallander is cut from the same cloth as John Rebus and Alan Banks. He's struggling with loneliness after his wife has unexpectedly left him and his close ties with his daughter have been severed. He has to deal with an aging, possibly senile, father and his attraction to the new female district attorney who is filling in on an interim basis, and who happens to be married. Plus, he's drinking too much and putting on weight due to a steady diet of pizza and fast food.Wallander is a compelling character who spends much of his time brooding about the state of the world and the state of his society and, interestingly, he seems to have some sympathy for the anti-immigrant mentality. He's concerned that just about anyone can come to the country and request asylum, even crooks and shady characters. And, the way the system is painted in the book, with officials unsure of where to locate specific refugees, etc., we can see how the task of the police is made much more difficult than it need be. But tracking down the murderer of the Somali refugee is his job and he does it, even when a former policeman seems to have some connection to the crime.A very interesting mystery and one that held my attention throughout. Even though the murders which open the book seem to be impossible to solve, Wallander will not let them go. He sticks to the investigation, which drags on for quite a long time, and finally sees it through. I will definitely be reading more books in this series. Highly recommended.

As an introduction to 'Nordic noir', you could miss out, by not reading Henning Mankell. He writes so assuredly and poetically that the result is sublime. This is a writer who manages to convey massive talent and 'Faceless Killers' is an incredible debut novel from writer who sadly is no longer with us.This book is the first of the Wallander series, a brilliant introduction to Kurt Wallander who manages to inspire as well as any previous Investigator you may have come across previously. Wallander has problems in his personal life but these events shape his character beautifully. He's not a cliche but a very carefully etched human policemen based in Ystad in Sweden.I cannot stress too strongly how much I enjoyed reading this first-in-the-series novel. Henning Mankell was obviously a talented writer and he brings out the various characters that Wallander works with well. The writing manages to bring out heaps of atmosphere and enough detail to make the reader fully understand that although Wallander is a fictional character, there seems to be immense truth and realism shaping the story.I will undoubtedly read more from this series of books simply because they are intelligently written and Wallander is so determined and patient in solving the various crimes he's enrolled with that I found myself fascinated by him from the very atmospheric beginning. Highly recommended.

First and probably last time I read a novel by this author. I don't know if it flows better in Swedish but the Egnlish version is very badly written. I often felt I was reading a book that was written by a child. Also a few mistakes in the book.The main character, a police detective comes across as very blunt. He is forgetful and not the sharpest tool in the box. It is quite frustrating to read about his progress (or non progress) in solving the crime and I could not warm up to the character at all.There are numerous leads of who might have committed the brutal crime but they are all drawn out endlessly till about 90% of the book is finished. Then, the last 10% feel extremely rushed, with a sudden discovery (completely taken out of thin air, something the detective had not thought about before- surprise, surprise!) and the murder is solved, without ever explaining it's brutality or the manner of it.I could not wait to be done with this book. Bad from start to finish.

Wallander ticks most of the detective novel cliches, as the crime-fighter with a chaotic personal life who drinks too much, with a marriage in ruins, and a father rapidly succumbing to dementia, in the midst of a horrific double murder probe … A man and his wife have been butchered at a remote farmhouse. The suggestion that the killers were foreigners - based on the last words of the dying wife - provokes a storm over immigration, and racial discrimination. Wallander, with his boss away, has to handle this complex investigation and the fallout from it while wrestling with a catalogue of problems, from his ailing father to his divorce, while simultaneously trying to strike up a relationship with a married prosecutor. The prose is a bit pedestrian, perhaps thanks to the translation, and the plotting arguably a little perfunctory. But stick with it … there are many cliches, but somehow it all works. It was published around 30 years ago, but hasn’t dated too badly. And it becomes steadily more readable - by around the halfway or two-thirds mark I was hooked, and Wallander grew on me. I’ll definitely read more of the Wallander titles… …

Mankell's ability to conjure up for the reader not just the landscape of southern Sweden, but the atmosphere, is remarkable, especially even in translation. Wallender is a credible and engaging character and insights into the people and the times add colour and interest to the complex plot. Highly recommended, even (perhaps especially) for fans of the tv series.

While on holiday I came across another of the books in this series. Encouraged by that I decided to go back read them all from the start. This is the first book in the series and very accomplished it is. Highly recommended. Wallander appears in this first book almost fully formed. There is also the first appearance of a hare, they pop up in all the books as I remember,no idea why.To sun up an excellent book, great characters, and an entertaining plot.