Faceless Killers
First in the Kurt Wallander series.
It was a senselessly violent on a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. And as if this didn’t present enough problems for the Ystad police Inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word is foreign, leaving the police the one tangible clue they have — and in the process, the match that could inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.
Unlike the situation with his ex-wife, his estranged daughter, or the beautiful but married young prosecutor who has peaked his interest, in this case, Wallander finds a problem he can handle. He quickly becomes obsessed with solving the crime before the already tense situation explodes, but soon comes to realize that it will require all his reserves of energy and dedication to solve.
The White Lioness
Inspector Kurt Wallander returns in the second of Henning Mankell’s award-winning, internationally-bestselling detective novels, this time to investigate the execution-style killing of a Swedish housewife. The local police focus on a determined stalker who’s suddenly nowhere to be found, but when they finally catch up with their prime suspect his alibi turns out to be airtight.
Digging deeper, Wallander discovers that the woman’s death is more complex and dangerous than a crime of passion. His search for the truth takes him far from home and into the murky world of apartheid-era South Africa, where he uncovers a sinister assassination plot. Soon the small-town detective finds himself in a high-stakes tangle with the South African secret service and a ruthless ex-KGB agent.
Combining heart-pounding suspense with probing social commentary, is an essential chapter in the addictive mystery series that inspired the hit TV show starring Kenneth Branagh. “It is not hard to see why the Wallander books have made such an impact”
My Take
I did something I almost never do: I skipped a book in a series. The second book in the series takes place in Latvia and since I was reading the books while traveling the Nordic countries I skipped it. I was really looking forward to these since the Wallander book are one of the best known Nordic noir series. I just don’t like Wallander. He’s morose, frustrating, and often a jerk. I read The White Lioness to give it a second chance and nope. No more. The plots are appropriately complicated and good, though it seems Wallander just bumbles along until he trips over a solution.