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More Henning Mankell book reviews |
The Dogs of Riga, by Henning MankellInternationally acclaimed author Henning Mankell has written numerous Kurt Wallander mysteries. The books have been published in thirty-three countries and consistently top the bestseller lists in Europe, receiving major literary prizes (including the U.K.'s Gold Dagger Award in 2002) and generating numerous international film and television adaptations.Born in a village in northern Sweden in 1948, Mankell divides his time between Sweden and Maputo, Mozambique, where he works as the director of Teatro Avenida. The Dogs of Riga, the second book (after Faceless Killers) in the popular series about Inspector Kurt Wallander, takes Wallander to Riga, Latvia, to investigate the   murder of two Eastern European criminals. This book is set against the chaotic backdrop of eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here the provincial Swedish detective takes on a probably fruitless task: investigating the murders of two unidentified men washed up on the Swedish coast in an inflatable dinghy. The only clues he has to work on, is that their dental work suggests they're from an Eastern Bloc country, and that the raft is Yugoslavian. Detective Kurt Wallander is frustrated and uncertain whether he has the ability to solve this case, which is as mysterious as it is heinous.Arriving in Riga, Wallander must deal with widespread governmental corruption, which opens his eyes to the unattractive reality of life in the totalitarian Eastern Bloc. Furthermore, he finds himself plunged into an alien world where shadows are everywhere, where everything is watched, and with old regimes that will do anything to stay alive. Mankell's Kurt Wallander series has often compared to the Martin Beck detective mysteries authored by the husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. Wallander, like Beck, is a police detective in Sweden. Unlike Beck, whose beat was Stockholm, Wallander works in the small southern-Swedish city of Ystad. The Wallander series takes place in the 1990s while the Beck series took place in the 1960s and 1970s. While the Beck series may be richer, the Wallander books are entertaining page-turners. Mankell mostly stays well within the `police procedural' formula and has not tried to reinvent the genre. He has developed the character of Mankell and his supporting cast of characters extremely well. Wallander gets results more by perspiration than inspiration. He is a fully drawn character. We see him dealing with the break-up of a marriage, an estranged daughter, and a father who is developing senile dementia. Dogs of Riga is a wonderful book, probably not the best in the Wallander series, but still excellent, exciting, and very entertaining. Other great books by Henning Mankell include Kennedy's Brain: A Novel  , and The Return of the Dancing Master .To order from amazon UK, use these links: The Dogs of Riga (Harvill Panther)  , Kennedy's Brain , and The Return of the Dancing Master .
Faceless Killers, by Henning MankellAn aging farmer and his wife have been attacked on their isolated farm. When Inspector Kurt Wallander arrives, he finds the elderly couple brutally tortured, the husband dead and the wife barely clinging to life, They appear to have little money and no enemies. The only clue, is the dying word of the farmer's wife: "foreign".That is the plot   for Henning Mankell's first Kurt Wallander detective mystery: Faceless Killers. The result is a well-done police procedural. Since Faceless Killers is the first book in a series, the reader is provided with some background information on the main characters. Kurt Wallander is gritty and determined, newly separated from his wife and somewhat estranged from his daughter. He often drinks too much, and he has problems dealing with the interim prosecutor, who is an attractive young woman sent down from Stockholm. Also, he has a somewhat strange relationship to his father, an ageing artist, who is showing the first signs of senility. . Mankell lets the reader join in on the investigation process. There are no hidden clues as in Agatha Christie's books. It is all hard work and reasoning. With a keen sense of the psychological dimensions of his characters, Henning Mankell delivers a fast paced, very interesting and entertaining read in Faceless Killers. Order Faceless Killers from amazon UK: Faceless Killers (Kurt Wallender Mystery)  .The Man Who Smiled, by Henning MankellThe Man Who Smiled is Henning Mankell's fourth Kurt Wallander mystery, another terrific crime novel.When an old acquaintance, a solicitor, seeks Wallander's help to investigate the suspicious circumstances in which his father has died, Kurt doesn't want to know. But when the solicitor also turns up dead, shot three times, Wallander realizes that he was wrong not to listen. Depressed and world-weary after having killed a man in the line of duty, and against his better judgment, Detective Kurt Wallander returns from two years of wallowing in guilt to investigate the murders of a father and son, both prominent lawyers.   Kurt Wallander, who is taking anti-depressants and drinking a lot of alcohol, ties in the deaths an enigmatic big-business tycoon, who hides behind an entourage of brusque secretaries and tight security, and who seems to be the common denominator in the two sudden deaths. He is one of Sweden's richest men - a man who views himself as untouchable. He is the man who smiles.Also, in The Man Who Smiles, a rookie female detective has joined the force in his absence, and he adopts the role of mentor to her as they fight to unravel the mystery. And, while Wallander is on the trail of the killer, somebody is on the trail of Wallander, and closing in fast. The Man Who Smiled is a terrific, very detailed and intense story. The excitement is there throughout. Kurt Wallander is real and flawed, yet manages to be bigger than life despite it all. This is another marvelous book by Henning Mankell, and a wonderful read! Order The Man Who Smiled from amazon UK: The Man Who Smiled  . |
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There is no explanation and no motive. Inspector Kurt Wallander and his team are called in to investigate this case of a missing person. 
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Henning Mankell is a Swedish author who gained bestseller stardom with his series of crime novels featuring inspector Kurt Wallander.