Faceless Killers (Kurt Wallander, #1) in Scandinavian Mysteries

Feb 23, 2008 Pilvi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, own-a-copy, nordic-writers

First book in the Wallander-series (Mördaren utan ansikte). This version is Finnish.

Ensimmäinen Wallander-sarjan kirja. Murhaajan henkilöllisyys pysyy salassa hyvin koko kirjan ajan viimeisille sivuille asti. Mankell kuvaa hyvin sitä välillä puuduttavaakin perustyötä, jota poliisit joutuvat tekemään rikoksia selvitellessään. Monet johtolangat johtavat umpikujaan, mutta ratkaiseviakin vihjeitä saadaan selville. Kirjassa on hyvä sekoitus rikosta ja Wallanderin henkilökohtaista elämää. Hyvä rikoski ...more

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Nov 12, 2009 Paul Patterson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scandinavian-mysteries

Faceless Killers is an apt title. The initial crime took place deep in the twilight hours in the obscure hamlet of Lunnarp, a normally tranquil place, where neighbours reared children, harvested fields, aged, reminisced, and were expected to die natural deaths. Deep in the murkiness of a Swedish winter night an old couple, the Nystöms, became apprehensive about their next door neighbours Johannes and Maria Lövgren, with whom they coffee’d and believed that they knew as well as their own family. Faceless Killers is an apt title. The initial crime took place deep in the twilight hours in the obscure hamlet of Lunnarp, a normally tranquil place, where neighbours reared children, harvested fields, aged, reminisced, and were expected to die natural deaths. Deep in the murkiness of a Swedish winter night an old couple, the Nystöms, became apprehensive about their next door neighbours Johannes and Maria Lövgren, with whom they coffee’d and believed that they knew as well as their own family. Mr. Nyström woke early but didn’t hear the accustomed sound of Johannes feeding his horse. The lights were ablaze in his next door neighbours' cottage; something was out of order. Overcoming his doubt that anything could possibly be wrong, Mr. Nyström checked out the situation and encountered catastrophe next door. Ystad police were called.
The Lövgrens were massacred in their kitchen; Johannes was dead and Maria was on the floor with a noose around her neck, clinging to life when the police arrived. Wallander was dumbfounded at the viciousness of the murders, especially the unaccountable motive. No one should be murdered in this fashion, not just for money or robbery. It was obvious to him that malicious rage was at the core of the slaughter, but why rage of this magnitude? Inspector Rydberg, Wallander’s mentor and closest friend, accompanied Maria to the hospital and overheard her dying words. He tells Wallander, "I only managed to catch one word. Foreign.... Well then. So now you know that her last message to the world was the word foreign, in answer to the question who committed this insane crime?"

A foreigner did it! This is not the answer the politically correct police administration wanted to hear; the crime team did all within its power to soften the impact of those words. Step one was to keep the information under wraps, especially from the press. Step two, to obscure or dismiss the old woman’s last testament by suggesting that she was disoriented or slurring. Step three, to explore other motives and less controversial perpetrators than the old woman's belief that they were un-Swedish immigrants or asylum seekers. The neutral sounding exclamation, ‘robbers did it!’ sounded much better. Yet proof of robbery was needed.

For complete review go to: http://watershedonline.ca/bookcafe/Fa... ...more

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Mar 28, 2009 Liz rated it liked it

I've read three of Mankell's Wallander books. They are similar and similarly overrated. I do appreciate his books' exploration of a dark & corrupt Sweden that Americans don't typically see, and I do find myself drawn to Scandinavian writers for their darkness. However, the characters are ordinary - realistic if you like, but ordinary. Their reactions to their country's apparent moral decline tend to have a familiar European sense of resignation. Outrage and unlikely characters make for better re ...more

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Nov 30, 2009 Wendy M. rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, mysteries

(spoiler warning) I love Kurt Wallander and I really enjoyed this book-- the way Mankell writes makes you feel like you're right there in Ystad. I only wish that the mystery wasn't so anti-climatic. I wanted to at least know more about the murderers, their motives etc. But I guess that's the way police work is sometimes-- like Wallander says at the end-- you never find out why. But I still wanted to know why! ...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Kyoko rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery, recommended, scandinavia

Having read all Martin Beck series I was missing someone like him, books like his. And what a great read I had with Kurt Wallander! I had seen a couple of shows on BBC and was just putting this book aside to read other ones, such a shame. Should have started before!

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