About this title: When a dying woman's last word seems to implicate members of the Swedish immigrant community, Police Inspector Kurt Wallander must race to solve a crime for which there are no apparent clues before local white supremacists take the law into their own hands, evidence or not....
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Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Harvill Pr
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9781860468087ISBN:186046808X
Description: Fair. Paperback, a good reading copy. Cover image is a stock image and may vary. Your book will be securely packed and promptly dispatched from our UK warehouse. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780099445227ISBN:0099445220
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780099445227ISBN:0099445220
Description: Good. Our aim is to create value for our customers through the provision of low cost, affordable products and an overall satisfying buying experience. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9781860468087ISBN:186046808X
Description: Good. The previous owner's name is written on the first end page Our aim is to create value for our customers through the provision of low cost, affordable products and an overall satisfying buying experience. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9781860468087ISBN:186046808X
Description: Acceptable. Bumping to corners Bumping to edges. Internally Clean Tanning to page ends A usable copy. Please note that this book will show signs of wear and will have been extensively read but all pages will be in tact with it's binding secure unless stated. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9781860468087ISBN:186046808X
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: random house
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780099453840ISBN:0099453843
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9781860467561ISBN:1860467563
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9781860467561ISBN:1860467563
Description: Good. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 19/10/2000
ISBN-13:9781860468087ISBN:186046808X
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 19/10/2000
ISBN-13:9781860468087ISBN:186046808X
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 05/09/2002
ISBN-13:9780099445227ISBN:0099445220
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Harvill Press
Date Published: 19/10/2000
ISBN-13:9781860468087ISBN:186046808X
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 05/09/2002
ISBN-13:9780099445227ISBN:0099445220
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 05/09/2002
ISBN-13:9780099445227ISBN:0099445220
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: VINTAGE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780099535270ISBN:0099535270
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 304 pages. One frozen january morning at 5 am, inspector wallander responds to what he believes is a routine call out. when he reaches the isolated farmhouse he discovers a bloodbath. an old man has been tortured and beaten to death, his wife lies barely alive beside his shattered body, both victims of a violence beyond reason. map (Paperback) read more
"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."
"Set in a small town in Sweden, this book is about police inspector Kurt Wallander. Wallander is a middle-aged man whose wife has recently left him, and is estranged from his daughter. He visits his elderly, frequently confused father and develops an interest in a newly arrived prosecutor who is married with children. The story is solid, and the police investigation is detailed and convincing. Wallender is often miserable being alone and is heading toward alcoholism. I really liked the character of Rhyberg, the steady second-man to Wallander. I'll have to see if he is in subsequent books in the series. Although I was often taken out of the story due to the awkwardness of the translation, I really enjoyed this novel and think it was well-written. I cared about the characters and followed the murder investigation right along with the police officers. Three and a half stars."
"I became interested in the Wallander mysteries after seeing the 3 PBS movie adaptations starring Kenneth Branaugh. Those films did not include this story, but I thought starting at the beginning made sense.
There were many aspects of Wallander's character which I did not expect. He drinks too much, barely eats and eats junk whe he does to the point of upsetting his stomach regularly. He is forgetful and disorganized. And, the style of police work depicted seems very inefficent and unlike the police dramas I am used to. Perhaps, it is a more realistic view of police work than the solved in an hour type of stories I am used to.
The depiction of Sweden was also not as I expected. I thought of it as a very tolerant country, but it was shown to have issues with public views of their immigration policies and racism stemming from people dissatisfaction with those policies.
Overall, I enjoyed the insights into another culture and place , as well as another time since this novel is nearly 20 years old now. I intend to continue reading the series and expect Wallander's character to evolve over time and become a more focussed person, as in this novel he is adjusting, almost recovering, from his wife leaving him. I think that is the source of a lot of his mental fog."
"During one of my periodic efforts to prove to myself that I'm not one of The Great Unwashed, I watched PBS's Masterpiece Mystery series featuring the Swedish detective Kurt Wallander as played by Kenneth Branagh. (Yes, it had English actors playing Swedes and was filmed in Sweden. Just go with it.) I liked it quite a bit and since I also loved the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I decided to read some more about these murderous Swedes. And now I'm really hooked.
Written in 1990, this book introduced Wallander as a police detective in a backwater town in Sweden. When an elderly couple are brutally assualted and murdered in their rural home in an apparently motiveless crime, the initial clues make some citizens think that someone in the flood of immigrants seeking asylum following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe is responsible. A wave of anti-immigrant violence and hysteria is on the verge of being unleashed.
Wallander is having enough trouble dealing with his messy personal life. His marriage has just failed, his emotionally troubled teenage daughter flits in and out of his life, and his estranged father is showing signs of dementia. The strain of balancing his increasingly unmanageable personal life and his police work are starting to take a serious toll on him. In addition, he's constantly worried about the new wave of crime and violence he's noticed rising in Sweden.
Wallander is a great sort of every-man detective. Not brilliant in a Sherlock Holmes or Columbo kind of way, and definately not built for leaping into action against the bad guys, Wallander just comes in and attacks the tasks he thinks he needs to complete to solve the crime and get his life under control. Even though he doesn't manage to get through the list most days and experiences numerous setbacks, he just starts over again the next morning even if doesn't really feel like trying. Despite his frustrations with his own shortcomings and the government bureaucracy, Wallander manages to make progress with his steady two-steps-forward/ one-step-back method.
Good writing with an intriguing crime and a very relateable main character made this an interesting read. I'll be checking out more of the Wallander books."
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