La Falsa pista (original 1995; edition 2001)

Wallander tracks down a serial killer. The same great characters, great plot, and brooding Scandinavian atmosphere--even though this takes place in the summertime! On to the next Wallander mystery . . . ( )

This book was again a page turner. How Mankell does it, I don't know, but from the 5th or 6th page I read I was hooked. If I hadn't had to sleep, I wouldn't have...

Two different events (a young girl burning herself in a field before his eyes) and the murder of a former politician ask all Wallanders attention. At first the team decides to give more attention to the murder, since there are no leads whatsoever to solve the other case.

While Wallander starts investigating, new murders take place and they are all soemhow conected. The investigators just can't seem to find the connection.
And somewhere during there search I had the urge to shout at him: look better, think harder, it is not that difficult!!! Completely forgetting, that the reader gets to follow the murderer's path too. Very impressive how Mankell got me into the story in a way that I started participating... Of course I will not tell how it ends, it would ruin the fun for all of you that haven't read it yet and are planning to. There's something else I can say though:

What I like most about this novel, and most others about Wallander, is his 'simplicity' (well, not really a good word, I just can't seem to find another that means about the same as 'eenvoud'.) He's just an ordinary man, a very good investigator, has fears, mistakes, gets tired, feels guilty and all these feelings and emotions are mixed with the investigation, in the interactions with his team and in the social life he is trying to have too.

So besides the good description of the work of a Swedish police team , for me it is the Wallander person that I love very much. ( )

My review of this book you find under the Dutch version.
I liked it so much, that I wanted to send a more accessable copy (i.e. in English) into the world through BookCrossing. And it has started its journey a while ago.

Excellent, complex, well-paced mystery with great characters and beautiful settings.

Very readable! ( )

In which there is an ax-murderer -- the stuff of horror stories. I thought this Wallander particularly good, as it showed aspects of investigation and the criminal mind that often are glossed over on those ever famous TV shows. Someone's committing horrific murders, but because Mankell takes the reader into the murderer's mind, we can see he actually is doing this out of love; he thinks he is doing something to help someone. The tedium of putting together the tiniest of clues and hunches is well portrayed (without actually being tedious to the reader.) And then there's the personal interactions: Wallander's growing relationship with his daughter, and with his sweetheart, Biba (once again, entirely by phone, since she lives elsewhere). But the one that clenched its fist around my heart is the relationship with Wallander and his father, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. At one point, in a discussion with a colleague, comes the comment that you never can escape your parents -- though at some point in time, the relationship switches, and you parent them. So very true. And I hope that when the time comes for me, I'm not a troublesome child to my own offspring. ( )