Well, I turned the pages easily enough, but I felt there was a lot that simply didn't ring true in this story. Linda, Wallander's daughter, is about to become a police officer - she's completed her training, but she's not part of the force yet. When she becomes entangled in her friend's disappearance, and later, in the fall-out from an extreme religious movement, she seems to become part of the investigation with no trouble at all. Really? And with her father working from the same department? And those re-established friendships withe her school friends. Nah, I don't think so. Linda herself is a pretty unpleasant, self-centred piece of goods. The plot itself is quite complex, but quite involving too, so I was happy enough to read through to the end. But I won't be picking up another book with Linda Wallander centre-stage. ( )

Antes de que hiele
Henning Mankell
Publicado: 2002 | 452 páginas
Novela Policial
Serie: Inspector Wallander #10 /s6XScfRwj_G4

En 1978, en la localidad de Jonestown (Guyana), murieron todos los seguidores de una secta, liderada por un hombre llamado Jim Jones, en lo que parecía un suicidio colectivo; la noticia dio la vuelta al mundo en las primeras planas de todos los periódicos. En el año 2001, cuando ese terrible suceso ya ha caído en el olvido, Linda, la hija de Kurt Wallander, regresa a Ystad para, en unos días, iniciar su trabajo en la policía. Al tiempo que empiezan las desavenencias con su padre, Linda se integra en la vida cotidiana de Ystad y reanuda sus viejas amistades con dos jóvenes, Anna y Zebran. De pronto, Anna desaparece misteriosamente. Poco después, en los bosques de los alrededores de Ystad, Linda, junto a su padre, hace un descubrimiento aterrador: una cabeza de mujer, degollada, y dos manos unidas, seccionadas; del resto del cuerpo no hay el menor rastro. Y Anna sigue sin aparecer. Es el comienzo de un nuevo y trepidante caso al que se enfrentarán juntos Kurt Wallander y su hija Linda, quien, en el curso de la investigación, conocerá al agente Stefan Lindman (el protagonista de «El retorno del profesor de baile»), que le causará muy buena impresión.

Sneaky dense read with the point of view being from daughter Linda instead of Kurt Wallander. Smooth character intros that were deep enough and a Linda Wallander is described in a fuller if more eccentric and intense character. The story was smooth and everything fit. Though it worked, like numerous writers, Mankell needed an uber villain. Kurt the father seemed more of a caricature at times and Linda just kept making stupid moves in the field. A hard to put down sort of read. ( )

Nostalgia. Terminando una de mis series preferidas ( )

"Prima del gelo, o prima che geli? Qual è la locuzione corretta?"

Forse il più bel libro della serie Wallander, con l'ingresso della figlia Linda in polizia.
Il racconto delle indagini si intreccia con la vita privata, e le indagini e la vita privata di Linda e delle sue amiche, Anna Westin e Zeba, detta Zebra, si intrecciano pure tra loro. Trama magistralmente narrata da uno dei più grandi scrittori del nostro tempo.
( )