My dad is a big Henning Mankell fan and after I finished reading Steig Larsson, he recommended that I move onto Mankell with his Wallander character. I had heard a lot of good things about Mankell but until now, Swedish crime fiction didn't sound that desirable. Thank Steig Larsson for changing my mind on that one!

Wallander is called to a remote farmhouse after the bodies of a husband and wife are found brutally murdered. The wife survives for only a short while but she manages to gasp out the word "foreign" before dying. This makes Wallander and his colleagues believe that one of the local asylum seekers might be behind it (the book is set in 1990 so no EU then) and when the public find out, there is a violent backlash against the refugee processing centres in the area.

Wallander has to find out who murdered the farmer and his wife, while at the same time, hold his own collapsing personal life together. His wife has left him and his mentally unstable daughter never comes to visit.

The book is a little dated (as I said, it is set in 1990 so no computers, no internet, Wallander uses a car phone(!)) but it is still a nice little crime story to get your teeth into. I will definately be checking out the other Wallander novels to see if they can improve on this one. ( )

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. ( )

I really enjoyed this first book in the Kurt Wallender series—a very real detective dealing with an intriguing murder. Wallender came across as completely human—nabbed for drunk driving, struggling with a separation from his wife, unsure how to deal with his daughter. I also liked the social commentary as Wallender contemplated the changes happening in Swedish society. ( )

I blame the book Well of Lost Plots for not being into this short tale. In Well of Lost Plots the stereotypical divorced, drinking, insomniac detective is much mocked. The lead character in this book fits the bill. Perhaps when I have distanced myself from the other book I will be able to return and enjoy this one. ( )

Picked this one up on the strength of some very good buzz here on LibraryThing. (And, yes, if you all jumped off a cliff, I'd probably follow you all happily, especially if you were recommending books on your way down.) This is the first Inspector Kurt Wallander mystery.

One bleak January morning in a rural area of Sweden, an elderly farmer and his wife are brutally beaten, leaving him dead, while she dies in hospital a short while later, muttering one word: foreign.

Cue one helluva lot of racial tension in what I'd always seen as a very nice, gentle, peaceful country. Goes to show what I know. (And am I the only one who thinks that Henning Mankell must be simply loathed by the Swedish Tourism Board, or their equivalent?)

On a number of levels, this reminded me of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Brutal murders, racism, Swedish, bizarre level of details. I always thought maybe it was something about the translation with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but now I think it's something intrinsic to Swedish crime. I'm not complaining, however, both have been excellent reads.

The crime is brutal; our "hero" is a policeman who has managed to ruin his relationship with his father, his daughter, and his wife and is sliding into ruin and alcoholism; politics plays a major role in the police force; and far too much junk food is consumed.

I'm sure it's all cliched, but I lapped it all up, whinged when I was dragged away from it, and was left wanting more at the end. (I have book two - The Dogs of Riga - perched upstairs on Mt TBR as I type.) ( )