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Henning Mankell (1948–2015)

Author of Faceless Killers

150+ Works 48,849 Members 1,457 Reviews 175 Favorited

About the Author

Henning Mankell was born in Stockholm, Sweden on February 3, 1948. He left secondary school at the age of 16 and worked as a merchant seaman. While working as a stagehand, he wrote his first play, The Amusement Park. His first novel, The Stone Blaster, was released in 1973. His other works included show more The Prison Colony that Disappeared, Daisy Sisters, The Eye of the Leopard, The Man from Beijing, Secrets in the Fire, The Chronicler of the Wind, Depths, and I Die, But My Memory Lives On. He also wrote the Kurt Wallander series, which have been adapted for film and television, and the Joel Gustafson Stories series. A Bridge to the Stars won the Rabén and Sjögren award for best children's book of the year. He was committed to the fight against AIDS. He helped build a village for orphaned children and devoted much of his spare time to his "memory books" project, where parents dying from AIDS are encouraged to record their life stories in words and pictures. He was also among the activists who were attacked and arrested by Israeli forces as they tried to sail to the Gaza strip with humanitarian supplies in June 2010. He died from cancer on October 5, 2015 at the age of 67. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Series

Works by Henning Mankell

Faceless Killers (1991) 5,262 copies
The Dogs of Riga (1992) 3,778 copies
The Fifth Woman (1996) 3,282 copies
The White Lioness (1993) 3,107 copies
Sidetracked (1995) 2,975 copies
The Man Who Smiled (1994) 2,944 copies
Firewall (1998) 2,897 copies
One Step Behind (1997) 2,858 copies
Before the Frost (2002) 2,559 copies
The Man from Beijing (2008) 2,418 copies
The Troubled Man (2009) 2,199 copies
Italian Shoes (2006) 1,407 copies
Kennedy's Brain (2005) 1,268 copies
Depths (2004) 1,039 copies
An Event in Autumn (2004) 920 copies
Chronicler of the Winds (2006) 670 copies
The Eye of the Leopard (1990) 596 copies
Tea-Bag (2001) 560 copies
A Treacherous Paradise (2013) 519 copies
Daniel (2000) 456 copies
After the Fire (2015) — Author — 384 copies
A Bridge to the Stars (1990) 325 copies
Secrets in the Fire (1992) 231 copies
When the Snow Fell (1996) 218 copies
Daisy Sisters (1982) 204 copies
Quicksand (2014) 200 copies
Shadows in the Twilight (1991) 190 copies
Labyrint (2000) 126 copies
The Rock Blaster (1973) 94 copies
Playing with Fire (2001) 70 copies
The Fury in the Fire (2005) 57 copies
The Cat Who Liked Rain (1992) 48 copies
Kadonneiden miesten metsä (1997) 16 copies
Sagan om Isidor (1984) 9 copies
Der Sandmaler: Roman (1974) 8 copies
Nattens dagar (1999) 8 copies
I sand och i lera (1999) 6 copies
Le roman de sofia (2011) 5 copies
Hugget & Sprickan (2002) 5 copies
Villspor ; Brannvegg (2013) 4 copies
Wallanders wereld (2004) 4 copies
Der Verrückte: Roman (2021) 4 copies
Der Unsichtbare Gegner (2009) 3 copies
Mankell (2012) 3 copies
Bilderrätsel (2009) 3 copies
Wallander 3 copies
Muž, ktorý sa usmieval (2013) 2 copies
Glebia (2017) 2 copies
Fyrir frostið (2008) 2 copies
Um Anjo Impuro (2015) 2 copies
Huzursuz Adam (2013) 2 copies
Pasado perfecto (2018) 2 copies
Eiskalt wie der Tod (2008) 2 copies
O krok vpredu (2016) 1 copy
Než přijde mráz (2013) 1 copy
Neviditeľný múr (2014) 1 copy
Usmievavý muž (2014) 1 copy
Sammu võrra maas (2012) 1 copy
mörderische Trilogie (2001) 1 copy
Talijanske cipele (2012) 1 copy
Omul din Beijing (2011) 1 copy
Ruzgarlara Soyleyen (2005) 1 copy
Mastermind 1 copy
Brannvegg ; Pyramiden (1998) 1 copy
The Pyramid [abridged] (2005) 1 copy
Grząskie piaski (2015) 1 copy
Hingura êvarê (2002) 1 copy
Vrazi bez tváre (2013) 1 copy
Ein Toter aus Afrika (2008) 1 copy
Tbres 1 copy
L'Homme sur la plage (2016) 1 copy
La Faille (2015) 1 copy

Associated Works

Tagged

20th century (158) Africa (300) audiobook (191) crime (2,127) crime fiction (1,428) crime novel (130) detective (779) detective fiction (140) ebook (346) fiction (3,314) Henning Mankell (177) Kindle (197) Krim (218) Kurt Wallander (934) literature (164) murder (321) mystery (3,169) noir (265) nordic noir (132) novel (483) police (247) police procedural (351) policier (229) read (394) Roman (370) Scandinavia (247) Scandinavian (140) Schweden (251) series (236) suspense (133) Sweden (2,680) Swedish (813) Swedish literature (496) thriller (910) to-read (1,216) translated (168) translation (170) unread (146) Wallander (898) Ystad (172)

Common Knowledge

Members

Discussions

Henning Mankell, RIP in All Writers Considered (October 2015)

Reviews

When Kurt Wallander and the Ystad police investigate the brutal murder of a local woman, they unexpectedly become embroiled in international politics. Wallander’s search for the murderer uncovers an assassination plot in South Africa, the result of post-apartheid unrest. The individuals planning the attack are using Sweden as their base. Wallander inexplicably decides he can handle this solo, and waves off most of the help he will later need. Meanwhile there are also developments in Kurt’s rather messed-up life. Fortunately Wallander’s colleagues remain alert and ready, bringing the mystery to an exciting if somewhat implausible end. This series is solid Scandi-crime that keeps me turning the pages.… (more)
½
 
Flagged
lauralkeet | 87 other reviews | Dec 1, 2023 |
Arenas movedizas
Henning Mankell
Publicado: 2014 | 298 páginas
Ensayo Filosofía Memorias

Una historia personal de insólita humanidad. Un Henning Mankell de carne y hueso. Arenas movedizas es, en cierta manera, un libro de memorias, pero muy peculiar. No hay sucesión temporal y el arranque es la enfermedad actual del autor y lo que su diagnóstico desencadenó en él: recuerdos distanciados en el tiempo y no necesariamente consecutivos, que Mankell relaciona de un modo u otro con las grandes preguntas del hombre: ¿qué somos?, ¿cómo nos enfrentamos a la muerte?, ¿de qué tenemos miedo?, ¿qué mundo dejaremos en herencia?, ¿en qué creemos, y por qué? Para responder a ellas, Mankell recurre a sucesos del pasado: un día en el colegio cuando era pequeño, una visita al Museo Británico, una lectura sobre la Isla de Pascua, la verdadera naturaleza de las arenas movedizas o el poder del hielo, la muerte de un niño mozambiqueño, visitas a Salamanca, a Mantua, a Buenos Aires, a Malta y a las ruinas de Hagar Qim... Con estas incursiones en el pasado surge un retrato, desde la infancia y la adolescencia hasta la madurez, del Mankell de carne y hueso, que examina su vida y, con ella, cuestiones que afectan a toda la humanidad.… (more)
 
Flagged
libreriarofer | 11 other reviews | Nov 14, 2023 |
A gripping crime novel that introduces us to Inspector Kurt Wallander, a brilliant but flawed detective that has to deal with a series of brutal murders and racism in his Swedish town. Wallander is a very relatable character, I like that he has not only strengths but weaknesses as well. His personal struggles add more depth to the story and the character, making him more than just a crime solver.

Faceless Killers is an excellent introduction to the Kurt Wallander series and a great read for fans of Scandinavian crime fiction.

Plot Summary from Bard AI

In the quiet town of Ystad, Sweden, Inspector Kurt Wallander is called to the scene of a gruesome double murder. An elderly couple, Johannes and Maria Lövgren, have been found brutally slain in their remote farmhouse. The only clue left behind is Maria's dying word, spoken in a foreign language.

Wallander's investigation quickly takes him into the murky depths of xenophobia and racism, as he uncovers a series of hate crimes targeting immigrants. He soon realizes that the Lövgrens' murder was not an isolated incident, but part of a larger, more sinister plot.

As Wallander delves deeper into the case, he finds himself facing not just a ruthless killer but also the prejudices and fears that fuel his crimes. He must confront his own biases and grapple with the complex social and political issues that lie at the heart of the case.
… (more)
 
Flagged
Aristocats | 199 other reviews | Nov 8, 2023 |
The Pyramid is a collection of five short stories featuring Kurt Wallander, Mankell's signature detective inspector. The stories are set at different points in Wallander's career, from his rookie year to the period just before the events of Faceless Killers, the first novel in the Wallander series. They provide insights into Wallander's development as a detective and his personal life, including his relationships with his father, daughter, and colleagues. Mankell wrote The Pyramid after completing the Wallander series.… (more)
½
 
Flagged
Aristocats | 53 other reviews | Nov 5, 2023 |

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Associated Authors

Laurie Thompson Translator
Anna Gibson Traduction, Translator
Giorgio Puleo Translator
Steven T. Murray Translator
Wolfgang Butt Translator, Übersetzer
Erik Gloßmann Übersetzer
Kari Bolstad Translator, Overs.
Paul Berf Translator
Edith Sybesma Translator
Philippe Bouquet Traduction
Cora Polet Translator
Markku Mannila Translator
Verena Reichel Translator
Anna Gibson Translator
Barbara Sirges Translator
Lisa Höfner Cover designer
Stephanie Weischer Cover designer
Ebba Segerberg Translator
Corry van Bree Translator
Roine Magnusson Photographer
Tiina Nunnally Translator
Agneta Ségol Traduction
Saul Reichlin Narrator
Marianne Enqvist Cover artist
Chip Kidd Cover designer
Marlaine Delargy Translator
Axel Milberg Sprecher

Statistics

Works
150
Also by
15
Members
48,849
Popularity
#319
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
1,457
ISBNs
2,665
Languages
32
Favorited
175

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