Faceless Killers (Kurt Wallander Series #1)

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More About This Book

Overview

First in the Kurt Wallander series.

It was a senselessly violent crime: on a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse an elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death, and his wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. And as if this didn’t present enough problems for the Ystad police Inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman’s last word is foreign, leaving the police the one tangible clue they have–and in the process, the match that could inflame Sweden’s already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.

Unlike the situation with his ex-wife, his estranged daughter, or the beautiful but married young prosecuter who has peaked his interest, in this case, Wallander finds a problem he can handle. He quickly becomes obsessed with solving the crime before the already tense situation explodes, but soon comes to realize that it will require all his reserves of energy and dedication to solve.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
In his first appearance in English, Swedish bestselling author Mankell combines thriller-quality entertainment with a depiction of anti-foreigner prejudice in Sweden, painted here as a very chilly place indeed. Since his wife walked out on him, Kurt Wallender, a middle-aged cop in the small town of Lenarp, has drowned his sorrows in opera and far too much liquor. Such consolations can't help him absorb the scene at the Lovgren farm, where elderly Johannes Lovgren has been brutally beaten and stabbed to death and where his wife, Maria, is found barely alive with a noose around her neck. Rydberg, a police force old-timer, says the noose's unusual knot and the word foreigner, which Maria uttered before she died, are important. Wallender puts those clues on the back burner when he learns that Johannes, ostensibly a simple farmer, had a secret life involving wealth and connections unknown to his wife. However, a leak to the press complicates the investigation by arousing anti-immigrant feelings, some of which are expressed in anonymous threats. Mankell is clearly a skilled writer, and his portrait of Wallender (who periodically slides beneath respectability) is effective. But he provides essential information only at the last minute, which makes the solution feel more like an appendix than a conclusion. Also, American readers may find odd Mankell's bundling of his upright anti-racism message with broad notions of what constitutes acceptable social control. (Mar.)
Library Journal
This brilliant U.S. debut is the first book in a Swedish mystery series. An elderly couple is murdered on an isolated farm after being tortured brutally. The woman's last word, "foreign," unleashes an onslaught of antirefugee sentiment that Police Inspector Kurt Wallender tries to quell. Then the cold-blooded murder of a Somali refugee entangles the inspector further as he tries to solve that related crime as well. Meanwhile, he sloshes through the detritus of his own dsyfunctional life, trying to reconnect with his wife, who's left him; his daughter, who refuses to see him; and his father, who is slipping toward senility. The author goes well beyond the narrow police procedural in creating a full-bodied Wallender and in casting light on the refugee problem in contemporary Swedish society. Wallender is reminiscent of Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford in his low-key, thoughtful performance.
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Who would so savagely kill an elderly farming couple in the Swedish town of Lenarp—the husband gruesomely tortured, the wife slowly strangled with a noose tied in an unusual knot—and then step out to the couple's barn to feed their horse? Inspector Kurt Wallander, battling midlife crisis—his estranged daughter has rarely called him since she lit out from home; his estranged wife greets him by telling him how much weight he's put on—would love to have the leisure to speculate about the identity of the killers, described only by the dying Maria Lövgren as "foreign." As acting chief of the Ystad police, though, he's got more urgent business on his hands: a series of xenophobic phone calls ("You now have three days to make up for shielding foreign criminals. . . . Or else we'll take over") from somebody who's willing to set fire to a refugee camp barracks and gun down a visiting Somali to show how serious he is. Surprised by the news that Johannes Lövgren was not exactly the colorless chap he appeared, Wallander despairs of finding enough time or energy to kindle a romance with deputy D.A. Anette Brolin, who's married to boot. But how long will it take his plunge into ethnic hatred to give him the answers he needs?

Though "the last thing Kurt Wallander felt like was a laughing policeman," fans of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö will feel right at home in this first (1991) of Mankell's five Wallander novels, right down to the laconic paragraphing. Readers who think of Sweden as snow-white are in for a surprise.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781400031573
  • Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 1/14/2003
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 288
  • Sales rank: 66,447
  • Series: Kurt Wallander Series , #1
  • Product dimensions: 5.17 (w) x 8.00 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author

Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell

Internationally acclaimed author Henning Mankell has written eight novels and a collection of short stories featuring Kurt Wallander. The books have been published in thirty-three countries and consistently top the bestseller lists in Europe, receiving major literary prizes (including Great Britain’s Gold Dagger in 2000) and generating numerous international film and television adaptations. He has also published many other novels for children, young people, and adults, and is one of Sweden’s most frequently performed dramatists. He has spent many years in Africa, where a number of his novels are set. Born in 1948, Mankell grew up in the Swedish village of Sveg. He now divides his time between Sweden and Maputo, Mozambique, where he works as a director at Teatro Avenida.

Biography

Henning Mankell was born in Stockholm in 1948. He is the author of many works of fiction, including the nine novels in the Kurt Wallander series. He has worked as an actor, theatre director, and manager in Sweden and in Mozambique -- where he is now head of the Teatro Avenida in Maputo.

Author biography courtesy of The Random House Group.

    1. Hometown:
      Mozambique, Africa
    1. Date of Birth:
      February 3, 1948
    2. Place of Birth:
      Stockholm, Sweden
    1. Education:
      Folkskolan Elementary Shool, Sveg; Högre Allmäna Läroverket, Borås

Table of Contents

Introduction

“An exquisite novel of mesmerizing depth and suspense.” —Los Angeles Times

The introduction, discussion questions, author biography, and suggested reading list that follow are designed to enhance your group’s reading of Swedish novelist Henning Mankell’s brilliant mystery, Faceless Killers.

Foreward

1. In what ways is Faceless Killers surprising? What is unusual about its crimes and the manner in which they are solved? Why would Henning Mankell choose to make the novel about two apparently disconnected crimes, one motivated by greed and another by racial hatred? How do you think the refugees are portrayed? And why?

2. Rydberg describes the crime scene as being so grisly it was “like an American movie” [p. 21]. What does this comment suggest about the relationship between representations of violence for purposes of entertainment and real violence? What does it suggest about the differences between Sweden and America?

3. In what ways do the setting, an isolated area of rural Sweden, and the story’s first victims, an elderly couple, make the murders seem especially horrifying?

4. Before a press conference, Wallander has an attack of self-doubt. “I’m searching for the slayers of the dead,” he says, “and can’t even pay attention to the living” [p. 97]. What aspects of his life is he neglecting? Why does Henning Mankell devote so much of the novel to Wallander’s personal life: his strained relationships with his father, his daughter, and his soon to be ex-wife? What does this personal dimension add to the novel?

5. Wallander wonders why “almost every policeman was divorced. Why their wives left them. Sometimes, when he read a crime novel, he discovered with a sigh things were just as bad in fiction. Policemen were divorced. That’s all there was to it” [p. 27]. What is it about being a cop that would make marriage unsustainable? How does Wallander feel about his estrangedwife? What do their interactions reveal about why the marriage failed?

6. Within moments of meeting Ellen Magnusson, Wallander suddenly realizes that she is “the mystery woman with whom Johannes Lövgren had had a child. Wallander knew it without knowing how he knew” [p. 248]. To what extent is this kind of intuition responsible for solving crimes in Faceless Killers? Where else does a hunch or sudden insight play a role in leading the detectives in the right direction? How does it help him solve the murder of the Somali refugee?

7. Confronted by a case he cannot solve, Wallander is plunged into an existential crisis: “Somewhere in the dark a vast meaninglessness was beckoning. A sneering face that laughed scornfully at every attempt he made to manage his life” [p. 80]. In what way is Faceless Killers, and perhaps every mystery novel, about the need to assign meaning to a world that can appear random, chaotic, and meaningless? How does solving a crime restore, if only briefly, order to the world?

8. Much of Faceless Killers is concerned with the controversies surrounding refugees, asylum-seekers, and open borders in Sweden. What is Wallander’s attitude toward these issues? What does the novel, as a whole, seem to suggest about the tensions between Sweden’s liberal immigration policies and its growing racial tensions? How do Wallander’s erotic dreams about a black woman, and his daughter’s relationship with a black man, fit into this context?

9. What specifics does the novel reveal about how police investigations are conducted? About the strained relations between the police, the press, and the government? About the connection between sudden insight and the dogged search for clues?

10. How important is Wallander’s relationship with Rydberg? What does Rydberg add both to the investigation and to the novel?

11. Wallander finds himself frequently knocked to the ground during the course of his investigations, nearly loses his job, gets slapped in the face, and refers to himself as both a “dubious cop” and a “pathetic cop.” When a fellow officer calls him “the hero of the day,” Wallander replies: “Piss off” [p. 107]. Is Wallander a hero? If so, how do his flaws and foibles fit into his heroism?

12. Looking back over the investigation with Rydberg, Wallander says, “I made a lot of mistakes,” to which his partner replies, “You’re a good policeman. . . . You never gave up. You wanted to catch whoever committed those murders in Lunnarp. That’s the important thing” [p. 279]. What were Wallander’s mistakes? Why did he make them? Is Rydberg right in suggesting that perseverance and will are more important than perfect police work?

13. At the very end of Faceless Killers, as Kurt Wallander reflects on the “senseless violence” he has seen, he thinks about “the new era, which demanded a different kind of policeman. We’re living in the age of the noose. . . . Fear will be on the rise” [p. 280]. What does Wallander mean by “the age of the noose”? What changes and new fears does he envision? Have these fears been validated by the events of the decade since the book was first published?

14. Most Americans have a rather idyllic view of life in Sweden. In what ways does Faceless Killers contradict that view? Is it disconcerting to learn that Sweden suffers many of the same problems—drugs, crime, racism—that beset the United States?

Reading Group Guide

“An exquisite novel of mesmerizing depth and suspense.” —Los Angeles Times

The introduction, discussion questions, author biography, and suggested reading list that follow are designed to enhance your group’s reading of Swedish novelist Henning Mankell’s brilliant mystery, Faceless Killers.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 34 )

Rating Distribution

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(10)

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(15)

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(1)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 34 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 1, 2005

    A great beginning to a series

    If you're tired of all the focus on forensic evidence and are interested in some old-fashioned detective work, this will be the book for you. The murder is gruesome and the detective, Kurt Wallender, wants badly to solve it. But, the thing that makes this book so good is the author's ability to take you inside Wallender's life. He has many of the issues of middle-aged people - financial problems, divorce, concerns for his child and his father. These all compete for his time and the author does a fabulous job of pacing the book so you really get the idea of what it takes to solve a major crime while living a normal, albeit stressful, life.

    5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 6, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Realistic murder mystery

    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.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 17, 2011

    Borrow It Instead of Buying It

    A really disappointing audiobook. I have discovered that I don't really care for Dick Hill's narration of the book. Of course, the real problem is the story itself. Kurt Wallander isn't a very sympathetic character, if you ask me. It was hard to feel much for him as he worked his way through the story. And that's how you'll feel, too. Like it was work getting to the end of this book.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 26, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Not my favorite

    The overall progression of the book was very slow and it didn't have much depth and suspense.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 23, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    9781400031528 9780312426385

    Great series-Read them all!

    I gave this one 5 stars, although at the time I read it I may have given it 4. The entire series is wonderful and deserves a 5. Yes, this is a police crime mystery and the plot is a good one, but the main reason I enjoy these books is the character, Wallander. He is so interesting, 3 dimensional, flawed, funny, accessible, etc. You really end up caring about him, wanting to know more and hoping the book won't end. I love the setting, which I was not familiar with. Enjoy!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 21, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

    I grabbed this book wanting a good read on a mystery. I guess I could say I was 75% satisfied. The opening and ending chapters were excellent. The beginning really got me hooked and the end was a surprise. It was what was in the middle that made me a little impatient. The story line would move away from the mystery and talk about Kurt Wallander's, the detective, personal and day-to-day life. Interesting character all in all. But the mystery took a bit too long to finally fold out.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 12, 2005

    Chilling crime in a cold climate

    An elderly couple are brutally murdered on a farm in the middle of the night. Inspector Kurt Wallander investigates the murder. His investigation upturns racist violence, long-hidden family secrets and reveals much about Wallander himself. In addition to police work, Wallander has his hands full with his elderly father, estranged wife and daughter, and a new prosecutor. Having grown bored with Patricia Cornwell I was looking for a new crime book to sink my teeth into. While Faceless Killers didn¿t thrill me the same way as my first Cornwell, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly appreciated the way it was more about old-fashioned police work, rather than more hi-tech or forensic based crime novels.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 26, 2011

    Great debut for Wallander series! review by Patti Phillips

    The vicious murder of a man and the beating of his wife at an isolated farmhouse shocks even Kurt Wallander, a seasoned detective. An elderly neighbor discovers the horrific scene and says they were a typical old couple, like he and his wife. They had socialized for forty years, sharing coffee every day. There was no reason to kill the man and leave the wife to die. There was no money to steal. And what enemies could the quiet couple possibly have had? But, as any mystery reader knows, there's more to the story and as the investigation unfolds, a completely different view of the pair evolves. Astounding secrets are revealed, but are they enough to cause the murders? When another senseless death occurs, the police investigate possible ties between the cases. Were the killings in either case racially motivated? If mere robbery was involved, why were the deaths so violent? "Faceless Killers" was first published in Sweden in 1991, at a time when anti-immigrant feeling raged as thousands of people arrived illegally on Swedish shores, sapping government resources. This actual socially and politically charged atmosphere is the backdrop for the first book in the Kurt Wallander series. Wallander has strong opinions about how the immigration issue in Sweden is handled, and constantly battles officials who flatly deny anything is amiss with the obviously faulty system. Wallander is not a precise, logical detective who slices through red herrings with aplomb. He is disdainful of the press, chases leads that go nowhere, and relies heavily on his co-workers for solutions. He is separated from his wife, estranged from his daughter, has a father approaching senility, drinks too much, and wonders why his personal life changed while he was paying attention to murder. But, he is dogged in his pursuit of the truth. He needs to find out why these people were killed, no matter whom is upset in the process. He goes over the evidence again and again, searching for what he missed. Wallander might not uncover the truth right away, but make no mistake, he uncovers it. Masterpiece Theatre, the Public Television show, recently aired episodes based on the Wallander character, perfectly played by Kenneth Branagh, who won several British awards for both his performance and his producing. Rated R for gritty realism, the murders, and mature themes.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted April 3, 2011

    Boring... Don't bother wasting your time ... there are too many other good books

    Dull dull dull. Packs all the excitement of Swedish snow drift. A couple of old people are brutally murdered and then ... nothing. Page after page after page and nothing happens ... until the last few pages when slow-witted detective Wallander solves it purely by accident because he's too dumb to figure it out earlier. This barely makes it as a short story. You can ignore Mankell. Life is too short to waste on this terrible mystery writer. There are so many other much better writers.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 22, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    great story

    so burial

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted May 10, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Rushed to Ending

    "Faceless Killers" is interesting because it gives a small insight into Swedish life, which I feel is its main appeal. Character development is the key to his novel, especially with Wallander (the main character) and Rydberg (his trusted second). Even the police techniques seem spot on. However, the story has too much going on. There are two murders, the main story and a secondary story. I feel that Mankell added the second one, concerning the growing problem of immigrants in Sweden. It doesn't really have anything to do with the first (some may disagree) and seems to be added as a social commentary by the author. Next, Wallander goes through a lot of suspects, and they always seem to be the culprits, until one last bit of information clears them. The primary murder is solved much too quickly with a solution from left field.

    I may pick up the next book in the series to see if there is an improvement or if this is Mankell's writing style.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 13, 2011

    Exciting mystery

    Interesting & exciting mystery with many twists in plot!!!

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  • Posted July 26, 2010

    A Bit Dry

    Although I appreciate the fact that it portrays what a real life investigation would look like, I still found it a bit dry. Each lead was another dead end...I just kept hoping something would happen somtime. The book was short, but it took me a while to get through...didn't grab me like other books. I highly recommend the Steig Larsson series.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 24, 2010

    The first Wallander makes you want more.

    Henning Mankell is one of the great Scandanavian writers of crime fiction, famous for his Inspector Wallander mysteries. "Faceless Killers" is a well written introduction to Wallander who, like many protagonists in this genre, are divorced, have an ongoing battle with alcohol, but are honorable men about whom one wants to know more. Luckily, there are many more books in the series.

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  • Posted March 20, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780345501127 9780752864518 9780399156236 9780380788750 9780143036425

    Excellent book

    I've read literally hundreds of detective novels, police procedurals and the like and am always on the lookout for good writers. In Mankell I have found one. I was a bit dubious that a translation from the Swedish would be that interesting given both context and the difficulty in translation. Mankell's prose survived and is just excellent. The characters are well developed, the dialog is well done and the plot is great. I love the sparse prose style. I intend to buy the series and look forward to many hours of enjoyment. A keeper for the permanent library.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 26, 2011

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    Posted January 28, 2011

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    Posted February 8, 2010

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    Posted October 24, 2010

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    Posted February 16, 2010

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