The White Lioness (Kurt Wallander Series #3)

by Henning Mankell

Overview

The mystery thriller series that inspired the Netflix crime drama Young Wallander • From the dean of Scandinavian noir, the third riveting installment in the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Kurt Wallander series.

The execution-style murder of a Swedish housewife looks like a simple case even though there is no obvious suspect. But then Wallander learns of a determined stalker, and soon enough, the cops catch up with him. But when his alibi turns out to be airtight, they realize that what seemed a simple crime of passion is actually far more complex—and dangerous. The search for the truth behind the killing eventually uncovers an assassination plot, and Wallander soon finds himself in a tangle with both the secret police and a ruthless foreign agent. Combining compelling insights into the sinister side of modern life with a riveting tale of international intrigue, The White Lioness keeps you on the knife-edge of suspense.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400031559
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/13/2003
Series:	Kurt Wallander Series , #3
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	137,258
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Henning Mankell is the internatinally acclaimed, bestselling author of the Kurt Wallander novels.  Mankell's novels have been translated into forty-five languages and have sold more than forty million copies worldwide. He was the first winner of the Ripper Award and also received the Glass Key and the Crime Writers’ Association Golden Dagger, among other awards. His Kurt Wallander mysteries have been adapted into a PBS television series starring Kenneth Branagh. During his life, Mankell divided his time between Sweden and Mozambique, where he was artistic director of the Teatro Avenida in Maputo. He died in 2015.

Hometown:

Mozambique, Africa

Date of Birth:

February 3, 1948

Place of Birth:

Stockholm, Sweden

Education:

Folkskolan Elementary Shool, Sveg; Högre Allmäna Läroverket, Borås

Editorial Reviews

A first-class thriller.” —Margo Jefferson, The New York Times Book Review

“It is Wallander’s voice . . . that captures us.” —New York Times Book Review

“Mankell joins the worthy ranks of such past masters as Georges Simenon [and] Nicholas Freeling.” —The Wall Street Journal

“It is not hard to see why the Wallander books have made a particular impact.” —Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher

Like his countrymen Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, Mankell writes mysteries that connect crimes in Sweden to the rest of the world. Faceless Killers (1997), the first of his books about provincial police inspector Kurt Wallender to appear here, involved Turkish immigrants and Eastern European villains. This novel, written in 1993, links the murder of a real estate agent in Wallender's town of Ystad to South Africa, where Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison, and to Russia, where the KGB is busy planning Mandela's fate. Wallender is a classically dour but dedicated policeman whose progress through his cases is a combination of hard slogging and lucky breaks. But several factors render this effort less compelling than its predecessor. The first is the Day of the Jackal syndrome: we know that Mandela wasn't killed by KGB agents or white Afrikaner terrorists, and that knowledge makes the suspense writer's job even harder. Second is the book's length--560 pages is a long haul, even with three exotic settings and dozens of important characters. Third might be Thompson's translation, which--unlike Steven T. Murray's work on Faceless Killers--often seems excessively deadpan. But Wallender is still a solid character, whose strengths and weaknesses are utterly credible, and Mankell (who now lives in Mozambique) knows how to make the most of his virtues. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The second in a series chronicling the adventures of Sweden's Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander (Faceless Killers, 1997), and a Viking-sized saga it has grown to be. An ordinary Swedish housewife suddenly disappears. Her neighbors, friends, husband, all are mystifiedþespecially since she led such an exemplary life. But sure enough, a few days later, she's found brutally murdered, her body stuffed into a well. There's no obvious suspect at first, but then Wallander learns of a stalkerþan excitable type whose interest in the attractive young woman was apparently not discouraged in the slightest by several firm admonitions to get lost. Now that she's dead, he can't be found in his usual haunts. The cops go after him, fully confident that it's a crime of passion they're dealing with, to be resolved only once the heavy-breather is taken into custody. Soon enough, they do catch himþcatch up with him, actually, since it turns out that he's only been away on holiday. He also has an alibi, one so iron-clad that Wallander has no choice but to write him off as a suspect. And so, what had seemed simple becomes complex and murky. Moreover, the international ramifications of the case just won't quit. Unexpectedly and uncomfortably, Wallander finds himself locked into an unsettling competition with the apartheid South Africa's secret policeþthe story is set in 1993þand also pitted against an ex-KGB agent. Wallander personifies the charmingly melancholy Scandinavian of lore and tradition. But 560 pages of this would hobble the pace, and dim the charisma, of just about any protagonist.

Kirkus Reviews

Henning Mankell is a master of using the bleak landscape of Ystad, Sweden, to illuminate the temperament of his depressed and cautious detective, Kurt Wallander. Here Wallander is confronted with the murder, execution style and with no apparent motive, of a young realtor and pillar of the Methodist church. Wallander soon finds himself in a confusing tangle involving a ruthless ex-KGB agent and racist South Africans determined to prolong Afrikaner rule. Dick Hill translates Mankell's minimalist narrative style without flashiness and generates tension at the same time, an impressive feat. Hill seamlessly switches viewpoints and accents among Swedish, Russian, and South African characters with absolute believability, despite the clunky plot. A.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 07 - AudioFile