Rating: 
Summary: On a Midsummer Night
Review: On such a night, a group of students dresses up in 18th century costumes and goes to a private place in the forest to celebrate. Much later they are found murdered and there is not much of a trace to connect to this serial murder. Inspector Svedberg, who is on vacation, secretly investigates this case - and is shot dead. Inspector `kurt Wallander sure has his work cut out for him. Progress is at a snail's pace. Wallander is ready to give up in this atmosphere of despair. But he keeps going until he finally solves the case.A good book, although rather pessimistic.
Rating: 
Summary: OK but a little disappointing
Review: This is extremely readable stuff but perhaps a little lazy. If like me, you come to it after reading "Sidetracked" it's hard not to be struck by its being a bit, well, the same. Here we are again with a series of bizarre and senseless killings performed by someone decidedly not right in his head. Once again we get things from the murderer's perspective but in such a way that his full identity only becomes apparent slowly and a sense of mystery is preserved as Wallander and his colleagues relentlessly track him down. Once again - and here the deja vu encompasses "White Lioness" as well as "Sidetracked" - Mankell adds a little climactic tension by having the killer decide it would be a good idea to add Wallander himself to his list of victims but, even more than in these earlier books, his reason for doing so is left so murky and unclear that it just comes over as a rather unconvincing - and by now badly overused - contrivance to generate suspense. Then there are a couple of odd features of the killings that intrigue the reader and keep her turning the pages only for the rather diappointing denoument to offer no explanation for them at all beyond, hey, "Hey, he's a nutcase, what he does isn't supposed to make sense." Perhaps that's fair enough but it does seem something of a cop-out on Mankell's part. Don't be too badly put off. I seem to be in a fault-finding mood today. If, like me, you liked the earlier Wallender books, chances are, like me, you'll enjoy this one too. But here's betting that, like me, you think it far from his best.
Rating:
Summary: ONE STEP BEHIND
Review: This is my fourth Kurt Wallender mystery. I am now reading my fifth and last of Mankell's translated works: White Lioness. The story is full of twists and turns as you would normally expect of a well crafted mystery novel. What comes as a surprise in this as well as the other of Mankell's Wallender mysteries is the character development of Mankell's chief protagonist: Kurt Wallender. It is a real treat to read an effective combination of police procedural and character development. Mankell pays attention not only to the Wallender character but he also attends to the development of the other characters who appear in the books. In this book, there is a believable and particularly evil villain who challenges your imagination. The only part of the book that I did not like, had to do with the introduction of a new character, the prosecuting attorney, who distracts from the intent of the story. Mankell also captures the wonderful sensitivity of Sweden and often highlights those things about Swedish people which make them so people-centered. I recommend this book to you and look forward to the translation of more of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Lethal Skåne
Review: This is one of the better Wallander novels. The story begins with a typical Mankell opening - a killing with incomplete details. The tension builds as Wallander's team are increasingly aware of links with the death of a colleague killed in an apparently unrelated incident. The culmination builds to a crescendo as the killer gets very personal. Some of the details are totally unexplained even at the end of the book, but this does not spoil the overall quality of the writing. In spite of actually being a quiet rural area with a distinctive accent, Skåne comes over in the Wallander series as a lethal place to live. Wallander continues his decline in this book, now suffering from diabetes and angst over his dead father - he reminds me of both John Rebus(by Ian Rankin) and Martin Beck (Sjöwell/Wahlöö). Thoroughly recommended as an expose of aspects of contemporary Swedish society as well as a riveting police procedure novel.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Mystery from the Best Mystery Writer Today
Review: This is the best in Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series to date. While five of his mysteries have been translated, it is not necessary to read them in order. But anyone who begins with "One Step Behind" will surely want to double back to the previous four volumes. (Although only a real die-hard fan will enjoy "The White Lioness.")
Mankell is the best mystery writer writing today. Here's why:
1. The mystery itself is riveting, and the book revolves around that plot. We solve the crime with the team at the Ystad police station. There are no weird or eccentrically-contrived characters as in so many mysteries today. The writing is clean and controlled.
2. Every minor character, every cameo, is a perfect little portrait. There are no "flat" characters.
3. This is not the Sweden of clogs and girls with long blonde braids. This is a society in disintegration where the criminal element threatens to take over. Wallander's comments on the state of Swedish society today are right on target.
4. In sum, we care about Wallander and the characters who revolve around him in the police station and elsewhere. These people are real. They are our neighbors and friends-- people we know in the U.S. or wherever we live.
For a suspenseful mystery, no one is writing this well today. I am a 40-something woman. Today my friend, an 80-something man, said to me: I can never thank you enough for recommending "One Step Behind." I can't put it down!
That says it all.
Rating:
Summary: Glimpsed from the corner of one's eye.
Review: This novel is very reminiscent of Sjoewall and Wahloo's Martin Beck series. As was the case in THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN, Swedish police detective Kurt Wallander and his team are investigating the murder of one of their colleagues, Svedberg, a man they thought they knew, who turns out to be quite different than they ever imagined. Soon this cop-killing links up with the disappearance of three young people on Midsummer Eve. Believed to be off traveling in Europe, it becomes more and more likely that the three were murdered and that Svedberg had been on the trail of the killer. But why had Svedberg realized that the young people were dead and not missing? What did he know and decide to keep secret from his colleagues? Kurt Wallander, struggling with loneliness, alienation, and the onset of diabetes, tries to follow the trail left by his murdered colleague to unmask a clever killer before he strikes again. Unfortunately, Wallander is always one step behind, trying to make out the elusive clue that seems to lie just beyond the range of his vision, while the murders mount up. As usual, the course of the investigation is difficult and discouraging, and Wallander doubts his ability to get to the bottom of the mystery. Despite taking place at the end of summer, the gloom is almost impenetrable, but the story is so good it will keep you going to the end. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but predictable
Review: This was my first experience with the Wallander series and I looked forward to reading it after seeing the glowing reviews here. Although a translation, Mankell still comes through as an excellent writer and his characters, especially Wallander, have real depth. The story itself is ok, nothing out of the ordinary for a violence-numbed US reader. My complaint, and the reason I couldn't rate this book higher and am reluctant to read others in the series, is that I always felt "one step ahead" of the detectives. At a couple of points, it was like watching a bad horror movie where you want to shout, "no, don't go in there alone!" That kind of obvious deduction Wallander lacks in a couple of places in this book. Too bad, because the writing, characterizations and pacing are several steps above most detective fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but predictable
Review: This was my first experience with the Wallander series and I looked forward to reading it after seeing the glowing reviews here. Although a translation, Mankell still comes through as an excellent writer and his characters, especially Wallander, have real depth. The story itself is ok, nothing out of the ordinary for a violence-numbed US reader. My complaint, and the reason I couldn't rate this book higher and am reluctant to read others in the series, is that I always felt "one step ahead" of the detectives. At a couple of points, it was like watching a bad horror movie where you want to shout, "no, don't go in there alone!" That kind of obvious deduction Wallander lacks in a couple of places in this book. Too bad, because the writing, characterizations and pacing are several steps above most detective fiction.
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