Faceless Killers (Wallander #1)

by Henning Mankell

book data

1,417 ratings, 3.68 average rating, 270 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		16%
4		44%
3		30%
2		6%
1		1%

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published

April 20th 2003 by Harvill Press (first published 1997)

details

Paperback, 279 pages

characters

Kurt Wallander

setting

Ystad (Sweden)

literary awards

Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year (1991)

isbn

1860467563 (isbn13: 9781860467561)

description

If you remember with pleasure those dark and gloomy Martin Beck mysteries by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, you'll be glad to plunge into the first of He…more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2,018)

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Sep 05, 2007

LJ rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: contemporary_post_1945, mystery, police_procedural, sweden

Read in June, 2004

FACELESS KILLERS (Swedish Police Procedural)- G+
Henning Mankell – 7th in series
Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. English Translation, 2003 – Trade Paperback
Police Inspector Kurt Wallander is called to the scene of a particularly violent attack of an elderly couple on a small farm. The husband is dead but the wife, found with a noose around her neck, utters the work “foreign” before dying. Wallander becomes obsessed with solving the case before feelings against Sweden’s im...more

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2 comments

Oct 24, 2008

Peter H. Fogtdal rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Henning Mankell might be the most famous Scandinavian writer of crime novels in the US. May I humbly ask why? I can think of at least three Swedes and two Danes who are far, far superior. And let's not forget the Norwegians. Read Frederik Skagen for Christ's sake. I'm not sure he's been translated but he's brillant when it comes to the twisted mind of killers and rapists.

Actually, I don't like being hard on writer colleagues, but this book is simply not very good. The prose is flat,...more

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5 comments

Dec 20, 2007

Alissa rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Read in September, 2007

This was my introduction to Mankell. Reading Faceless Killers is an excellent way to dispell any myths about Sweden as a peaceful country where nothing bad happens. Not only is Mankell one of the greatest contemporary mystery/crime novel writers, he presents the dark side of modern Sweden that you wouldn't otherwise think about if you've never been. He's not afraid to describe murder scenes in the most detailed and bloody way possible, but read a couple of his novels and you may be desensitized....more

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1 comment

Feb 21, 2009

Atalanta16 rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: modern-mysteries

Read in March, 2009

I first learned about the Wallander series watching Kenneth Branaugh's made-for-television presentation. Faceless Killers is my first book and I have ordered the next two books in the series.

I am disappointed that amazon.com does not offer the series on the Kindle but understand the difficulties with foreign authors.

It's a good read, but I have to say that Wallander is far more interesting than the crimes he solves. Separated from his wife, estranged from his daughter a...more

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Feb 23, 2008

Pilvi rated it:

(review of isbn 9511201158)

bookshelves: crime, own-a-copy, scandinavian-writers

Owns a copy — Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: crime book readers

First book in the Wallander-series (Mördaren utan ansikte). This version is Finnish.

Ensimmäinen Wallander-sarjan kirja. Murhaajan henkilöllisyys pysyy salassa hyvin koko kirjan ajan viimeisille sivuille asti. Mankell kuvaa hyvin sitä välillä puuduttavaakin perustyötä, jota poliisit joutuvat tekemään rikoksia selvitellessään. Monet johtolangat johtavat umpikujaan, mutta ratkaiseviakin vihjeitä saadaan selville. Kirjassa on hyvä sekoitus rikosta ja Wallanderin henkilökoh...more

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Mar 14, 2009

Tony rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: fiction-crime---detection

Read in March, 2009

Mankell, Henning. FACELESS KILLERS. (1991). *****. An old farm couple living on the outskirts of Ystad are discovered in their house by their neighbors. The old man is dead – savagely beaten to death. His wife, also beaten, and with a noose around her neck, is close to death. When Kurt Wallander and his crew arrive they are appalled at the violence and bloodshed. The woman is rushed to the hospital, but cannot be safed. Just before she dies, she whispers the word “foreigner” over ...more

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Mar 13, 2009

Carole rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Read in March, 2009

This is Henning Mankell's 1st book (of 9) in the Inspector Wallander series.

My review is based on the abridged audio version recently serialised on BBC Radio 7.

This is the first Henning Mankell book I've read/listened to and I know that he is a very popular Swedish best selling author.

Kurt Wallander is your typical over-worked Detective, working long hours but has tremendous dedication for the job at hand. In this book, Wallander has very few clues and no obvious mo...more

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Dec 14, 2008

Reinhold rated it:

(review of isbn 3552051600)

bookshelves: crime

Read in February, 2003

Ein guter Einstieg in die Wallanderreihe

"Mörder ohne Gesicht" ist der erste Titel aus einer Reihe von insgesamt 10 Romanen um den schwedischen Kommissar Wallander. Henning Mankells Wallanderserie hat zu Recht Furore gemacht.

Kurt Wallander ist ein wichtiger Mitarbeiter der Ystader Mordkommission. Er ist geschieden und hat eine Tochter und eine Schwester die er kaum sieht und einen Vater der merklich alt wird und sehr eigensinnig ist. Irgendwie befindet er sich ...more

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Feb 26, 2010

Sandra rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: mystery

Read in February, 2010

I decided to read this book after reading a review praising Mankell's latest novel. (I am on the waiting list for the latest.) Faceless Killers is the first in his Kurt Wallander series, and clearly is not as well plotted as his subsequent novels. Mankell has gotten a lot better with his story line and his character development. But I always like reading the beginning works of an author, so am happy I read this. I love to see how writing styles and plot forming abilities evolve. Also I ha...more

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Feb 10, 2010

Michele Weiner rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Read in February, 2010

I took a break from Henry Paulsen to read this mystery from the '90's by Swedish author, Henning Mankell. It's the first of the popular and well-reviewed mystery series, introducing a new detective. The main character is police detective Kurt Wallander, 40-something, newly divorced, gaining weight, working and drinking too much. He makes a lot of mistakes in his work, ignores his family, is the last to know when his co-worker is diagnosed with cancer. It's the traditional mystery formula, as d...more

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Dec 18, 2009

Mary rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Read in December, 2009

I read this book for my book club. It's been translated into English, so at times the language comes across as stilted, but it's not enough to detract from the story. The prose is spare and easy to read. I think this works well with the dreary setting of Lenarp, Sweden, which is a fictional town closely resembling Ystad.

The main character, Kurt Wallander, is a police officer, but this isn't a police procedural book. It's more about Kurt's state of mind as he deals with this brutal ne...more

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Jul 02, 2009

TBML rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: award-winners, mark-picks, mystery-and-suspense

Read in June, 2009

recommends it for: mystery aficionados

Up Inspector Kurt Wallander of the Ystad (Sweden) Police!! Blessings on the day I bought another Wallander novel at a used bookstore and
discovered that it was not the first in the series!!! As a result, I bought this one online (it is the first in the series) and was hooked from the first sentence.

Wallander is acting chief in Ystad when an elderly couple living miles from the nearest town is butchered in their sleep. Soon, he starts getting phone calls threatening revenge agai...more

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Aug 01, 2009

Linda rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: mystery, mystery_book_club, police_procedural, sweden

Read in August, 2009

Mankell can write. Good character development, great plot, nice sense of place, appropriately gloomy atmosphere. I appreciated "visiting" Sweden and the information about Sweden's immigration tensions was interesting. Mankell's written a nearly perfect police procedural here. The plot is complex but not convoluted, the red herrings are not so much red herrings as the natural dead ends that occur in real investigations (I presume, anyway). Wallender is a good detective, but he's no phen...more

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Dec 26, 2009

Jim rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Read in December, 2009

I had never heard of Henning Mankell before I purchased this book over a year ago. It sounded exotic, and I have a thing for exotic mysteries. Faceless Killers is the first of the Kurt Wallander novels, named after a detective in Ystad in the South of Sweden.

From the moment Wallander hears about the brutal murder of an old farmer and his wife, Mankell's story builds up speed as we see the entire police force involved. When the news that the murdered farmer's wife's last word was "...more

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Sep 13, 2009

Laura rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Read in September, 2009

I became interested in the Wallander mysteries after seeing the 3 PBS movie adaptations starring Kenneth Branaugh. Those films did not include this story, but I thought starting at the beginning made sense.

There were many aspects of Wallander's character which I did not expect. He drinks too much, barely eats and eats junk whe he does to the point of upsetting his stomach regularly. He is forgetful and disorganized. And, the style of police work depicted seems very inefficent and ...more

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Mar 06, 2009

Birgit rated it:

(review of isbn 0786161396)

The guy that read the book made it feel like the whole police is a retirement home... otherwise OK, but not that great

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Jan 16, 2009

Joshua rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: read-in-09

Read in January, 2009

Any book set in Sweden in the winter should be read in the winter. Reading a book like Faceless Killers wouldn't feel right if you read in the hopeful mood of spring or the sun drenched months of summer. I read it in the cold of January and liked it very much.

Faceless Killers, as the title suggests, is a crime novel set in a small city in Sweden and based around a detectives quest to solve a brutal torture/murder of an elderly farmer couple. The detectives dead marriage, his estranged ...more

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Oct 27, 2009

Sensitivemuse rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

Read in November, 2009

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 ex...more 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.(less)

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Sep 01, 2009

Kemper rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

bookshelves: crime-mystery, swedish-mayhem

During one of my periodic efforts to prove to myself that I'm not one of The Great Unwashed, I watched PBS's Masterpiece Mystery series featuring the Swedish detective Kurt Wallander as played by Kenneth Branagh. (Yes, it had English actors playing Swedes and was filmed in Sweden. Just go with it.) I liked it quite a bit and since I also loved the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I decided to read some more about these murderous Swedes. And now I'm really hooked.

Written in 1990, t...more During one of my periodic efforts to prove to myself that I'm not one of The Great Unwashed, I watched PBS's Masterpiece Mystery series featuring the Swedish detective Kurt Wallander as played by Kenneth Branagh. (Yes, it had English actors playing Swedes and was filmed in Sweden. Just go with it.) I liked it quite a bit and since I also loved the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I decided to read some more about these murderous Swedes. And now I'm really hooked.

Written in 1990, this book introduced Wallander as a police detective in a backwater town in Sweden. When an elderly couple are brutally assualted and murdered in their rural home in an apparently motiveless crime, the initial clues make some citizens think that someone in the flood of immigrants seeking asylum following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe is responsible. A wave of anti-immigrant violence and hysteria is on the verge of being unleashed.

Wallander is having enough trouble dealing with his messy personal life. His marriage has just failed, his emotionally troubled teenage daughter flits in and out of his life, and his estranged father is showing signs of dementia. The strain of balancing his increasingly unmanageable personal life and his police work are starting to take a serious toll on him. In addition, he's constantly worried about the new wave of crime and violence he's noticed rising in Sweden.

Wallander is a great sort of every-man detective. Not brilliant in a Sherlock Holmes or Columbo kind of way, and definately not built for leaping into action against the bad guys, Wallander just comes in and attacks the tasks he thinks he needs to complete to solve the crime and get his life under control. Even though he doesn't manage to get through the list most days and experiences numerous setbacks, he just starts over again the next morning even if doesn't really feel like trying. Despite his frustrations with his own shortcomings and the government bureaucracy, Wallander manages to make progress with his steady two-steps-forward/ one-step-back method.

Good writing with an intriguing crime and a very relateable main character made this an interesting read. I'll be checking out more of the Wallander books.(less)

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Feb 10, 2010

Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 1400031575)

This represents my first dip into the world of Swedish mystery writers. I anticipated following a Stellan Skarsgard inspired detective, one who would comb through the seedy underbelly of Swedish provincial life, working to get to the bottom of some heinous crime, all the while brooding over his cracked marriage, growing mid-section, and the ceaseless foreboding of permanently overcast skies. Sadly, the book met my expectations. Instead of being frozen with a new appreciation of genre fiction, ...more

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