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Faceless Killers: Kurt Wallander (Kurt Wallander #1)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 18,425 ratings · 1,414 reviews

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger for Sidetracked

One frozen January morning at 5am, Inspector Wallander responds to what he believes is a routine call-out. When he reaches the isolated farmhouse he discovers a bloodbath. An old man has been tortured and beaten to death, his wife lies barely alive beside his shattered body, both victims of a violence beyond reason. The woman su...more

Paperback, 298 pages

Published December 11th 2008 by Vintage (first published 1991)

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Mar 16, 2012 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-and-mystery, 2012

An elderly couple is robbed and brutally murdered and it's up to police inspector Kurt Wallander to find the killer or killers. Can Kurt act on the meager information he has available and solve the case as his private life disintegrates around him?

On the heels of reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire, I decided to branch out and try a couple more Swedish crime authors. Faceless Killers is the first such book to fall into my hands.

Faceless Killers isn't a happy...more

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Oct 31, 2008 Peter H. Fogtdal rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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, only two of...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Kemper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scandinavian-mayhem, crime-mystery

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 introd...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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Apr 03, 2011 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, mystery, books-i-own

My initial reaction to this book “Faceless Killers” was “Poor Kurt Wallander”!
Our introduction to the character of Inspector Wallander by Henning Mankell, was certainly unusual . As the hero of many detective novels after this story, he cuts a sorry figure - and yet, a realistic one. At the beginning of the novel, we quickly discover that Wallander’s marriage has finished, his daughter doesn’t want to have much to do with him and his father doesn’t appear to like him much either! However, despi...more

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May 14, 2012 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, one-penny-wonder, published-1991, re-read, spring-2012, fradio, paper-read

Re-read via radio 4x starting 6/4/12

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He has forgotten something, he knows that for sure when he wakes up.

I love Mankell's Wallander and even though I have been reading this series in an all together 'alternative' sequence, it was quite lovely to finally read the opening book. The crimes are gritty as usual, Swedish internal politics are alluded to, the countryside and food-scapes are remarked upon at length but it really is the characters that are just so interesti...more

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Feb 24, 2012 AC rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-spy-mystery

I ran across a reference to Mankell from someone on GR who said that crime-writing afficionados really like him.... but then, when I read some of the other GR reviews, I nearly tossed this one in the bucket. I'm glad I didn't! This is a first-rate -- a REALLY first-rate piece of genre writing.

It's 4.5 stars (maybe 4.75) -- and that because I'm getting more conservative in my old age... but its 4.5 from the five-side, not from the 4+ side...

Wallander is a tough, realistic, angst-ridden policeman...more

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May 31, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, mystery, reviewed

There are three things I don't like about mysteries:

1. The author reveals too little so it's impossible for me to figure it out;
2. The author gives away too much and I've figured it out long ago;
3. The author does it perfectly, all the clues were there, and I still didn't figure it out.

Knowing this about myself, I don't read mysteries for the mystery. I read them for the other parts: the character study, the political or village landscape in which they're set, the logic of the tightly-controlled...more There are three things I don't like about mysteries:

1. The author reveals too little so it's impossible for me to figure it out;
2. The author gives away too much and I've figured it out long ago;
3. The author does it perfectly, all the clues were there, and I still didn't figure it out.

Knowing this about myself, I don't read mysteries for the mystery. I read them for the other parts: the character study, the political or village landscape in which they're set, the logic of the tightly-controlled story. Mystery writers don't usually sprawl. They don't wander off on tangents about provincial land reform or forty-page rants about their own political ideas. There is no excuse for wasting that kind of time. Everything in the book is part of the point, either leading you to the conclusion, or drawing you off, briefly, as the detective is driven off-course, as well. So it is a challenge, a more interesting challenge, to make the book about something else, not just a murder or two or three.

I also can't ignore how refreshing it can be to read something and see the logical thought process behind it. Sometimes, I need that break from all-over-the-place and want to follow the clear path. Reading (e.g. finally finishing) this now was probably a reaction to a week of the Darkfever series. A great read but not exactly logical or linear (which isn't always required) or clear.

Faceless Killers is an excellent example of a mystery novel being about other things. Kurt Wallander is that classic detective-type whose world is falling apart around him while he's trying to solve a case (a case that challenges him in a way he's never been challenged before) and it brings out all of his insecurities and hang-ups at just the wrong time. It's been done before (a lot) but it's done well here. Cleverly. I know almost nothing about the other characters in the book as I reach the end but I feel like I'm beginning to know Wallander and I feel like that was intentional. Mankell is presenting an isolated man whose job is observation but who has somehow been oblivious to those around him for years. It's compelling because unlike some of the others I've been introduced to who are similar (Knots and Crosses, A Clubbable Woman, Jar City, Case Histories, etc.), Wallander is a little more complex, probably because Mankell spends a lot more time on him than the other authors. I found the others mostly unpleasant, generally unsympathetic, and in the case of Rosco (A Clubbable Woman) totally appalling.

I wasn't left with a lot of answers in this book. Oh, yes, the mystery is solved but Wallander is having an identity crisis as big as Sweden (most of which he seems to drive over in the course of the six months in this story) as well as trips to Denmark and Norway. He represents a lot of things, an excellent case study for his author to examine the feelings of Swedes in a changing society and their responses to events that force them to acknowledge these changes. And, as with every Scandinavian mystery I've read so far, there is a significant political message in that. Since I'm not in it for the mystery, of course, I find that fascinating. (less)

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Sep 05, 2007 LJ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, police_procedural, sweden, contemporary_post_1945

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 immigrants becomes violent.
*** A...more

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Dec 20, 2007 ahdid rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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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Jan 19, 2011 Ben Loory rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

it was 15 pages before the end before anyone in the police department thought to follow the most obvious trail. i mean i'm not even trying to solve the case, i'm just lying in bed sick, idly flipping 250 pages, but i'm ahead of these people? pretty sad. in the meantime there's no suspense, the characters are dull, and the scenes are boring and poorly written. nice title, though, i suppose... can't imagine reading more of these...

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Sep 29, 2009 notgettingenough rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction

Ugh.

Maybe this book is dreadfully translated...or maybe it's like Ikea furniture. Mostly you end up with a bunch of bits that don't make sense. It's a popular theory in Australia that Ikea furniture is some sort of revenge upon people who live in sunlight. Maybe Henning Mankell is a plot to get the people who escaped the Ikea trap.

We all over here prefer more Abba and less bad furniture and miserable books please.

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Mar 01, 2009 Atalanta16 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-mysteries

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 and plagued by diabetes, hi...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Si rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, before I begin, the stars are based on the 33% of the book I read. I gave up on the thing. I don't usually give up on books (see my review of Dune for an example of a book I should have given up on but didn't) but I'm getting too old to spend my time reading a book that is going nowhere.

What I've read of this book, which is close to the first third, is everything that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is not. Well, I'll be honest, I almost gave up on that one after the first 25% was going ab...more Okay, before I begin, the stars are based on the 33% of the book I read. I gave up on the thing. I don't usually give up on books (see my review of Dune for an example of a book I should have given up on but didn't) but I'm getting too old to spend my time reading a book that is going nowhere.

What I've read of this book, which is close to the first third, is everything that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is not. Well, I'll be honest, I almost gave up on that one after the first 25% was going absolutely nowhere and I had gotten a detailed, verbose history of the Swedish economy in the book's setting than I think was necessary. The difference is at least Larssen had, well, the girl with the dragon tattoo, who made all the difference in that book.

Wallander basically strikes me as a very depressed, washed up detective or something (I'm still not certain what his actual role was), who spends a lot of time obsessing about getting back together with his estranged wife, his estranged daughter, and contemplating he should change his poor dietary habits. More than once I read about how he had to eat his lunch quickly and the diarrhea that resulted afterwards.

Wallander didn't seem to actually discover everything, other Scandinavian surnamed characters who popped in and out seemed to be the ones actually figuring out what was going on. And while the motive for the murder, or at least what appeared to be the motive, was intriguing and caused me to read for another couple of chapters, another round of Wallander's GI issues pretty much told me, no, this just isn't worth reading the rest of. The only thing I can think of even close to this is the movie "Mall Cop", where the main character had diabetes. At least the diabetes was a critical plot element, but in all honesty, the difference between the "mall cop" and Wallander were very similar. And I actually watched the entire movie and it actually turned out okay. Not on my list of top 1000 movies, but it was better than some I've watched.

Anyway, this partial review is not about Mall Cop. The writing is terse. As in, you literally get the absolute bare minimum of information. Whereas Author A might say "The girl with the dragon tattoo had lots of tattoos of dragons, some chinese, some western, etc. etc.", Mankell gives you "The girl had a tattoo."

I believe in leaving stuff to the imagination, but give us some idea of what is running through your head. Contrast a sentence like that with "Wallander relieved himself."

Really? Not once have I ever read a book where the author went to the trouble to tell you the protagonist carried out a bodily function as something worth mentioning in the plot. Unless the character performed said bodily function on another character, or did it on a sacred, cursed burial ground. Please. I don't give a crap whether your lead detective had to relieve himself. Unless it saved him from getting shot, which was not the case. The dude was on his way to a press conference.

So with that said, read at your own risk. I find it hard to believe this made a bestseller list anywhere, and I find it even harder to believe this is just the first book in a series featuring our crime fighting diuretic hero.(less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Eva rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scandi-and-nordic-crime

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 09, 2012 Valetta rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lo confesso: il travolgente fascino del giallo scandinavo rimane al momento un mistero per me. Gli americani producono gialli seriali con protagonisti improbabili "supereroi" e finali incredibili? Può essere, ma non sono sicura di voler scambiare le loro "americanate" con queste sterili cronache di eventi in nome di un maggior approfondimento psicologico/sociologico ancora tutto da dimostrare.
Ma andiamo con ordine. "Assasino senza volto" è il primo di una serie di gialli che lo scrittore svenes...more Lo confesso: il travolgente fascino del giallo scandinavo rimane al momento un mistero per me. Gli americani producono gialli seriali con protagonisti improbabili "supereroi" e finali incredibili? Può essere, ma non sono sicura di voler scambiare le loro "americanate" con queste sterili cronache di eventi in nome di un maggior approfondimento psicologico/sociologico ancora tutto da dimostrare.
Ma andiamo con ordine. "Assasino senza volto" è il primo di una serie di gialli che lo scrittore svenese Henning Mankell dedica al comissario Kurt Wallander e che, attualmente è arrivata a contare 11 libri oltre che diversi adattamenti per la televisione, il più famoso dei quali è stato realizzato dalla BBC e ha per protagonista il grande Kenneth Branagh. In questo primo episodio Wallander è alle prese con il brutale omicidio di una coppia di anziani contadini, omicidio che lo porta a concentrare l'attenzione sulla complessa realtà dell'immigrazione clandestina in Svezia, tra sfruttamento, xenofobia in ascesa e autorità incapaci di gestire un'incotrollato afflusso di stranieri nel territorio. Tutto il mondo è paese, a quanto pare. Questa attenzione allo spaccato sociale, apprendo dal tam-tam della rete, è uno dei punti forti del romanzo, che lo colloca al di sopra della media della letteratura di genere, spesso considerata tra le forme più "basse" di produzione scritta. Premesso che i gusti sono gusti e che ognuno è libero di cercare in un giallo ciò che preferisce, io sono ancora una di quei lettori "vecchio stampo" che ad un buon giallo richiedono innanzitutto una trama avvincente e ben congegnata, un mistero in grado di stuzzicare l'intelletto del lettore e di sfidarlo alla risoluzione del rebus. Se poi l'autore ne vuole approfittare per inserire elementi di analisi sociale nel racconto ben venga, ma non basta questo a farmi sciogliere in estasi di fronte alla profondità e all'originalità del romanzo, soprattutto quando, come in questo caso, si tratta di osservazioni che possono benissimo essere raccolte dalla lettura di un qualsiasi articolo di cronaca sull'argomento, tra parentesi con lo stesso grado di suspence e espressività. Lo stile utilizzato è infatti, a mio parere, l'aspetto peggiore di "Assassino senza volto". Sarà che la freddezza scandinava non è molto nelle mie corde ma, dopo le interminabili "liste della spesa" del buon Stieg Larsson, questo è uno dei romanzi più piatti, monocordi e incolori che mi sia mai capitato fra le mani. Sospetto che la traduzione dia il suo contributo in negativo, sotto questo aspetto, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la mancanza di nesso logico che si riscontra in numerosi dialoghi oltre che alcune clamorose sviste come l'inconcepibile utilizzo del "tu" invece del "lei" in qualunque forma di conversazione;ignoro se in svedese si faccia uso o meno della forma di cortesia ma in italiano si utilizza eccome, per cui è decisamente spiazzante sentire il protagonista rivolgersi con lo stesso tono alla sorella e ad un'impiegata di banca mai vista prima. Tuttavia ho trovato in rete diversi commenti di lettori anglofoni che lamentavano la stessa mancanza di logica nelle loro edizioni per cui o l'editoria mondiale è afflitta da una comune penuria di buoni rtaduttori dallo svedese oppure già in lingua originale c'è qualche problema.
Mankell è carente anche nella caratterizzazione dei personaggi:tutti poliziotti si somigliano, fatta eccezione per il protagonista Wallander,l'unico a dimostrare una parvenza di spessore psicologico. Però, di nuovo, quanti ne abbiamo già visti finora di investigatori di mezz'età bistrattati dalla vita e dalle donne, con una vita famigliare allo sfascio, poche amicizie e una malsana propensione per i super alcolici? Certo Wallander raggiunge nuovi vertici di avvilimento, essendo dotato di una goffaggine tutta sua che trasforma ogni inseguimento in una scena tragicomica di proporzioni fantozziane e fa presagire che la catastrofe sia sempre dietro l'angolo. La cosa a volte fa sorridere e altre volte irrita, soprattutto se si considera che questa figura non particolarmente brillante, non particolarmente agile e della mentalità non troppo flessibile arriva a risolvere il crimine solo grazie ad un paio di colpi d'intuito un po' casuali. Proprio grazie ad uno di questi colpi d'intuito Wallander si rende conto di una svista grande come tutta la Scandinavia che si trascinava dall'inizio del romanzo e che toglieva un po' di smalto alla trama gialla che, di per se stessa non è affatto male ed è comunque in grado di sostenere l'interesse del lettore fino alla fine.
Il giudizio finale sarebbe di due stelle e mezzo, sarei tentata di dare una seconda chance giusto per capire se con la pratica in qualche modo migliorano, al punto da giustificare un tale successo internazionale.(less)

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Aug 30, 2010 g rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cold

Do these get better? I flew through this first in the Kurt Wallander series, but the writing was squarely in the spectrum of unremarkable to outright you've-got-to-be-kidding-me. The police officers are barely differentiated (Wallander himself is the only one with any character traits to speak of, and he comes across as kind of a schmuck), and the book cries out for description and emotion. Not really psychological and only half-heartedly political, this novel strikes me as gratuitous and forget...more

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Jan 05, 2010 Pilvi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: crime book readers

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

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 henkilökohtaista elämää. Hyvä rikoski...more

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Mar 14, 2009 Tony rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-crime-detection

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 and over. Since...more

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Mar 13, 2009 Carole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 motive for the horrendous murder...more

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Dec 14, 2008 Reinhold rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime

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 ständig in der Midlifecrisis, hört g...more

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May 05, 2013 Leftbanker rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wallander isn’t a very competent investigator, he’s an out-of-shape and thoroughly mediocre policeman, and not a very remarkable human being. He listens to opera which is the only thing remotely interesting about him which in and of itself isn’t terribly interesting. The crime was excessively brutal but in the end it was an utterly uninteresting robbery that took way too long to solve.

The greatest mystery concerning this novel is why it is so popular with readers. I don’t get it. I kept asking...more

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Apr 12, 2013 Ingrid Verschelling rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

Van Henning Mankell had ik al diverse boeken gelezen, w.o. één uit de Wallander- reeks. Ik heb de afleveringen van de Wallander- reeks al op TV gezien en dat is soms best jammer, want dan weet je vaak van te voren al hoe het afloopt. Mij is aangeraden om ze in volgorde te lezen, dus nu begonnen met deel één, Mankells eerste Wallander-roman, 'Moordenaar zonder gezicht'.

We maken kennis met Wallander, Ebba, Linda, Rydberg, de vader van Wallander en alle anderen in Ystad en omgeving. Het boek begint...more Van Henning Mankell had ik al diverse boeken gelezen, w.o. één uit de Wallander- reeks. Ik heb de afleveringen van de Wallander- reeks al op TV gezien en dat is soms best jammer, want dan weet je vaak van te voren al hoe het afloopt. Mij is aangeraden om ze in volgorde te lezen, dus nu begonnen met deel één, Mankells eerste Wallander-roman, 'Moordenaar zonder gezicht'.

We maken kennis met Wallander, Ebba, Linda, Rydberg, de vader van Wallander en alle anderen in Ystad en omgeving. Het boek begint met een brute moord op een bejaard echtpaar. Johannes en Maria Lövgren worden letterlijk afgeslacht in hun afgelegen boerderij op het platteland van Zweden. Op het moment dat de politie ter plaatse is blijkt de vrouw nog te leven, maar even later komt ook zij in het ziekenhuis te overlijden. Uit haar laatste woorden valt op te maken dat de daders mogelijk buitenlanders zijn geweest. Het onderzoek komt in handen van Inspekteur Kurt Wallander, die ontdekt dat de Lövgrens geen vijanden hadden, niet rijk waren en geen geld in hun huis bewaarden. Het motief voor de dubbele moord is daarom een raadsel en over veel aanknopingspunten lijkt hij dan ook niet te beschikken.

Inspekteur Kurt Wallander uit Ystad probeert de voortgang van het onderzoek naar de afgrijselijke dubbele moord zo veel mogelijk buiten de publiciteit te houden. Toch lekt er geheime informatie uit over mogelijke betrokkenheid van buitenlandse vluchtelingen bij de misdaad. Racistische krachten in de Zweedse samenleving ruiken bloed en manipuleren het onderzoek op hoog niveau. Racisme en vreemdelingenhaat zijn het gevolg.

Mankell laat zien dat speurwerk gedaan wordt door mensen van vlees en bloed. Hij weet de hoofdpersonen heel menselijk neer te zetten. Wallander is geen superheld en dat maakt hem voor mij sympathiek. Hij zit in een slechte periode van zijn leven, waardoor hij eenzaam is. De scheiding van zijn vrouw, het slechte contact met zijn dochter en de eeuwige verwijten van zijn vader zijn hier debet aan. Wallander sombert over de veranderende Zweedse maatschappij en leeft schijnbaar alleen voor zijn werk. Hij worstelt om zowel de moordzaken als zijn privé problemen op te lossen. Sterk omschreven wordt hoe Wallander met al deze problemen omgaat. Uiteindelijk worden de moorden opgelost dankzij hard werken en het briljante geheugen van de bankbediende.

In Moordenaar zonder gezicht wordt het klassieke speurwerk van de politie uitstekend in beeld gebracht. De frustratie als er geen resultaten komen, de gevolgen voor het privéleven van de betrokken rechercheurs, de contacten met de pers en de druk van buitenaf. Een goede politiedetective laat zien dat het oplossen van moorden vooral een kwestie is van goed nadenken, een goede samenwerking en veel routinewerk.

Het verhaal is makkelijk en met veel charme geschreven. Mankell gebruikt korte zinnen. Er zijn geen spectaculaire achtervolgingen. Er wordt veel nagedacht en er is veel overleg. De schrijfstijl zet aan tot meedenken met de rechercheurs en trekt je mee in het verhaal en de gedachten van de hoofdpersoon. Voordat je het weet, ben je door het boek heen.

Naarmate het verhaal vordert, lijkt het alsof de oplossing van de moord in zicht komt. Wanneer het boek bijna ten einde loopt, zijn de moorden echter niet opgelost en loopt het onderzoek muurvast. Gelukkig komt Mankell dan alsnog met een zeer verrassende wending. Typisch Mankell is het contrast tussen het kalme en ogenschijnlijk zo vredige Zweedse platteland met de heftige gebeurtenissen die de schrijver, die bekend staat om zijn maatschappelijke betrokkenheid, er doet plaatsvinden. Mankell zei in een interview, dat hij eerst met een maatschappelijk gegeven begint en er daarna een misdaadverhaal omheen breit.

Mankell wil in zijn thrillers de aandacht richten op de donkere kant van de Scandinavische maatschappij. De roman heeft een sterk sociaal-politiek component: vraagt de nieuwe tijd om een ander soort politiemensen? Er zijn meerdere schrijvers, die dat doen, zoals in de jaren zestig Per Wahlöö en zijn vrouw Maj Sjöwall. Zij schreven tot de dood van Wahlöö tussen 1965 en 1975 elk jaar een thriller met rechercheur Martin Beck in de hoofdrol. Het echtpaar wilde met hun boeken ook de misstanden in de samenleving aan de kaak stellen.

Vier sterren, omdat ik het vind uitstijgen boven het gemiddelde. Geen vijf sterren, omdat bijv. de boeken van Stieg Larsson echt spannend waren. Het verhaal houdt voldoende vast en is spannend genoeg om het snel uit te lezen. Een aanrader dus voor iedereen die houdt van een goed verhaal! (less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

My mother, and fellow mystery lover, recommended this series to me (The Wallander Series). This is the first book in the series. I tend to be very lenient on first books in a series, because they are building their characters, their location, their setting and in most cases their writing and story telling gets better as the series go on. It was interesting reading a murder mystery that was written in another language (I believe translated into English) and takes place in that country. It makes t...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Jean rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A five star thriller from Henning Mankell.

An elderly couple are brutally attacked on their isolated farmhouse on a bitterly cold Swedish morning. The man is dead, his wife, who has a noose knotted around her neck is barely clinging to life. At the hospital she dies but whispers the word "foreigner" with her last breath. This is leaked to the media and Kurt Wallander who is in charge of the investigation has his hands full trying to bring the murderers to justice and contain a racially tense situ...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Lyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, reviewed

This is an English translation of the first of Henning Mankell's popular series about Detective Kurt Wallander, a Swedish police investigator. Called to the country to investigate the senseless and savage attack on an elderly farm couple, Wallander faces a puzzle that might never be solved.

The couple lived frugally and had no money hidden away, but were tortured and murdered in the most extreme way. The man is already dead when they arrive but the wife is hanging on. They have little evidence an...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Brad rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

FACELESS KILLERS is the inaugural effort in the Kurt Wallander series that established Mankell as Sweden's greatest mystery writer.

Wallander's story is comfortless. His wife has left him. He is an alcoholic. He is estranged from his adult daughter. His father is fading away, a victim of senile dementia. He has quit smoking only to gain 20 pounds that he cannot lose. His closest colleague is dying of cancer.

In the midst of this, he is immersed in an investigation of the gruesome double murder of...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Alyssa Mitchell added it · review of another edition

I will not deny that I began this book in the hopes that it would fulfill my Stieg Larsson withdrawls. The Millenium Series, which is beyond comparison to any other piece of popular literature, ended so abruptly. As did Larsson's life. It is honestly a heartbreaking feeling that it is prematurely "done". Henning Mankell is a more conventional crime novelist who also happens to be Swedish, both in heritage and in (some) book settings. I assumed the book would at least be reminiscent of the harrow...more I will not deny that I began this book in the hopes that it would fulfill my Stieg Larsson withdrawls. The Millenium Series, which is beyond comparison to any other piece of popular literature, ended so abruptly. As did Larsson's life. It is honestly a heartbreaking feeling that it is prematurely "done". Henning Mankell is a more conventional crime novelist who also happens to be Swedish, both in heritage and in (some) book settings. I assumed the book would at least be reminiscent of the harrowing mystery solving of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. Due to this bias, I had several ups and downs with my opinion of the book. I simply could not decide if it was solid, trash, or just a decent work. I have to admit, that I still do not know.
Here's what I know:
The intensity of the plot did not follow a familiar structure, for example there was no clear climax in the story which a crime novel would, or should, naturally have. The characters went in and out of realistically complex to two-dimensional and predictable. However, with all of this deviation from widely-accepted literary style, comes an appreciation for a more realistic story. This is what I realized about what I didn't like: The novel reads like non-fiction. It has the copious dullness of real life, but is more believable in turn. If you are someone interested in police investigations and the like, this is almost like reading the case files with a bit of personal drama thrown in. I was so passionately disappointed at one point I threw it down and said, "F*#$ this watered down garbage." What drove me to finish it was, of course, the outcome of the investigation-will I ever find out who the "Faceless Killers" are?-but it was also to make certain that my animosity was not just bias-based in comparing the book with Stieg Larsson's masterpiece. I have decided that with my new understanding of this author and how he works, that I will take up the next book in his Kurt Wallander series "The Dogs of Riga", to see if my more open-minded perspective will find the good in it and if my fading need for more of the Millenium Series will do it justice. The logical person in me cannot help but assume the books get better as the series progresses as Mankell is a very prolific writer with much success. The Kurt Wallander series has spawned 13 novels (so far) and as of now I don't expect to read beyond the 2nd. I guess we shall see. (less)

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Aug 23, 2012 La Stamberga dei Lettori rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: valetta97

Prima di iniziare, una confessione: il travolgente fascino del giallo scandinavo rimane al momento un mistero per me. Gli americani producono gialli seriali con protagonisti improbabili "supereroi" e finali incredibili? Può essere, ma non sono sicura di voler scambiare le loro "americanate" con queste sterili cronache di eventi in nome di un maggior approfondimento psicologico/sociologico ancora tutto da dimostrare.

Ma andiamo con ordine. Assassino senza volto è il primo di una serie di gialli...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Keith Willcock rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book in the Kurt Wallander series that I have read and I must confess that it left me a bit flat. It certainly does not live up to the publicity on the cover that touts it as " what to read next for fans of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo."

The plot hangs together well enough. Two aged farmers in the hinterland of Sweden are murdered in a gruesome way and for motives which seem inexplicable.

All leads come to naught and we are left in a state of helplessness for some months unti...more
This is the second book in the Kurt Wallander series that I have read and I must confess that it left me a bit flat. It certainly does not live up to the publicity on the cover that touts it as " what to read next for fans of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo."

The plot hangs together well enough. Two aged farmers in the hinterland of Sweden are murdered in a gruesome way and for motives which seem inexplicable.

All leads come to naught and we are left in a state of helplessness for some months until a small detail breaks the case open and our plodding Inspector Wallander comes out a winner once again.

It is precisely the plodding and depressed nature of this man's life that leaves me longing for less. I found myself engrossed in pages of his personal depression and his attempts to overcome it through booze and a rather pathetic fantasy life that gets him into problems which if they ever happened in real life would have cost him his job. His personal life is such a mess that there are moments when I want ti call a halt and climb out of the pages but the desire to know "who done it" keeps me going. It is difficult to believe that a man who is so depressed that he repeatedly falls into bed in a semi alcoholic state at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and falls out of it again at 6:00 almost every day can actually have the mental capacity and physical stamina to solve such a demanding case.

One can only hope that after this one is over that Mr Mankell sends his hero off for a bout of rehab. I need a slightly more enlightened hero. That is not to say that he should leave his humanity behind God, no! This is not a Jesus book but a little more positivity would sweeten the plot.

But perhaps this is how it is. Perhaps all detectives are depressed alcoholics or perhaps just the Swedish ones are? I don't know so i guess I will have to read more mystery novels in order to find out.

This book raises important questions about discrimination, racism and nationalism in our world and asks us to look into the shadowland of our own hearts to exorcise these demons.

I recommend this book. It is a good read but keep the anti depressants handy just in case you need a boost along the way. (less)

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Jul 22, 2012 Nick Jones rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A police procedural. The first of the Kurt Wallander stories. As with Roseanna, the first of the Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo Martin Beck series, it follows a murder case, the police quickly losing their sense of direction, going through routines but falling into frustration, and when things finally fall into place it is partly through luck. Wallander doesn’t have any of the annoying personality quirks and eccentricities that distinguish so many whodunit detectives: he is a fairly normal person do...more

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About Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell is an internationally known Swedish crime writer, children's author and playwright. He is best known for his literary character Kurt Wallander.

Mankell splits his time between Sweden and Mozambique. He is married to Eva Bergman, Swedish director and daughter of Ingmar Bergman.

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Quotes from Faceless Killers

“Justice doesn't only mean that the people who commit crime are punished. It also means that we can never give up seeking the truth.” — 3 people liked it

“Every time Wallander stepped into someone's home, he felt as though he were looking at the front cover of a book that he had just bought” — 2 people liked it

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Faceless Killers: Kurt Wallander (Kurt Wallander #1)

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