Sixth in the Kurt Wallander series.
On Midsummer’s Eve, three role-playing teens dressed in eighteenth-century garb are shot in a secl... read full description
On Midsummer’s Eve, three role-playing teens dressed in eighteenth-century garb are shot in a secl... read full description
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Dec 16, 2009
Writerlibrarian
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The tension and the depth of the plot from each book become more and more interesting. In this we find Wallander looking for the killer of a fellow detective who was looking for three missing students. Simple yet terribly complicated and dark. Wallander's private life is the back bones of the series. We see him struggling with health problems, his emotional ups and downs. The plot keeps you reading but Wallander's personal turmoils makes you turn the pages faster.
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Apr 16, 2008
Donald
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Henning Mankel has proved himself to be a wonderful crime novelist. His books create a wonderful sense of atmosphere along with razor sharp plotting. The great pleasure in reading Mankell is the social commentary on Sweden's changing society. His fiction is at least as much about evolving mores in Swedish culture as it is about the classic "who done its."
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May 20, 2009
Zeno
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Kurt Wallander - He works tirelessly, eats badly and drinks the nights away in a lonely, neglected flat. Still, he tackles some pretty incredible cases --
Here are the titles in the series (with a few extras) -
Faceless Killers
Dogs Of Riga
White Lioness
The Man Who Smiled
Sidetracked
The Fifth Woman
One Step Behind
Firewall
Return Of The Dancing Master (a Stefan Lindman mystery)
Before The Frost (actually a “Linda Wallander” my More...
Here are the titles in the series (with a few extras) -
Faceless Killers
Dogs Of Riga
White Lioness
The Man Who Smiled
Sidetracked
The Fifth Woman
One Step Behind
Firewall
Return Of The Dancing Master (a Stefan Lindman mystery)
Before The Frost (actually a “Linda Wallander” my More...
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Dec 14, 2008
Reinhold
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Außergewöhnlich
Mankell ist mit diesem Buch ein ganz großer Wurf gelungen. Einerseits steht Kurt Wallander, der irgendwie liebenswerte und gleichzeitig unerträgliche aber immer 100% einsatzbereite Polizist. Fast ist man versucht zu sagen, wie üblich steckt Wallander in seiner Midlife Crisis. Und wie üblich steht er einem Verbrechen gegenüber, das eigentlich über Wallanders Grenzen hinausgeht.
Wer Mankells Wallanderreihe kennt, weiß dass dieses Strickmuster zwar immer wiede More...
Mankell ist mit diesem Buch ein ganz großer Wurf gelungen. Einerseits steht Kurt Wallander, der irgendwie liebenswerte und gleichzeitig unerträgliche aber immer 100% einsatzbereite Polizist. Fast ist man versucht zu sagen, wie üblich steckt Wallander in seiner Midlife Crisis. Und wie üblich steht er einem Verbrechen gegenüber, das eigentlich über Wallanders Grenzen hinausgeht.
Wer Mankells Wallanderreihe kennt, weiß dass dieses Strickmuster zwar immer wiede More...
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May 23, 2011
Winnie
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Another book club read. I would not have chosen this book. This was my first book of Wallander series. I doubt I'll read another. On one hand, Kurt is obviously a lovable character (even though not without flaws), the setting (Scania, a nice region on the southern tip of Sweden) is great, and the plots are moderately realistic, but there is something really gloomy about all this - really gloomy. Hard to say, if this has to do with Scandinavia in general, or this author in particular, but On Mids
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May 27, 2010
Jenn
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 31, 2009
Deborah
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Kurt Wallender finally turns a corner in this book. It feels like he has worked through the anger and bewilderment of the societal changes in Sweden and come out on the other side: more accepting of the changes and turning his attention to the more practical aspects of tackling what is before him now. He looks at some changes, notably women integrating into the police force in detective and managing roles, and sees all that has been gained, not what has been lost.
It is a better time More...
It is a better time More...
Oct 07, 2009
Lars
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When I read the works of one author, and more emphatically when I read a series by one author, I feel that I almost go further than just the reciprocal relationship between text and reader outlined by Louise Rosenblatt in her transactional theory of literature. With Mankell (and also recently with the twelve volume 'Dance to the Music of Time' by Anthony Powell), it's as if I am in a dialogue with the author. I know that's impossible; the books have already been written. But my reaction to th
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May 10, 2011
Linda
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Three apparently unrelated crimes keep Wallander and his team frantically on their toes throughout the entirety of One Step Behind. Kurt is operating at far less than 100%, because a couple of decades of high stress, no exercise, and unhealthy eating habits have finally taken their toll on his abused body. His blood sugar levels are such that they interfere with his thinking and leave him so fatigued that he can barely function at times. Nevertheless, Kurt resolutely ignores doctor's orders, put
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Aug 14, 2011
Kat
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Ah! Back to a gripping Wallander - a Wallander I could believe in, not something out of an MI-5 thriller! This book flies along, and there is no let-up.
Unfortunately, this is an even more beleaguered Wallander. His health is really bad, and his doctor has given him advice that he's not ready to take. On a number of occasions in the book, Wallander looks in the mirror and marks how old he's getting. He often compares his own visage to that of the people around him, but he cannot face More...
Unfortunately, this is an even more beleaguered Wallander. His health is really bad, and his doctor has given him advice that he's not ready to take. On a number of occasions in the book, Wallander looks in the mirror and marks how old he's getting. He often compares his own visage to that of the people around him, but he cannot face More...
Sep 27, 2011
Alain
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I picked this book up in a Moral, Welfare and Recreation facility somewhere in Afghanistan because I had viewed the PBS Mystery series starring Kenneth Branagh and enjoyed it immensely.
Having already seen the episode based on this book it wasn't very much of a whodunnit for me. (I'll have to make a point in the future to try and select Wallanders that haven't bee adapted for TV.)
The book was pretty good. It tends to focus on Wallander and his team as they investigate a series More...
Having already seen the episode based on this book it wasn't very much of a whodunnit for me. (I'll have to make a point in the future to try and select Wallanders that haven't bee adapted for TV.)
The book was pretty good. It tends to focus on Wallander and his team as they investigate a series More...
Dec 13, 2009
Ria
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Drie jonge mensen zijn verdwenen na het Midzomernachtfeest. Er komt weliswaar een ansichtkaart uit Hamburg, maar vermoedelijk hebben ze die niet zelf gestuurd. Kurt Wallander wil de kwestie bespreken met zijn - onvindbare - collega Svedberg. Hij ontdekt dat Svedberg op eigen houtje al gesproken heeft met de ouders van de drie verdwenen jongeren.[return]Kurt Wallander moet op zoek naar drie jonge mensen die na Midzomernacht spoorloos zijn verdwenen. Er komt weliswaar een levensteken uit Hamburg,
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Nov 09, 2010
Herb
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May 04, 2011
Max
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Mankell is back to great form with this book.
Wallander is morose, depressive and obsessive. His job continues to act as his compulsive driver, his most rewarding and most detrimental facet.
This time things are more personal for Wallander as his colleague is killed and he is forced to cope with serious illness that has been mounting through his disregard for his own well being in the previous books. One Step Behind is full of Mankell's standard fare; meticulous description, suspens More...
Wallander is morose, depressive and obsessive. His job continues to act as his compulsive driver, his most rewarding and most detrimental facet.
This time things are more personal for Wallander as his colleague is killed and he is forced to cope with serious illness that has been mounting through his disregard for his own well being in the previous books. One Step Behind is full of Mankell's standard fare; meticulous description, suspens More...
Jan 10, 2011
Carolyn
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I'm a sucker for Wallander - having read each of the books in order of appearance (with the exception of 'Pyramid',read first, despite it's 'prequil' status). He's an old friend; I take solice in knowing he's out there, looking after the moral balance of Sweden. In this novel, Wallander is faced with another strange series of killings. (mind you, the idea of Ystad felled with its rash of bizarre murders is on literary par with St. Mary Mead's status as crime capital of the universe).
Ma More...
Ma More...
Jun 22, 2010
Kathy
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This is the 3rd book I've read by the author, Henning Mankell, from his series of mysteries starring Kurt Wallander. By now I am used to Wallander's rather dismal outlook on life and of his disappointed outlook of his country of citizenship, Sweden. This novel finds Wallander (not yet 50)confronting more health problems, including diabetes. (Just when I thought things couldn't get much worse for him.) In the middle of Wallander dealing with his frequent urinations (none of the outdoor pees ar
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Aug 20, 2009
Christine
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Couldn't put it down! Luckily, we're in Maine....I had seen the dramatization of this book on Masterpiece Mystery, but that made it even more fun to appreciate the foreshadowing. This mystery is carefully enough constructed that you _can_ figure out some things before the characters. I also appreciated the every-day office politics of the team and the existential struggles of the detective, though these concerns may be too mid-life for some of my Good Reads friends. And of course, with Elizab
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Jul 05, 2010
Kathy
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I like this guy. Translated from the Swedish. More from Inspector Kurt Wallander. He now has type 2 diabestes and is trying to change his lifestyle with more or less, mostly less success. Timely for me since Dave has it, and I am also trying to improve my eating/exercise habits with more or less success.
Current killer of fellow police officer ends up tying in with missing young folks who disappeared during Midsommer. No one believes they are missing, only one mom. As always, interes More...
Current killer of fellow police officer ends up tying in with missing young folks who disappeared during Midsommer. No one believes they are missing, only one mom. As always, interes More...
Apr 08, 2010
Lori
rated it:
April's book club selection.
While I thought the plot was fairly interesting, I had a difficult time liking Wallander, the protagonist. I realize that he was in the midst of a huge murder investigation, but I found myself wanting him to take better care of himself, ask better questions, take fewer unnecessary risks, etc. I know he's supposed to be flawed, but I wanted him to be flawed and likeable, not flawed and irritating. Perhaps if I had read previous books in the series and More...
While I thought the plot was fairly interesting, I had a difficult time liking Wallander, the protagonist. I realize that he was in the midst of a huge murder investigation, but I found myself wanting him to take better care of himself, ask better questions, take fewer unnecessary risks, etc. I know he's supposed to be flawed, but I wanted him to be flawed and likeable, not flawed and irritating. Perhaps if I had read previous books in the series and More...
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Feb 07, 2009
Bibliophile
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One Step Behind was my second Henning Mankell novel about Swedish policeman Kurt Wallander, and like Sidetracked, the first Wallander novel I read, I wanted to like it more than I did. One Step Behind concerns the investigation into the murder of a policeman, one of Wallander’s colleagues, who was himself involved in a secret investigation of a crime that no one else believed had been committed. How Wallander manages to catch the criminal despite constantly being “one step behind” forms the my
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Jul 01, 2010
Marieke
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I was thinking about this book last night for some reason -- it's been a little while since I finished it. It struck me that the plot relies on a lot of strange details. I don't read a lot of murder mysteries, so maybe this is common.
Of all the characters, Inspector Kurt Wallander is perhaps the most 'normal'. He's overweight, lonely, and intelligent but sometimes unable to connect with others. All the other characters have sordid secrets. The murdered policeman, the circle of More...
Of all the characters, Inspector Kurt Wallander is perhaps the most 'normal'. He's overweight, lonely, and intelligent but sometimes unable to connect with others. All the other characters have sordid secrets. The murdered policeman, the circle of More...
Oct 17, 2010
Christophe
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Deuxième contact avec le polar suédois pour moi, après avoir été très déçu par la série Millenium (beaucoup de mal à finir le deuxième, le troisième m'est tombé des mains) je me suis risqué de nouveau après avoir découvert les islandais (Arnaldur Indridason).
J'avoue aimer de plus en plus les écrivains nordiques. Il y a chez eux de véritables pépites. Contrairement à la production américaine, (et si on excepte Larson) on ne sent pas le besoin de tirer à la ligne pour faire du volume, mais pl More...
J'avoue aimer de plus en plus les écrivains nordiques. Il y a chez eux de véritables pépites. Contrairement à la production américaine, (et si on excepte Larson) on ne sent pas le besoin de tirer à la ligne pour faire du volume, mais pl More...
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Jul 12, 2011
Adrienne
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On Midsummer's Eve, three role-playing teens dressed in eighteenth-century garb are shot in a secluded Swedish meadow. When one of Inspector Kurt Wallander's most trusted colleagues--someone whose help he hoped to rely on to solve the crime--also turns up dead, Wallander knows the murders are related. But with his only clue a picture of a woman no one in Sweden seems to know, he can't begin to imagine how. Reeling from his own father's death and facing his own deteriorating health, Wallander tra
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Sep 20, 2010
Susan
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Swedish detective Kurt Wallander has developed diabetes as he pursues a long, complex case. Six weeks after three college students are shot during a Midsummer's Eve party, Wallander's colleague Svedberg is also found murdered. As more killings follow, with the exhausted, understaffed detectives too late each time to prevent the next crime, Wallender cannot take the time to do anything about his deteriorating health. The tone of the book is dark and reflects a crumbling Swedish society and wid
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Apr 29, 2010
Mac
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A fairly standard serial killer/mass murderer story, set in small-town Sweden. It's the first of the Wallander books I've read (got it cheap), and the story was fairly compelling, though nothing spectacular. Mankell seems to enjoy going into excruciating detail about the process of investigating the homicides that take place, so it can feel pretty slow at times. For example, do we really need that long an explanation about a minor character's glasses matching Wallander's prescription? I thin
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Apr 03, 2010
Marla
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The mystery in the Wallander books is always good. Be prepared for a slow pace. The real story is Wallander himself. I have loved him in books 1-6, his brooding, emotional and flawed character. In this book...not so much. He's a whiner. He's depressed about his love affair gone wrong. And I just can't feel sorry for him. He had a woman who was crazy about him, he was crazy about her, but he couldn't bring himself to DO anything! He has no one to blame but himself. What does he expect? I might be
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Dec 30, 2008
Jonathan
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After watching the deathly slow televised version I was prepared to be watching paint dry with this one, but in fact it was not so bad as all that. Wallander follows countless dead ends, makes endless mistakes, has the usual bad relationships and from time to time the oddly lucid sentence leaps out as not being derived from any sort of English, surely the convention is that a translator should translate into their native language, rather than from it? But hey, that is being very picky, you hardl
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May 19, 2011
Susan
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Henning Mankell's One Step Behind is a good mystery that keeps you guessing about why three young people and a co-worker of Wallander's were murdered. The story has a lot of twists and turns to keep your attention although there are some parts when the story is dragged down with Wallander's health problems. I haven't read the earlier books in this series, but I was able to follow things without having any problems. I did like the development of the main character throughout the course of the
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Feb 23, 2010
Arwen
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Excellent. I really couldn't put this one down. The characters, the atmosphere, the suspense, all kept me going 'just one chapter more and then I'll stop'. I thought the chase for the killer once his identity was known was even more exciting than the first chapters where the reader shares the police's frustration at the lack of progress, confusion and false leads.
I've not read any of this series, it's definitely a must on my want list now.
Oh and I couldn't help comparing Wallender More...
I've not read any of this series, it's definitely a must on my want list now.
Oh and I couldn't help comparing Wallender More...
Nov 28, 2009
Diane
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It's such a treat to read a new (to me) book by an author I like and have it live up to my anticipation of it. Mankell's One Step Behind was a perfect nighttime read over the course of the week. Three role-playing young people shot on Midsummer's Eve as they picnicked in a nature preserve, but not found for a month - bodies carefully wrapped and hidden, then carefully arranged in their death poses.
Inspector Kurt Wallander is at his dogged best, worrying the leads and his intuitio More...
Inspector Kurt Wallander is at his dogged best, worrying the leads and his intuitio More...
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