Series Review
Swedish Everyman Wins World's Heart
Kurt Wallander, hero of the 12 novels in the Kurt Wallander Mystery Series, is one of the all-time great police detectives and the books in this series, which is set in Ystad, Sweden, are international bestsellers. Kurt is also one of the all-time great worriers. He worries about his car, his health, his father, his daughter, the dog he wants but doesn't have, the apartment he may one day leave for a house he doesn't have, the woman who may not marry him, the job on the police force that he has but may not really want. To distract himself from his worries, Wallander works. He and his team investigate dark, complex crimes that shock and scare them with their senselessness and their violence.
Highly recommended! Especially to fans of police procedurals, Scandinavian Crime, and great detectives
GREAT series. The mysteries are absorbing and original. I fell in love with Kurt over time. At the beginning of the first book, he was irritating. By the end I was quite fond of him. Much of the charm of this series is in Kurt's interactions with his team and with the other people who make vital contributions to the success of the Ystad police force.
Series Guide
Save The Pyramid (#1) and An Event in Autumn (#11) until you're hooked on the series. Other than that, every book (except maybe The White Lioness (#4) is a winner. Read Before the Frost (#10) before you read The Troubled Man (#12), which is one of the all-time great series finales. I have a particular fondness for The Dogs of Riga (#3).
Book Summaries and Reviews
Below, books in this crime series in reverse order. Dates refer to publication in the US in English; #s refer to series order.
*****
Translated into English by Laurie Thompson
WINNER! Crimezone award for best thriller
The search for a missing naval officer reveals Cold War hijinks with disturbing links to current events. Wallander's family life takes a remarkable turn. He struggles with his health. Series finale.
Emotionally intense. I burst into tears at the ending. Best series finale ever.
No Scandinavian Crime fan should miss this. Those new to Wallander should read Before the Frost (#10) first.< BUY >
***
Translated into English by Laurie Thompson
Wallander finally finds the perfect country house only to discover a skeletal hand in the back garden.
Book includes a fascinating afterward in which Mankell tells us a lot about how he created and sustained this series over the course of 12 books. <BUY >
*****
Translated into English by Ebba Segerberg
Wallander and his daughter work a case together.
Terrific mystery and wonderful deepening of the Wallanders' father-daughter relationship.
Highly recommended to all mystery fans. <BUY >
*****
Firewall (2002, Kurt Wallander Mystery Books #9)
Translated into English by Ebba Segerberg
Wallander senses that three seemingly random deaths are connected to an imminent terrorist attack on Sweden's digital infrastructure.
An unconventional, truly scary search for a terrorist. Couldn't put it down. <BUY>
****
Translated into English by Ebba Segerberg
WINNER! Corine Literary Prize
A police officer on Wallander's team is murdered. The only clue is a snapshot of three young people at a Midsummer's Eve party.
Such a sad story! Kurt learns how little he knows about his colleagues. Heartbreaking. <BUY>
*****
Translated into English by Steven T. Murray
An unsolved murder in Africa holds the essential clue to the identity of a torturer/ murderer on the rampage in Sweden.
Kurt hunts the perpetrator of several spectacularly cruel and public murders as Ystad tips into a death spiral of vigilante violence.
Absolutely absorbing. All crime novel fans should try this one.<BUY>
*****
Translated into English by Steven T. Murray
WINNER! Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year
A retired minister of justice, an art dealer and a thief are murdered--and scalped.
Read it.
*****
Translated into English by Laurie Thompson
On the verge of resigning from the police force, Wallander takes one last case: investigating the unexplained deaths of a friend and his father.
Intense and disturbing investigation leads to a criminal who is truly above the law.
***
Translated into English by Laurie Thompson
Wallander tangles with the South African secret service and a former KGB agent.
Not my favorite. Somewhat less original than Mankell's usual. <BUY>
*****
Translated into English by Laurie Thompson
Wallander follows the trail of a murder to Riga, Latvia and becomes embroiled in that country's political turmoil.
One of my faves. Kurt follows the evidence into the black hole that is the justice system in Riga, Latvia. (And he falls in love.) <BUY>
****
Translated into English by Steven T. Murray
WINNER! Glass Key award for the best Nordic crime novel WINNER! Swedish Crime Writers' Academy, Best Swedish Crime Novel Award
Grotesque murder of an elderly couple may have a racial motive.
Absorbing investigations into appalling crimes. Wallander is an engaging, if unlikable, character. He gets more sympathetic as the series goes on. <BUY>
***
Translated into English by Laurie Thompson and Ebba Segerberg
Adventures of the Young Wallander. Five stories give the backstory fans will be fascinated to learn: Wallander's first case, the story of his marriage and divorce, etc.
A must-read for fans. <BUY>