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Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: 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 father�??s death and facing his own deteriorating health, Wallander tracks the lethal progress of the killer. Locked in a desperate effort to catch him before he strikes again, Wallander always seems to be just one step
User reviews
LibraryThing member sfeggers
I thought maybe I should write a review in English here. Although I have enjoyed all the Wallendar books, I thought this one was especially good. The plot involving Svedberg was something new and different and added to the story.
LibraryThing member mrtall
Henning Mankell’s police procedural novels are like potato chips: the first one is so fine, you wonder why you’re not devouring handfuls every day. But by the time you get to the bottom of the bag – or perhaps to the fifth or sixth of Mankell’s novels you’ve read – a bit of backlash
I suspect, therefore, that if you’re new to Mankell’s work (which I do recommend), you will find One Step Behind a real treat. It’s highly competent work, with a good protagonist, i.e. Detective Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander.
In this story, Wallander is battling not only the black dog of depression that regularly haunts him, but also incipient diabetes: let’s just say you are not likely to find a work of popular fiction in which more time is spent in the men’s room than this one.
The mystery is also well-plotted; two separate killings are quite quickly recognized as related (which is a relief; who doesn’t hate a murder mystery in which seemingly-random threads ‘come together’ at the end in ridiculously unlikely fashion?), and Wallander and team are soon working round the clock as the killer leaves them constantly feeling ‘one step behind’.
On the downside, this book is utterly humorless – this seems typical of the Scandinavian murder-mystery sub-genre – and its translation seems unusually flat. It’s a pace-y but prosaic journey we take around southern Sweden.
Also, although there is no one incident in the story at which the suspension of disbelief is shattered, there are many implausible and unlikely events. I won’t include spoilers, but there were several sequences in which it’s clear Mankell was finding it hard to keep at bay the imaginary screen adapters looking over his shoulder.
Never the less, One Step Behind is an enjoyable read, and is recommended.
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sets in. What you’ve got is still great, sure, but you just don’t have the same appetite for it you once did.I suspect, therefore, that if you’re new to Mankell’s work (which I do recommend), you will find One Step Behind a real treat. It’s highly competent work, with a good protagonist, i.e. Detective Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander.
In this story, Wallander is battling not only the black dog of depression that regularly haunts him, but also incipient diabetes: let’s just say you are not likely to find a work of popular fiction in which more time is spent in the men’s room than this one.
The mystery is also well-plotted; two separate killings are quite quickly recognized as related (which is a relief; who doesn’t hate a murder mystery in which seemingly-random threads ‘come together’ at the end in ridiculously unlikely fashion?), and Wallander and team are soon working round the clock as the killer leaves them constantly feeling ‘one step behind’.
On the downside, this book is utterly humorless – this seems typical of the Scandinavian murder-mystery sub-genre – and its translation seems unusually flat. It’s a pace-y but prosaic journey we take around southern Sweden.
Also, although there is no one incident in the story at which the suspension of disbelief is shattered, there are many implausible and unlikely events. I won’t include spoilers, but there were several sequences in which it’s clear Mankell was finding it hard to keep at bay the imaginary screen adapters looking over his shoulder.
Never the less, One Step Behind is an enjoyable read, and is recommended.
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LibraryThing member melondon
Absolutely amazing. I loved this book. It was scary, suspenseful, maddening, and it gave me nightmares. Definitely recommend it.
LibraryThing member lriley
A very good and very entertaining and suspenseful crime novel. Kurt Wallander--the main detective in a series of books by Henning Mankell is given the job of finding the murderer of three young people out celebrating midsummer's eve in a forest preserve--but it's not as simple as that because at
Well--a murderer is on the loose and no one has a clue as to his identity or what his motivation is. The scene of Svedberg's murder--his apartment is strewn with his belongings and the shotgun--the murder weapon is there as well. And as it happens the midsummer's night celebration was meant to be for 4 kids and not 3--a young lady begging off because of a stomach ailment. Returning to Svedberg's apartment on his own Wallander discovers a hiding place in which there is two photographs--one of one of the kids in the group that had been murdered and another of a mysterious woman--later on identified as Louise. Still not a lot to go on. And then there are more murders including the girl who had been sick which happens right under Wallander's nose.
Anyway one of the things that makes One step behind so good is being taken through the whole process of the investigation--numerous interviews, dead ends, evaporating leads. Wallander himself is not feeling very well for all this--he's in the initial stages of a diabetes diagnosis and the investigation as well will exacerbate a chronic case of insomnia. Well you can imagine. To top it all off they will have to dig into the dirt of the life of one of their own--a very well liked detective about whom they will very soon find out they knew very little about his private life.
Eventually some leads do start paying off--and slowly they will begin collating the good information from the bad--circling in on the culprit--as it happens a disgruntled transvestite postal worker with a habit of reading other peoples mail. Well it takes all kinds.
All in all it's well written, keenly observed and the pace is right on the money. That's a combination that is hard to beat and this is one of--though not quite--the best crime novels I've read. To sum up I do see myself reading more of Mankell's work--very well done.
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first there are no bodies and foul play is only presumed by one of the parents of those kids. Instead it's a missing persons case while at the same time there is another mysterious murder of one of Wallander's detective team--Svedberg who as it happens had been investigating the disappearance (at the request of said concerned parent on his own time and unknown to Wallander etal) of the very same kids.Well--a murderer is on the loose and no one has a clue as to his identity or what his motivation is. The scene of Svedberg's murder--his apartment is strewn with his belongings and the shotgun--the murder weapon is there as well. And as it happens the midsummer's night celebration was meant to be for 4 kids and not 3--a young lady begging off because of a stomach ailment. Returning to Svedberg's apartment on his own Wallander discovers a hiding place in which there is two photographs--one of one of the kids in the group that had been murdered and another of a mysterious woman--later on identified as Louise. Still not a lot to go on. And then there are more murders including the girl who had been sick which happens right under Wallander's nose.
Anyway one of the things that makes One step behind so good is being taken through the whole process of the investigation--numerous interviews, dead ends, evaporating leads. Wallander himself is not feeling very well for all this--he's in the initial stages of a diabetes diagnosis and the investigation as well will exacerbate a chronic case of insomnia. Well you can imagine. To top it all off they will have to dig into the dirt of the life of one of their own--a very well liked detective about whom they will very soon find out they knew very little about his private life.
Eventually some leads do start paying off--and slowly they will begin collating the good information from the bad--circling in on the culprit--as it happens a disgruntled transvestite postal worker with a habit of reading other peoples mail. Well it takes all kinds.
All in all it's well written, keenly observed and the pace is right on the money. That's a combination that is hard to beat and this is one of--though not quite--the best crime novels I've read. To sum up I do see myself reading more of Mankell's work--very well done.
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LibraryThing member JudyKenn
I enjoyed this book very much. The pace was slow and realistic. I was exposed to clues and followed trails along with the police force, heading in wrong directions, making mistakes, back tracking and finally figuring things out. Mankell is a master at taking the reader along for the ride. His
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protagonist, Kurt Wollander, is very believable as a detective. He's smart, but not brilliant, forgetful, but detail oriented, patient, but only up to a point. I will read more books by this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member shawnd
This is a likeable, powerful, slow but not plodding mystery including murder, suicide, love, and more. The lead detective, Wallander, seems very believable as a gruff (without the inner teddy bear) wizened hard-driver. The multiple group meetings in the conference room and the worsening health with
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real symptoms are a couple of the touches that add realism to the typically glossed over mundane world of real policing in the station. Set in Ystad a town in County Skane, Sweden, the story takes place almost exclusively in Sweden. References to past cases-perhaps to engage readers of earlier novels-are thankfully few. The lack of skill among the male detectives in attracting and engaging with women is thankfully realistic. The pace starts very slow but soon picks up. The clues and facts that a reader picks up but the characters do not definitely are engaging and evoke energy, concern, and care from the reader. The story is weak at times and leaves some significant questions unanswered where they could have gracefully been covered before the book ends, which seems almost ham-handed but perhaps realistic. The book is solid but there is nothing absolutely amazing about it and it might sacrifice glamor, violence, or intrigue and gritty details at the expense of a whole lot of realism. And at 400+ p[ages, no one is going to call this taut but the pace at the end satisfies. Show Less
LibraryThing member dwate
Number seven in the Kurt Wallander series, this is the story of an unusual serial killer who uses his position as a relief postman to find out about his intended victims, by opening their mail and discovering details of their arrangements. He begins by murdering three young people celebrating
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mid-summer eve in a secluded forest. The police are notified that they are missing but do not suspect for some time that there has been foul play. One of Wallander’s team – Svedburg – is found brutally murdered in his flat, but there is no immediate reason to connect the two crimes. Wallander is continually exhausted – not only for lack of sleep and over-work, but also because he is diagnosed as having diabetes. As the title suggests, the investigation is always one step behind the killer, and there are four more deaths before the thrilling finale, in which it seems Wallander will be the ninth victim. As usual, the background and the police work are fascinating, as is Wallander’s struggle to keep going. Show Less
LibraryThing member fourbears
Translator was different form the last one and the result was awkward. Some infelicitous English and some mistakes/typos that should have been caught. BUT a great story--ending was breath-taking.
LibraryThing member SunnySD
A serial killer is stalking happy people.
Swedish police inspector Kurt Wallander can't actually be described as happy - in fact, he's anything but, as he can't seem to get enough sleep and is beginning to question his commitment to his job. But something about the disappearance of three teenagers
Deliberately paced, introspective, and interesting.
Swedish police inspector Kurt Wallander can't actually be described as happy - in fact, he's anything but, as he can't seem to get enough sleep and is beginning to question his commitment to his job. But something about the disappearance of three teenagers
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and a colleague's murder strikes him as connected. The only way he'll stop more people from dying is to stop the killer... but to do that he'll have to hold his shaky team together, and that may be the hardest challenge he's faced yet.Deliberately paced, introspective, and interesting.
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LibraryThing member annbury
Another relatively straightforward policy procedural featuring INspector Wallander, but also an excellent and psycholoogically perceptive read. In this one, Wallander senses a connection between the murder of three young people in the woods on Midsummer Eve, and the killing of one of Wallenberg's
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police colleagues. The gradual peicing together of the case is fascinating to watch, as are the relationships among the police. Show Less
LibraryThing member donaldgallinger
Henning Mankel has proven himself to be a wonderful crime novelist. His books create a unique 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
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Swedish culture as it is about the classic "whodunits." Show Less
LibraryThing member rsummer
A bit long and meandering at times but well crafted. I do wonder how Wallender manages to go days upon days without sleep. Someone near 50 with diabetes would be incoherent after a day or so. Surprised that once they had the name of the killer they did not do a vehicle check to see what cars he
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owned. I must be too much of a North American. Show Less
LibraryThing member VictorTrevor
I like Kurt Wallander as a character but I found this overly long and it had a rather weak ending.
LibraryThing member bookczuk
Henning Mankell has created a fascinating character in a really compelling series. This particular book filled in a number of blanks in the Wallander legacy. Mankell, in an interview I heard recently, said that when he writes, it's with the knowledge there is extreme violence in this world.
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Humanity, too, but violence takes the upper hand these days. It may be true, though I hope humanity wins out. Either way, Mankell brings both to his novels, including this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member MsGumby
I haven't read all the Wallander books yet, but so far this one has the most intricate plot (which is saying a lot!). Really fascinating and unexpected turns.
LibraryThing member devenish
Although the crimes are of the usual unusual sort and really get the reader thinking,this is not up to Mankell's high standard. For a start the whole thing id much too protracted for my liking,going over the same ground again and again. When the killer id finally captured and interrogated,he has no
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explanation for his actions.The whole thing becomes a cop-out. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
I liked this one more than the last couple Wallander mysteries I've read. Solid pacing and great suspense.
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
This is my first Kurt Wallander novel. Wallander is a Swedish police detective, and in this installment, at least, he seems a bit out of his element investigating a series of brutal murders of overtly happy people. He forgets his mobile phone, thereby landing himself in dire straits on more than
Review written in 2012
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one occasion. He makes very little progress in the investigation; most of his interviews seem to come to nothing, and when he does identify the suspect it is almost by accident. He is coping (not well) with recently discovered health issues including elevated blood pressure and blood sugar, and cannot seem to remember to take his medication or to eat when he ought to. The man is borderline incompetent, not to put too fine a point upon it. I feel I may have done the series a disservice by starting in the middle somewhere, but I find the style a bit dreary and repetitive, and I suspect the translation may be partly to blame. As a police procedural, One Step Behind lacks a lot in the procedure department, and we never get a decent explanation as to what the psychopathic killer was all about. I may give another Mankell a chance, because I know there are many many devoted Wallander fans out there, and they must see something I'm missing.Review written in 2012
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LibraryThing member janerawoof
Another exciting adventure of Kurt Wallander and the Ystad police in which they investigate serial murders for a total of eight people. Young people dressed in costume are murdered at a Midsummer's celebration, then a policeman colleague is bumped off. Are the murders connected? Wallander thinks
Highly recommended.
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so. The murders are meticulously planned and carried out. The police are always "one step behind" the murderer. The bodies pile up and so do the red herrings. The author leads us through a labyrinth to get at the truth. I guessed wrong all the way through; the author certainly kept my interest! Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member buffalogr
This is another dense, intricately plotted crime novel featuring Swedish detective Kurt Wallander. Thus, it works better if absorbed in long chunks. A bit long and meandering at times but well crafted. We get through the whole process of the investigation--numerous interviews, dead ends,
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evaporating leads, interspersed with Wallender's personal issues. Show Less
LibraryThing member usuallee
very close to 5 star [edit: went back and awarded the full 5 stars. The book rocks. ] . Awesome, intricate police procedural with a breathlessly exciting finale. Love Wallander's character. Pushing 50, overweight, now with diabetes, wracked with self-doubt and even self-loathing, but he is a total
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badass when he needs to be. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBreedlove
The 1st 3 qtrs of this book were near perfect. Well paces and well and sparsely told. Wallander is aging and all too real. But, as often happens, a good start isn'y followe dby a good ending. Too much time on getting to the end. It got more and unneccesarily complicated and if the bad guy had
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Wallander cornered it would have been good to see him get out of it. And the caotyre couldn't have taken more than a page. Almost a rare detective 4.5. Show Less
Awards
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Mystery/Thriller — 2002)
Deutscher Krimi Preis (2001)