Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
New Press, The (1998), Edition: First Edition, 500 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: The execution-style murder of a Swedish housewife looks like a simple case, except that there is no obvious suspect. Wallander follows a lead on a determined stalker, but when his alibi turns out to be airtight, Wallander begins to realize that what seemed a simple crime of passion is actually far more complex and dangerous. Eventually, his search uncovers an assassination plot, and Wallander soon finds himself in a tangle with the secret police and with a ruthless foreign agent. A riveting tale of international intrigue with compelling insights into the sinister side of modern life, The White Lioness keeps you on the knife edge of suspense..
User reviews
LibraryThing member tymfos
This marvelous mystery was written, and takes place, in the period of time during F.W. de Klerk's presidency in South Africa -- after Nelson Mandela had been released from prison, but before free elections were held. The premise is that a secret organization of Boers (such a group apparently
The story actually begins with a female real estate agent who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. When she is reported missing, it's fascinating to read Mankell's portrayal of police fumbling to figure out what happened (the reader knows more than the detectives do!) and initially going in the wrong direction.
The tension mounts as Wallander begins to put the pieces together and is drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse with a treacherous opponent. Actually, cat-and-mouse may be the wrong term, because each is stalking the other. Wallander engages in some unorthodox moves that threaten both his career and, eventually, his mental health. Suspense abounds.
Toward the end there is a chain of errors/mishaps that seems a little difficult to believe, each delaying the manhunt for the true assassin. But, on the other hand, Murphy's Law is alive and well in the world, so -- especially dealing with bureaucracies -- I suppose it's believable.
I really enjoyed this story. And the audio (produced by Blackstone Audio) was excellent.
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actually existed) were planning to assassinate Mandela in order to destabilize the country and halt reform efforts; the training of the killer is to take place in Sweden -- our Inspector Wallander's turf.The story actually begins with a female real estate agent who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. When she is reported missing, it's fascinating to read Mankell's portrayal of police fumbling to figure out what happened (the reader knows more than the detectives do!) and initially going in the wrong direction.
The tension mounts as Wallander begins to put the pieces together and is drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse with a treacherous opponent. Actually, cat-and-mouse may be the wrong term, because each is stalking the other. Wallander engages in some unorthodox moves that threaten both his career and, eventually, his mental health. Suspense abounds.
Toward the end there is a chain of errors/mishaps that seems a little difficult to believe, each delaying the manhunt for the true assassin. But, on the other hand, Murphy's Law is alive and well in the world, so -- especially dealing with bureaucracies -- I suppose it's believable.
I really enjoyed this story. And the audio (produced by Blackstone Audio) was excellent.
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LibraryThing member Lman
Beginning with the seemingly innocuous disappearance of a local woman the subsequent investigation by Kurt Wallander, a Swedish provincial police inspector, embroils the reader in an international conspiracy. The book alternates between events in the locale of the province of Skåne and the turmoil
Wallander, and his family, are caught up in the machinations of people and circumstances beyond his control, analogous to the world at large, as he laments his inability - in his opinion - to understand and adapt to the great changes happening around him, despite having great intuition and succeeding in doing just that. I think the author is using Kurt's viewpoint to illustrate the need for all of us to comprehend and grasp a bigger picture, while we deal with the mundane and personal matters of our everyday lives, even as world affairs affect us momentously.
This third book in the series is a good spy thriller and mystery and is best read after the first two; it also offers an aspect of world history that is still pertinent today.
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of South Africa in a time of great political and social upheaval.Wallander, and his family, are caught up in the machinations of people and circumstances beyond his control, analogous to the world at large, as he laments his inability - in his opinion - to understand and adapt to the great changes happening around him, despite having great intuition and succeeding in doing just that. I think the author is using Kurt's viewpoint to illustrate the need for all of us to comprehend and grasp a bigger picture, while we deal with the mundane and personal matters of our everyday lives, even as world affairs affect us momentously.
This third book in the series is a good spy thriller and mystery and is best read after the first two; it also offers an aspect of world history that is still pertinent today.
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LibraryThing member lit_chick
"A criminal investigation seldom follows regular day-to-day rhythms. It has its own life, its own energy. The clocks of a criminal investigation distort time, sometimes standing still, sometimes racing forward. No-one can know in advance.” (Ch 7)
Louise Akerblom, a Swedish estate agent, leaves her
Shortly following the discovery of Akerblom’s body, the house where she was murdered is destroyed by high-powered explosives. Investigators find the severed finger of a black man, parts of a radio transmitter, and an unusual handgun, manufactured strictly in South Africa. Before the case is solved, it will lead Wallander and his officers deep into South African politics. They will learn there are white men aplenty, a network of them in fact, willing to do whatever it takes to make certain their interests continued to be served in South Africa – to make certain Apartheid remains intact.
Louise Akerblom, a Swedish estate agent, leaves her
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office in Ystad and drives into the surrounding countryside where she is to assess a property. But she never returns. Days later, she is found murdered, execution style: a single bullet to the head. The police, of course, are unaware that in the minutes before her death, she had observed several oddities about the forlorn place she had stopped to ask directions. The average-looking whitewashed house had appeared deserted with its rotting lawn furniture and its overgrown orchard; and yet housed in the barn had been two very expensive automobiles, a Mercedes and a BMW. Shortly following the discovery of Akerblom’s body, the house where she was murdered is destroyed by high-powered explosives. Investigators find the severed finger of a black man, parts of a radio transmitter, and an unusual handgun, manufactured strictly in South Africa. Before the case is solved, it will lead Wallander and his officers deep into South African politics. They will learn there are white men aplenty, a network of them in fact, willing to do whatever it takes to make certain their interests continued to be served in South Africa – to make certain Apartheid remains intact.
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LibraryThing member mldavis2
This was an interesting mystery involving several themes and a good deal of information related to South Africa and its political and racial climate. But the novel stands on it own as one of the fine examples of Mankell's writing. Number three in the series and 435 pages, it is a must read for
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Mankell fans and a good introduction to those who are just recognizing this crime author. Show Less
LibraryThing member Finxy
Review from Badelynge.
After the underwhelming Dogs of Riga I was hoping for a big fat Swedish murder investigation this time. The White Lioness is a far superior animal by far but it's also not entirely that big fat dose of Wallander I wanted. Written just before South Africa would throw away the
My biggest problem with this book is the way this promising opening is just cut off in mid flow. We turn a page and leave Wallander behind. For a chapter we think. Well maybe two chapters. Any time now. 50 pages. Can't be long now. 80 pages. Please. 100 pages... you've got to be kidding me!!! Don't get me wrong. The narrative here is still excellently written and Mankell gives us a very creditable, though Swedish filtered attempt at showing Afrikaner society through the eyes of de Klerk, the secret service and a shadowy organisation dedicated to preserving apartheid by assassinating Mandela. Is it Wallander meets The Day of the Jackal? Oh very definitely, though the assassins here aren't really in the Jackal's class, though why they decide to train in Sweden is beyond me. Any half decent assassin would probably conduct his preparations in a neighbouring country.
Eventually the action returns back to Sweden and the book starts to burn again. Wallander skips the rails even more spectacularly than usual, which gives Svedberg an opportunity to step out of the shadows thrown by Mankel's previously sketchy characterisation, joining the very small cast of fully drawn players.
From a political standpoint the book has become a bit of curiosity, a set of Swedish tinged views on a long dead social system, separated by a couple of decades from today's contemporary incarnation. As a thriller and a detective story the book does eventually redeem itself, though the way the two threads are woven together could have been much better.
After the underwhelming Dogs of Riga I was hoping for a big fat Swedish murder investigation this time. The White Lioness is a far superior animal by far but it's also not entirely that big fat dose of Wallander I wanted. Written just before South Africa would throw away the
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worst of its horrific identity, Mankell once again writes a book that is so very rooted in the time of its writing - here the early 90s leading up to the eventual free elections in 1994. The first segment of the book is excellent. Wallander is still not quite on an even keel after his ordeal in Latvia. He throws himself into the mystery of a missing woman. A woman with no reason to disappear.My biggest problem with this book is the way this promising opening is just cut off in mid flow. We turn a page and leave Wallander behind. For a chapter we think. Well maybe two chapters. Any time now. 50 pages. Can't be long now. 80 pages. Please. 100 pages... you've got to be kidding me!!! Don't get me wrong. The narrative here is still excellently written and Mankell gives us a very creditable, though Swedish filtered attempt at showing Afrikaner society through the eyes of de Klerk, the secret service and a shadowy organisation dedicated to preserving apartheid by assassinating Mandela. Is it Wallander meets The Day of the Jackal? Oh very definitely, though the assassins here aren't really in the Jackal's class, though why they decide to train in Sweden is beyond me. Any half decent assassin would probably conduct his preparations in a neighbouring country.
Eventually the action returns back to Sweden and the book starts to burn again. Wallander skips the rails even more spectacularly than usual, which gives Svedberg an opportunity to step out of the shadows thrown by Mankel's previously sketchy characterisation, joining the very small cast of fully drawn players.
From a political standpoint the book has become a bit of curiosity, a set of Swedish tinged views on a long dead social system, separated by a couple of decades from today's contemporary incarnation. As a thriller and a detective story the book does eventually redeem itself, though the way the two threads are woven together could have been much better.
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LibraryThing member KatherineGregg
I loved this third book in the Kurt Wallendar series and am looking forward to the next one. I like the way he combines contemporary events (written in the late 90s
LibraryThing member ksmac
Carefully plotted mystery traces how the murder of a housewife in rural Sweden exposes an international plot to assassinate Nelson Mandela, and inexorably draws the policeman investigating it into killing
LibraryThing member pmarshall
In "The White Lioness" Mankell does his usual masterful job of having Kurt Wallander investigate the seemingly senseless murder of a woman in southern Sweden. He then ties this into the politics of South Africa and a planned assassination of Nelson Mandela. The impact of this in 1992 would have
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been devastating to South Africa. He weaves the two story lines together by having the assassin trained in Sweden. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
The White Lioness is book number three in Mankell's series of crime novels Ystad detective featuring Kurt Wallander. I was really iffy on whether or not I would read this one, since it seemed more like a span-the-globe type of mystery, but I stuck with it and was happily rewarded.
The action begins
Well written, The White Lioness takes place in two separate settings, but the story is very neatly tied together. The characters are realistically drawn -- especially the character of Konovalenko, who makes for an excellent bad guy. I liked this one much better than the previous series entry (Dogs of Riga). I'd definitely recommend this one to fans of Mankell, to those who like Scandinavian mysteries (which, in my mind, are simply excellent), and to those readers who want a mystery novel that is engrossing. Fans of police procedurals will enjoy this book and this series.
The action begins
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when an estate agent goes out to look at a house for sale and loses her way on the road. Stopping to ask for directions at a farmhouse was the last thing she ever did. Called in to investigate her disappearance (and ultimately her death), Wallander and his team had no idea that their search for a killer would take them across the world to South Africa (the year is 1992), where a small cabal was planning a major assassination which its members hoped would set events in motion to stop the plans for disassembling the policy of apartheid in that country. This is one of those novels where you know who the killer is pretty much right away, and you're just watching to see how Wallander and his team figure it out. Well written, The White Lioness takes place in two separate settings, but the story is very neatly tied together. The characters are realistically drawn -- especially the character of Konovalenko, who makes for an excellent bad guy. I liked this one much better than the previous series entry (Dogs of Riga). I'd definitely recommend this one to fans of Mankell, to those who like Scandinavian mysteries (which, in my mind, are simply excellent), and to those readers who want a mystery novel that is engrossing. Fans of police procedurals will enjoy this book and this series.
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LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
This is the first of Henning Mankell's books that I have read; and it will not be the last! I saw, and enjoyed the British television version of Wallander but sadly, missed the Swedish shows, which have been aired with subtitles.
Based upon this book, the characters are far more rounded than
The story of South Africa, on the brink of Mandela's take over, seemed realistic and Mankell's text convinced me that he knew what he was talking about and that he had knowledge of South Africa and the peoples thereof.
Characters were flawed, but in subtle ways, rather than the somewhat crass system so often employed, whereby the hero is an alcoholic, or whatever, but this can conveniently be forgotten after the first few pages where it was simply a method of creating a back story. Wallander, whilst definitely a hero, was not Superman, a one man band clearing evil from the face of the planet. His Swedish compatriots also pulled their weight, as did the South African secret service.
As I mentioned, this was my first Mankell. I shall now go off and add all his other books to my wanted list.
Based upon this book, the characters are far more rounded than
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television allows but the story has the same urgency from line one to the final paragraph. This non stop technique can, sometimes, appear forced, but not here. I particularly enjoyed the way that fate sometimes smiled upon our hero, and sometimes played him foul. This is how things happen in real life, but seldom in fiction. The story of South Africa, on the brink of Mandela's take over, seemed realistic and Mankell's text convinced me that he knew what he was talking about and that he had knowledge of South Africa and the peoples thereof.
Characters were flawed, but in subtle ways, rather than the somewhat crass system so often employed, whereby the hero is an alcoholic, or whatever, but this can conveniently be forgotten after the first few pages where it was simply a method of creating a back story. Wallander, whilst definitely a hero, was not Superman, a one man band clearing evil from the face of the planet. His Swedish compatriots also pulled their weight, as did the South African secret service.
As I mentioned, this was my first Mankell. I shall now go off and add all his other books to my wanted list.
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LibraryThing member annbury
The third in the Mankell series, and my favorite of the lot. In this one, the murder of a Swedish business man in Ystad starts a trail of clues that leads to South Africa, where a plot is being organized to kill Nelson Mandela. The African atmosphere is just a well drawn as the Swedish one: not
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surprisingly, since Mankell has spent much of his tiim in Africa. The subsidiary characters in this one are particularly interesting, which is one reason why Mankell is such a top flight novelist Show Less
LibraryThing member WillyMammoth
The White Lioness was a hard read for me--not because Mankell is an especially horrid writer, but because his writing style and this story in particular didn't grab me. I found myself wanting to finish it, not because I wanted to find out what happened, but because I wanted to be done with it so I
The main reason for my lack of interest was Mankell's style. The dialogue seems stilted and stiff, while his narration is stark with very little in the way of metaphors or the like to make it interesting. And because of that stark style, I never identified with any of the characters. They were just chess pieces moving around within the plot. Though to be fair, maybe I would have had a different opinion if I was reading it in the native Swedish. Often times when works are translated out of their original language they lose some of their power and tone, and a lot hinges upon the skill of the translator.
But I also didn't like the narrative in general. Except for maybe the first 100 pages, there is no mystery. The reader is aware of all the major players and all the motivations and everything about the big bad plot to assassinate Nelson Mandela (and if we're even mildly informed about world history and politics, we know how the assassination attempt is going to turn out). For over 400 pages the story inexorably marches toward its inevitable conclusion. And for me, that's kind of a buzz kill.
The one great thing that stood out to me about this book was that it is realistic. The events, the people, the crime, they're all grounded in reality. Everything from the investigation red herrings to the way Wallander takes out his Russian nemesis to the fax malfunction at the end of the book are all great details that make suspension of disbelief a non-issue. But unfortunately the realistic details weren't enough to keep me glued to the book.
The White Lioness was an OK read, but I wasn't overly impressed. I won't rule out giving Mankell a second chance on another of his novels, but I'll need some time to let the memory of this one fade a little before I tackle anything else from him.
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could read something else. The main reason for my lack of interest was Mankell's style. The dialogue seems stilted and stiff, while his narration is stark with very little in the way of metaphors or the like to make it interesting. And because of that stark style, I never identified with any of the characters. They were just chess pieces moving around within the plot. Though to be fair, maybe I would have had a different opinion if I was reading it in the native Swedish. Often times when works are translated out of their original language they lose some of their power and tone, and a lot hinges upon the skill of the translator.
But I also didn't like the narrative in general. Except for maybe the first 100 pages, there is no mystery. The reader is aware of all the major players and all the motivations and everything about the big bad plot to assassinate Nelson Mandela (and if we're even mildly informed about world history and politics, we know how the assassination attempt is going to turn out). For over 400 pages the story inexorably marches toward its inevitable conclusion. And for me, that's kind of a buzz kill.
The one great thing that stood out to me about this book was that it is realistic. The events, the people, the crime, they're all grounded in reality. Everything from the investigation red herrings to the way Wallander takes out his Russian nemesis to the fax malfunction at the end of the book are all great details that make suspension of disbelief a non-issue. But unfortunately the realistic details weren't enough to keep me glued to the book.
The White Lioness was an OK read, but I wasn't overly impressed. I won't rule out giving Mankell a second chance on another of his novels, but I'll need some time to let the memory of this one fade a little before I tackle anything else from him.
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LibraryThing member literarytiger
This was a gripping and disturbing chapter in the Wallander series. The realities of South African apartheid were shocking and deeply disturbing, as were the attitudes of the perpetrators of the crime that Wallander has to try to solve in this, the third, of his cases. The initial murder of Louise
The story jumps between Sweden and South Africa so you are taken away from the case for a while to set the scene. As usual, it is a page turner although I have to admit, the building of tension at the end by what seemed to be one inept mess up after another did get a little annoying. Nevertheless, it is a great read.
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Akerblom is just the beginning - the web of terrorism goes far wider and deeper that the small Swedish town where it all begins.The story jumps between Sweden and South Africa so you are taken away from the case for a while to set the scene. As usual, it is a page turner although I have to admit, the building of tension at the end by what seemed to be one inept mess up after another did get a little annoying. Nevertheless, it is a great read.
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LibraryThing member sfeggers
This book got bogged down a bit in the middle by the political statement but picked up again when Wallander re-entered the scene.
LibraryThing member msf59
Wallander is back! Our favorite Swedish detective, as rumpled and cantankerous as ever, has returned for his third outing. This time he is called in to investigate the disappearance of a female real-estate agent. Of course, nothing is that simple and this routine case soon plunges Wallander into a
This series seems to get better with each book and this is the most ambitious, a heady mix of a Scandinavian police procedural and “The Day of the Jackal”. Well-written and tightly plotted, with strongly drawn characters. Highly recommended.
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complex web of intrigue, involving a ruthless ex-KGB agent, a South African assassin and a sinister plot that will shake the world.This series seems to get better with each book and this is the most ambitious, a heady mix of a Scandinavian police procedural and “The Day of the Jackal”. Well-written and tightly plotted, with strongly drawn characters. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member sumariotter
these get better with each book. the mysteries have become international in scope and this one is about South Africa. I thought it looked thick but Mankell's books are always page turners. Gloomy page turners, but good.
LibraryThing member debavp
This is not a quick read at all, and that’s not a bad thing. The story is multi-faceted and of a singular purpose at the same time. Wallender is riveting because you just can’t predict how he will react, moment to moment. Mankell is quite adept at being stingy with the details but still
While this is fiction, one can’t wonder but as to just how close to the truth this novel really is?
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managing to present believable characters. My only complaint was that the White Lioness really didn’t seem relevant when she appeared. And despite the ending, I still don’t.While this is fiction, one can’t wonder but as to just how close to the truth this novel really is?
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LibraryThing member jeremyfarnumlane
Not the best Wallander book I've read, but a very interesting context. Made me realize I was alive for some incredible events, like the fall of apartheid in South Africa, and that I would like to know more about it (the and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Gulf War 1, and on, and on...).
LibraryThing member pidgeon92
Best of the series so far...
LibraryThing member veracite
Not entirely sure where I sit with this book; not a good sign.
Wallander is irksome, he flails and gets away with murder, so to speak. I was distracted by amusement at the RPF (Pik Botha/FW de Klerk! No, not really, but I thought it.) and irritated by the symbolism of the white lioness: white
Perhaps other Wallander books, those without a South African storyline, are better.
Wallander is irksome, he flails and gets away with murder, so to speak. I was distracted by amusement at the RPF (Pik Botha/FW de Klerk! No, not really, but I thought it.) and irritated by the symbolism of the white lioness: white
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Afrikaners are Africans, too. If I never, ever, ever again read a story with a conflicted, hypocritical or just plain soul-ugly white South African being in love with the daughter of his childhood black housekeeper/gardner/other servant it will be too damn soon. Perhaps other Wallander books, those without a South African storyline, are better.
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LibraryThing member bookczuk
This is a Wallander I had somehow missed, so it was nice to fill in the pieces after that last, heartbreaking one I read. Interesting stuff on South Africa, too.
LibraryThing member gilly1944
Mankell is the best crime writer of all time and this may be his best book! The plot, the atmoshere, and the characters are all excellent. He creates a cinematic experience with the plot carrying the reader through different landscapes; he brilliantly evokes the Swedish and South African
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environments. This is a great read and is full of wonderful writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member grheault
A post-cold War, apartheid era spy thriller set mostly in Sweden with a trigger happy Russian assassin training a South African hit man for the killing of the century. Stumble onto stage a Swedish detective who finds a black man's finger at the site of a gangland style execution of the perfect
Even if the plot is pure Hollywood and you can guess the ending, the writing is much much better than say Tom Clancy, with full, complicated, flawed characters, A vintage spy thriller that wanders across many borders, and makes Swedes look like sincere poster children for non-racism.
Translation felt very flowing and natural.
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churchgoing real estate agent. He's a small town cop, often forgets to carry a gun, cries at victims funerals, and makes an awful lot of mistakes as time ticks along to the target assassination date. Even if the plot is pure Hollywood and you can guess the ending, the writing is much much better than say Tom Clancy, with full, complicated, flawed characters, A vintage spy thriller that wanders across many borders, and makes Swedes look like sincere poster children for non-racism.
Translation felt very flowing and natural.
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LibraryThing member ecw0647
Some of the best police procedural/mystery writing is coming out of the Scandinavian countries. Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, for example, also come from Sweden, and their work is consistently excellent. Not to mention there must ne some very good translators working on these books.
Mankell, who
Mankell deftly – normally I dislike books with multiple points of view, but they are nicely integrated here – alternates between the committee and its representatives who are planning to assassinate Nelson Mandela in hopes of instigating a violent chaotic response from the black community that would force de Klerk to rigidly suppress it , and de Klerk’s intelligence man who has to work in secret himself to find the truth.
The albino lioness, visited by one of de Klerk’s agents on safari, becomes a metaphor not just for the South African white community, dangerous and unpredictable, but also the blindness and density of fog. What appears to be light may not be.
Mankell, who
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wrote this in 1993 as apartheid was beginning to crumble, has little love for those white South Africans who wanted to retain the status quo. In this, one of his lengthier works, his protagonist, Chief Inspector Kurt Wallender, from the small town of Ystad, is puzzled by the seemingly random death of a woman real estate agent. The case becomes more baffling when a house blows up leaving only traces of a powerful Russian-built radio transmitter and the remnants of a pistol manufactured in South Africa.Mankell deftly – normally I dislike books with multiple points of view, but they are nicely integrated here – alternates between the committee and its representatives who are planning to assassinate Nelson Mandela in hopes of instigating a violent chaotic response from the black community that would force de Klerk to rigidly suppress it , and de Klerk’s intelligence man who has to work in secret himself to find the truth.
The albino lioness, visited by one of de Klerk’s agents on safari, becomes a metaphor not just for the South African white community, dangerous and unpredictable, but also the blindness and density of fog. What appears to be light may not be.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
I admit to being a fan of Scandinavian noir and Henning Mankell was one of the great practitioners of the genre (he died in 2015 at the age of 67). This book is ample proof of that. His detective, Kurt Wallander, is not perfect but he is dogged and persistent and something of a workaholic. The
The book starts with the disappearance of a woman. She and her husband own a real estate company. She was on her way to view a property that may soon come up for sale but she got lost. The person she turned to for directions was an ex-KGB officer who was hiding away in the country training a man from South Africa to assassinate a South African dignitary with a long distance rifle. The Russian killed the real estate agent without a qualm and then dumped her body and her car. Kurt Wallander is given the case of the missing woman. He feels that she will never be found alive but he heads up an intensive search anyway. When a farmhouse explodes near their search area Wallander feels sure this is connected to the woman's disappearance. The discovery of a severed finger from a black man adds to the mystery. As the investigation proceeds it is clear that South African politics are involved. The reader actually knows more about this than Wallander does because the action moves from Sweden to South Africa where a secret committee is planning the assassination of Nelson Mandela. The white Afrikaaners believe that Mandela's death would throw the country into such turmoil that the army would be able to take control thus allowing apartheid to continue. Wallander discovers this plot bit by bit as he investigates the murder. The reader feels like cheering every time a piece of the puzzle is fitted into place.
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villain in this book made the mistake of underestimating Wallander and comes to reluctantly admire him. The book starts with the disappearance of a woman. She and her husband own a real estate company. She was on her way to view a property that may soon come up for sale but she got lost. The person she turned to for directions was an ex-KGB officer who was hiding away in the country training a man from South Africa to assassinate a South African dignitary with a long distance rifle. The Russian killed the real estate agent without a qualm and then dumped her body and her car. Kurt Wallander is given the case of the missing woman. He feels that she will never be found alive but he heads up an intensive search anyway. When a farmhouse explodes near their search area Wallander feels sure this is connected to the woman's disappearance. The discovery of a severed finger from a black man adds to the mystery. As the investigation proceeds it is clear that South African politics are involved. The reader actually knows more about this than Wallander does because the action moves from Sweden to South Africa where a secret committee is planning the assassination of Nelson Mandela. The white Afrikaaners believe that Mandela's death would throw the country into such turmoil that the army would be able to take control thus allowing apartheid to continue. Wallander discovers this plot bit by bit as he investigates the murder. The reader feels like cheering every time a piece of the puzzle is fitted into place.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1993
Physical description
500 p.; 9.02 inches
ISBN
1565844246 / 9781565844247
Other editions
The White Lioness by Henning Mankell (Paperback)
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