Book info

• Title Faceless Killers
• Author Henning Mankell
• Year 1991
• Genre Mystery

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 supplies Wallander with his only clue: the perpetrators may have been foreign. When this is leaked to the press, it unleashes a tide of racism. Wallander's life is a shambles. His wife has left him, his daughter refuses to speak to him, and even his ageing father barely tolerates him. He works tirelessly, eats badly, and drinks his nights away. But now Wallander must forget his troubles and throw himself into a battle against time and against mounting racial hatred.

Thoughts

I’ve been vaguely aware of Kurt Wallander’s morose tales, seen promotional shots of the TV show but never actually read or watched anything yet. I quite enjoyed the story, if you can enjoy such a horrific crime being investigated by such a depressing character.

The pace of the story was interesting - the rush of discovering the crime scene, and the initial investigation leading to a dead end. Then a big clue that once again leads to a stalemate situation. The jarring nature of it fit nicely with Wallander’s character, sometimes elated at how things were going, often grumpy and unwell.

His personal life isn’t helping things, but it’s nice that the author takes a moment to address the stereotype that all police detectives are divorced. A good read, and I’ll read another, but it’s probably not at the top of my list.

Rating: 4 / 5