Before The Frost: A Inspector Wallander Mystery
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Amazon.co.uk Review
No longer is Henning Mankell a name known to just a privileged few. Before the Frost will have a readership far greater than his first European fans, those lucky enough to have encountered some of the finest modern crime writing from a Swedish master. His recent novel, Firewall, further developed the cool, utterly gripping style that had become his trademark: modern society and its eccentricities stripped bare, with Sweden ably standing in for the whole of western society. In that book, Mankell’s dogged copper Inspector Kurt Wallander investigated crime in cyberspace (as the country experienced electricity blackout), and anarchist cyber terrorists tested Wallander’s mettle. But Mankell was showing signs of wanting something new, and Before the Frost delivers that--in spades.
Linda Wallander--Kurt’s daughter--is cut from the same cloth as her resourceful father, and as a new detective character for Mankell, she’ll do very nicely, even if a certain amount of adjustment is needed on the reader’s part. In the dark forest near Ystad, a grisly find is made: human hands and a severed head, arranged in a grim mockery of prayer. A bible, seemingly heavily annotated by the killer is also found. But this is just one of series of bizarre incidents that have been taxing inspector Kurt Wallander: including domestic pets being attacked. Not a good time, in fact, for Wallander’s daughter Linda to make her debut as another detective on the force. But (needless to say) she soon gives her father a run for his money in identifying the criminals involved--a sinister group with biblical punishments on their unflinching agenda.
While Linda has some way to go to make herself as beloved a protagonist as her father, the auguries here are very promising, with plotting compensating for the gearshifts involved.--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Michael Ondaatje
'Mankell is by far the best writer of police mysteries today'
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have read all of Mankell's Kurt Wallander books so was particularly interested to read this one where his daighter Linda becomes the primary character in the book.
Overall I enjoyed the book as it carries on the great Mankell novels of superb plot, dialogue, suspense and bringing to life teh characters and surroundings of Ystadd in Sweden.
I found the start a litle slow as Mankell tries to bring you the background to Linda that the author never raised in his previous novels. It was also a little strange having crimes occur which Kurt investigated but within the first 100 pages of the novel are not the focus, as it is on his daughter whose friend has gone missing.
However the final half of the book is typical Mankell with all the threads coming together and the pace and page turnability increasing.
Linda Wallander does not have her fathers experience and many of his failings, but Mankell does bring his daughter very much to life as she begins her new role as police officer.
The most interesting side story of the book is Linda's relationship now back living with her father. As they start to work closely together she finds out more about him and why he did nt spend more time with the family when she was younger. Discovering her father through out this investigation is a pleasure and a pain for Linda. I look forward to many more episodes.
Overall I enjoyed the book as it carries on the great Mankell novels of superb plot, dialogue, suspense and bringing to life teh characters and surroundings of Ystadd in Sweden.
I found the start a litle slow as Mankell tries to bring you the background to Linda that the author never raised in his previous novels. It was also a little strange having crimes occur which Kurt investigated but within the first 100 pages of the novel are not the focus, as it is on his daughter whose friend has gone missing.
However the final half of the book is typical Mankell with all the threads coming together and the pace and page turnability increasing.
Linda Wallander does not have her fathers experience and many of his failings, but Mankell does bring his daughter very much to life as she begins her new role as police officer.
The most interesting side story of the book is Linda's relationship now back living with her father. As they start to work closely together she finds out more about him and why he did nt spend more time with the family when she was younger. Discovering her father through out this investigation is a pleasure and a pain for Linda. I look forward to many more episodes.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Having read several of Mankell's previous works I was looking forward to delving in to this one. Kurt Wallander mysteries are amongst the finest of 'Police procedurals', but I have to admit that I found the first Linda Wallander story somewhat fractured and plodding. May be it's the switch of main character or the religious aspects that underly the antagonists.
Essentially I'd recommend this book to any Mankell fan but for me it didn't quite live up to the eminence of 'Sidetracked' or 'Firewall'.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I think Henning Mankell is trying to up the ante in the Wallander books. The early books were about criminals, often loners. There was always some connection with national or world issues like immigration or racial tension, but the clever bit was how one small event in Ystad reflected world trends.
Lately though, Mankell is concentrating on more and more unlikely situations to, presumably, give the books a bigger impact. The trouble is, it has the opposite effect.
The last book, 'Firewall', had Ystad at the centre of a bunch of criminals infiltrating a computer network with the intention of world domination. It spoiled the book somewhat. In 'Before the Frost' it's a group of religious fundamentalists (how topical) with a 'grand plan'.
And I think Mankell's problem here is that even he doesn't really know what this grand plan is. So he has trouble describing it. The actions of the fundamentalists are a series of pseudo-symbolic acts, like burning animals, and putting women-who've-had-abortions to death. It's empty stuff, melodramatic, and dull. It doesn't move the plot along and feels like Mankell was struggling with his material.
The rest of the book deals with soon-to-be police officer, Linda Wallander, and her relationship with her father, our beloved Kurt. But even here, the writing is untypically stilted, and there are some downright unbelievable scenes. For instance, Linda has an argument with Kurt at the Police Station and throws a glass ashtray at him, making him bleed profusely. I didn't believe this scene at all. Much of the dialogue in the book, especially between Linda and her father, or Linda and her friends, is highly unrealistic and difficult to voice.
When Mankell gets back to the things he's good at, the novel is fine though. He's good at describing the Skåne landscape. He's phenomenally good at creating tension, suspense and atmosphere. He's good at describing the way the police station works.
'Before the Frost', more than any other Wallander novel, makes you think about what he's not so good at: dialogue is the chief culprit. He's okay when it's police matters, but he just doesn't have an ear for ordinary dialogue like, say, the Norwegian crime writer Karin Fossum, which makes me think it's not just a translation problem.
I'm not sure he's so great at writing from a woman's perspective either. Linda's character is not nearly as compelling nor empathetic as Kurt's. She's at times gloomy, like Kurt, at times childlike, and girly, but rarely realistic. Her previous life events are what define her, and they're like something from a 'build a character' kit. I'm not sure I look forward to the next Linda Wallander mystery.
All these criticisms aside, I still largely enjoyed the book, though I found much of the melodramatic religious stuff tedious. There are moments of great tension and horror, just like in any Mankell crime novel, but it seems to be spread more thinly than usual.
It makes me glad there's a Kurt Wallander novel ('The Man Who Smiled') still untranslated. Somehow I know it'll be better than this.
Lately though, Mankell is concentrating on more and more unlikely situations to, presumably, give the books a bigger impact. The trouble is, it has the opposite effect.
The last book, 'Firewall', had Ystad at the centre of a bunch of criminals infiltrating a computer network with the intention of world domination. It spoiled the book somewhat. In 'Before the Frost' it's a group of religious fundamentalists (how topical) with a 'grand plan'.
And I think Mankell's problem here is that even he doesn't really know what this grand plan is. So he has trouble describing it. The actions of the fundamentalists are a series of pseudo-symbolic acts, like burning animals, and putting women-who've-had-abortions to death. It's empty stuff, melodramatic, and dull. It doesn't move the plot along and feels like Mankell was struggling with his material.
The rest of the book deals with soon-to-be police officer, Linda Wallander, and her relationship with her father, our beloved Kurt. But even here, the writing is untypically stilted, and there are some downright unbelievable scenes. For instance, Linda has an argument with Kurt at the Police Station and throws a glass ashtray at him, making him bleed profusely. I didn't believe this scene at all. Much of the dialogue in the book, especially between Linda and her father, or Linda and her friends, is highly unrealistic and difficult to voice.
When Mankell gets back to the things he's good at, the novel is fine though. He's good at describing the Skåne landscape. He's phenomenally good at creating tension, suspense and atmosphere. He's good at describing the way the police station works.
'Before the Frost', more than any other Wallander novel, makes you think about what he's not so good at: dialogue is the chief culprit. He's okay when it's police matters, but he just doesn't have an ear for ordinary dialogue like, say, the Norwegian crime writer Karin Fossum, which makes me think it's not just a translation problem.
I'm not sure he's so great at writing from a woman's perspective either. Linda's character is not nearly as compelling nor empathetic as Kurt's. She's at times gloomy, like Kurt, at times childlike, and girly, but rarely realistic. Her previous life events are what define her, and they're like something from a 'build a character' kit. I'm not sure I look forward to the next Linda Wallander mystery.
All these criticisms aside, I still largely enjoyed the book, though I found much of the melodramatic religious stuff tedious. There are moments of great tension and horror, just like in any Mankell crime novel, but it seems to be spread more thinly than usual.
It makes me glad there's a Kurt Wallander novel ('The Man Who Smiled') still untranslated. Somehow I know it'll be better than this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wallander Family Tale
This Wallander story features his daughter and her attempts to join the Police Force. It was an insight as to how family feel when they have to compete with an icon and it was very... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Madeleine Godbold
loved it
this - bizarely - was the book that triggered by mankell obsession. bizarre because it was the start of a series that was never to be; a spin off from the main Wallander series. Read more
Published 1 month ago by New Lit Fan
Autumnal thriller
Kurt Wallander (KW) nears retirement. He wants to sell his flat full of bad memories and buy a house with a view of the sea to retire to, with a dog. But he fears this fate. Read more
Published 4 months ago by P. A. Doornbos
Fed up with the northern writers !
I cannot understand how Amazon drove me to buy books written by northern writers (Nesbo, Mankell,...). Read more
Published 8 months ago by Marco
Better than Larsson, decent murder mystery
Having read The girl with the dragon tattoo last year on a trip to Sweden, I thought I'd try another Swedish mystery and so turned to the bestselling Wallander series by Henning... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Phil Whittall
A different Wallander
In this book Mankell focuses on Kurt Wallanders daughter Linda and the mystery is seen from her perspective. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Silver Fox
top quality wallander
as ever, a cracking good read, but i have to confess i am a complete wallander addict, and can't bear the thought that i will have read them all very soon. Read more
Published 18 months ago by currer bell
swedish murder
found this book to be more about wallander daughter Linda, than Wallender. it was slow to take off, at times
boring a nd repetitive. I found it hard to finish.
boring a nd repetitive. I found it hard to finish.
Published 19 months ago by sherlock
thrilling and scary
Excellent read. Plenty to get your teeth into. Linda, daughter of Inspector Wallander, has just finished training, and is eagerly waiting to enter the local police force within... Read more
Published 20 months ago by SusieH
I didn't realise this was a spin-off
It makes sense now. I had thought that Linda seemed oddly caught up in her father's every thought and mood. Read more
Published 20 months ago by GreenElizabeth
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