- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (21 Dec 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099448874
- ISBN-13: 978-0099448877
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 11.1 x 4.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 255,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
One Step Behind (Kurt Wallander)
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Product Description
Review
"The real test of thrillers of this kind is whether you want to spend more time in the detective's company. I certainly do" Sean French, Independent; "Mankell is one of the most ingenious crime writers around, strong on characterisation, plotting and atmosphere. Highly recommended" Peter Gutteridge, Observer
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
'Wallander is among the very best of fictional crimebusters' Daily Telegraph
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Inspector Kurt Wallander and his team return to investigate the harrowing case of a serial killer whose victims include one of their own colleagues. Interspersed in the investigation, that takes Wallander to the Swedish Baltic islands and to Copenhagen, the anxieties, doubts and health concerns of the all too human Kurt Wallander intervene.
Mankell tells a good story, creates a believable atmosphere of an overworked, under-resourced police team investigating a brutal and baffling series of crimes plus coping with the loss of a colleague while the media, politicians and high brass are pressurising for quick results. The detection (99 % perspiration and 1 % inspiration) is realistically recreated while Mankell is excellent in evoking the changing environment of modern Sweden and the loss of the old certainties, while Kurt Wallander must be one of the most human and sympathetic detectives in current fiction.
Although perhaps not quite as good as some of Wallander's previous excursions (The Fifth Woman is particularly excellent), One Step Behind succeeds as both crime story and novel. Somehow that the peaceful Skane area of southern Sweden seems to have a murder rate similar to that of Glasgow or Los Angeles simply doesn't seem to matter. We look forward to the next in this consistently readable and well thought out series.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On Midsummer night (a big celebration in Sweden) 3 young adults are shot to death in cold blood in a nature reserve in South Sweden. The killer is extremely careful: he removes all traces, including the bodies, and makes the parents belief that their children have gone on an extended summer holiday to Europe. But something is not right and this feeling becomes very urgent when one of Inspector Kurt Wallander's colleagues is found in his apartment with his face blown to pieces. Time for Wallander and his team to start an investigation for a killer that always seems to be one step ahead of the team. Four more people die before the team has an idea who the killer might be, and even when the investigation turns into a manhunt, they need all their considerable skills to bring this case to a good end. And in all this mess Wallander also finds out that he is a diabetic and has to change his lifestyle: not an easy option when you are trying to catch one of the most gruesome serial killers that Sweden has ever seen...
Once you are reading this book you cannot stop. The book seems to be slow-paced, but that is only at the surface, below that there are numerous developments that keep the reader interested. A real page turner.
Once you are reading this book you cannot stop. The book seems to be slow-paced, but that is only at the surface, below that there are numerous developments that keep the reader interested. A real page turner.
53 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the better Wallander novels. The story begins with typical Mankell opening - a killing with mysterious and incomplete details. The tension builds as Wallander's team are increasingly aware of links with one of their colleagues mysteriously killed in an apparently unrelated incident. The culmination builds to a crescendo as the killer gets very personal. Some of the details are totally unexplained even at the end of the book, but this does not spoil the overall quality of the writing. In spite of actually being a quiet rural area with a distinctive accent, Skåne comes over in the Wallander series as a lethal place to live. Wallander continues his decline in this book, now suffering from diabetes and angst over his dead father - he reminds me of both John Rebus(by Ian Rankin) and Martin Beck (Sjöwell/Wahlöö). Thoroughly recommended as an expose of aspects of contemporary Swedish society as well as a riveting police procedure novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Nordic thriller
Am working my way through the series of Wallender books. Even though I am only a few chapters in this one does not disappoint. Read more
Published 1 month ago by vron45
Scandinavian noir at its best
Fabulous read. Totally hooked on all things Nordic at the mo. So much so that I'm writing in that annoying journalistic fashion my English teacher would moan at me about. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. Sarah Crabtree
another wallander cracker
I started reading wallander after watching the tv series, this is my 6th book i'm hooked , they are best read in sequence in order to follow his life , and the people around him ,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Donald Cook
Amazon and book publication dates
It is very difficult to read a series of books in the order they were written. Amazon only put the date of digital publication which is completely different from the order i which... Read more
Published 8 months ago by old but impressed
More of Wallanders readable exploits
As always, excellent plot development and very real characters - I have now read all the Wallander mysteries and miss having any more to read
Published 15 months ago by Angus G. Cockburn
One Step Behind - A Kurt Wallander Novel
I have read nine of the Kurt Wallander novels by Henning Mankell and have been enthralled by them all - they are real 'page turners' and the best novels ever. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mags
Fascinating!
The book combines, the thrilling plot, with the reflective portrayal of the main character- the detective Kurt Wallander and people around him. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Nomad in Caledonia
Plodding, Swedish Style
Like many, no doubt, I was motivated to try a Wallander book by the TV series. It's always dangerous to criticize writing you've only read in translation; maybe the translator... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mike Brecher
Dark, disturbing and brilliantly put together.
Another excellent novel by Henning Mankell in the World famous Wallander detective series. This one is my favourite so far, and I was very impressed at the sheer skill of the... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Peter Coupe
Original and intricately plotted story
I've become a fan of Henning Mankell's Wallander novels and marvel at his imaginative story-lines, though I wonder what the inhabitants of Skane make of the number of serial... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Bluebell
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