It is Midsummer's Eve, three young friends gather in a wood. In the still-sunlit Scandanavian dusk, they don costumes joyfully to enact - or so it appears to an unseen observer - a kind of masque. The hidden watcher soon brings their performance to an end. His approach is careful; his aim is perfect. Three bullets, three corpses. The murderer then carefully photographs the grisly tableau. The Ystad police station meanwhile is experiencing a summer lull, indeed Inspector Wallander is at last at liberty to attend to - albeit reluctantly - his deteriorating health, but his peace of mind is shattered when one of his colleagues is murdered. An unknown killer, seen by no-one, is on the loose, and the police's only lead is a photograph of three dead young people in costume. Forced to dig more deeply than he would have wanted into the personal life of one of his colleagues, Wallander's investigation reveals something none of his team could ever have imagined. However, they remain tantalisingly, terrifyingly one step behind the lethal progress of a killer Wallander would have to suppose was deranged if his methods were not so meticulous and his victims so clinically targeted.
One Step Behind: Kurt Wallander
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"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
Book Description
'Wallander is among the very best of fictional crimebusters' Daily Telegraph
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 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
By Linda Oskam
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
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another excellent addition to a superb series
I'm currently working my way through the Wallander novels in order and this is something I'd recommend you to do if you enjoy Scandinavian crime fiction as the story of the... Read more
Published 6 days ago by joc66
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Step Behind
Wonderful book superb story Mankell has you gripped never been disappointed with. Mankell novel yet would give it 6 stars if there was any
Published 1 month ago by Karen Mcferran
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yvonne
Another good read. Looking forward to next one, trying to get through the whole set of them before watching DVD s again
Published 1 month ago by MRS Y A GRIMLEY
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good Wallander
Plenty of tension and well written.
It features the usual weirdo serial killer so prevalent in Skane it seems. Read more
It features the usual weirdo serial killer so prevalent in Skane it seems. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bob from Beds
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Have been lucky in the past - when it said "very good condition" I've been sent a brand new book - this time it was pre-owned but still excellent value for money. Read more
Published 2 months ago by baldrick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best yet !
This was the sixth Wallinger I have read in the past 12 months and much as I loved the others this one is outstanding. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Roger_wgc
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Best Wallander Novel
I've been working my way through the Wallander novels over a relatively short period of time and have enjoyed tham all, including One Step Behind. Read more
Published 3 months ago by MacPablo
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Step Behind - Henning Mankell
Right up to his usual high standards - taut and engaging from start to finish. A well constructed thriller with lots of red herrings strewn along the way
Published 4 months ago by susan m jackson
4.0 out of 5 stars
A real page turner
A fast moving plot with plenty of excitement; impossible to guess what is going to happen next. One of Mankell's best.
Published 4 months ago by Colin Goodyear
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Mankell is a genius! His books are different because he tells you about Kurt's life, even the mundane things, like Kurt going for a meal or cleaning his flat, right up to his... Read more
Published 4 months ago by layla
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