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The Fifth Woman: Kurt Wallander: A Kurt Wallander Mystery [Paperback]

Henning Mankell (Author), Steven T. Murray (Translator)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

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The Fifth Woman (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) The Fifth Woman (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) 4.4 out of 5 stars (50)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 5 Sep 2002 | Series: Kurt Wallander (Book 6)

Inspector Kurt Wallander is home from an idyllic holiday in Rome, full of energy and plans for the future. But when he investigates the disappearence of an elderly birdwatcher he discovers a gruesome and meticulously planned murder - a body impaled in a trap of sharpened bamboo poles.

Then another man is reported missing. And once again Wallander's life is on hold as he and his team work tirelessly to find a link between the series of vicious murders. Forever battling to make sense of the violence of modern Sweden, Wallander leads a massive investigation to uncover a brutal killer.

Product details

  • Paperback: 592 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (5 Sep 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9780099445210
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099445210
  • ASIN: 0099445212
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 247,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Henning Mankell
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Product Description

Amazon Review

A series of men who seem to have nothing in common are brutally killed--one is impaled, another starved and then strangled. We know more than the police--we know that the killer is a woman and we gradually understand some of her motivation; her much wronged mother was murdered almost by chance in a North African country--but we don't know who she is, or, for a while at least, her motives and principles of selection of her victims. Inspector Wallender finds himself investigating the case--two missing person enquiries that turn into a murder hunt--and finds himself endlessly confused by red herrings and side issues; a set of leads concerning mercenaries in the Congo of the 1960s turn out to have little to do with the case and Wallender has to waste considerable time suppressing an attempt by the far Right to turn the murders into a reason to set up vigilante justice.The Fifth Woman is a stylish police procedural which lets us see not only the leg work of investigation but also the diligence which makes effective murder possible--the killer Wallender is trying to catch is at least as good at her job of murder as he is at his of prevention. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 )

A most satisfying book on many levels (Sunday Telegraph )

A first-class police procedural (Independent on Sunday )

Mankell's long, subtle, involving novel could turn you to crime (Daily Telegraph )
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Fifth Woman is First Class 8 Dec 2002
By MRS C E DREWETT
Format:Paperback
Kurt Wallender, a Swedish detective, is faced with a race to find a serial killer before he or she strikes again. The first grisly murder is an elderly birdwatcher found impaled on bamboo sticks in a tiger pit, but for those of a sensitive disposition, the subsequent murders are not so gruesome.

We know the identity of the killer from the beginning but can Wallender find out before more people die? This tightly plotted novel shows the utter weariness and drudgery of the police search while keeping us gripped enough to keep turning the pages until 1am!!

Wallender's love life is on the back burner in this novel, but the death of his father provides the emotional subtheme. For those who aren't yet Wallender fans, you soon will be and for those coming back for more - you won't be disappointed, this is the best one yet.

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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Very existential, very Swedish, very, very good 29 Sep 2001
By Dr. Sn Cottam
Format:Paperback
The human, all too human, Inspector Kurt Wallander is thrown up against personal and professional challenges in this worthy addition to a sucessful series.
In the bleakness of a Skane autumn, beautifully evoked, a serial killer is murdering men with the utmost barbarity. Wallander and his team investigate against the backdrop of a changing Sweden where the old certanties and social cohesion have gone and an unsure future awaits. In addition Wallander faces the uncertainties and decisions of his own life. Mankell has created a post-modern investigator who in addition to solving a brutal series of killings and prevent more deaths, must also confront his own existential problems.
The story-telling is effective, the plot tight, the round of police investigation (99 % hard routine work, 1 % brilliant deduction) is superby recreated. Very effective, very existential, very Swedish and very very good. Highly recommended
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent detective and well marked trail of detection 24 Feb 2004
By Huck Flynn VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
What a refreshing change to find a real person in charge of an investigation rather than the larger than life comic book creations too common in the staple American detective fiction. As plots go, Mankell's "Fifth Woman" is far fetched but what makes it so absorbing and believeable is the painstaking procedural plodding by Inspector Wallender's team. It builds up an incredible mountain of forensic and circumstantial evidence, dead ends and red herrings which for a long time seem to lead nowhere. To a certain extent the reader is a step ahead, seeing also from the killer's perspective, so part of the book's fascination is the tension we feel when the clues become tantalisingly close to revealing the identity. Kurt Wallender is certainly an engaging and sympathetic character whose intuitive leaps are generally credible because he also gets his hands dirty, makes mistakes and shows real human frailties. The book is relentlessly paced and indeed hard to put down at times. "Sidetracked" and "One Step behind" are equally good in the series, "Faceless Killers" a bit below par, and avoid "Dogs of Riga" which is more a far fetched spy thriller.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping
Up to the highest standard of Mankell's writing. A complicated story where he does not seem to progress for a long time. And Wallander's health and anxieties make him so human. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Peter Munn
5.0 out of 5 stars Another book
This was a very exciting read, it gets you involved and you don't want to put it down . Love the twist of a female serial killer
Published 2 months ago by MRS Y A GRIMLEY
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and worrying
This is one of the best of the Wallender series. The culprit is perhaps predictable but the plot is intricate and full of drama up to the denouement. Read more
Published 2 months ago by marionq
5.0 out of 5 stars Great page turner
What I like about the Wallander books is the random nature
of the evidence. He is art the centre of taking team whose thoughts he values. Read more
Published 3 months ago by John Saltford
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, interesting and worrying
Great read that translates well into english. Painstakingly created mental process of real people wrestling with horrific challenges. Very human
Published 3 months ago by Howard R
5.0 out of 5 stars The fifth Woman
Intriguing and absorbing - one of the best Wallander books. I shall be sorry when I have read them all.
Published 3 months ago by Helen Gregory
5.0 out of 5 stars "The Fifth Woman" - Wallander series
I chose this rating (4*) because I'm a great fan of all the Wallander books. I now have all of them and will start reading them all again soon. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nureyev
5.0 out of 5 stars KINDLE
BOOK ARRIVED WITHIN DELIVERY TIMESCALES AND IN GOOD CONDITION. WELL PACKAGED.NO PROBLEMS WITH THE ITEM DESCRIPTION OR POSTAGE.WOULD USE THE SUPPLIER AGAIN.
Published 6 months ago by Mr. John Warman
5.0 out of 5 stars Class Above
The development of the bulky Swedes character takes on further plaudits in this excellent installment of Scandanavian skulduggery. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. A. Wayman
5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Wallander?
Henning Mankell has a very personal and highly distinguishable way of writing his stories. Its main characteristic is the juxtaposition between particularly gruesome crimes and the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by The Dude
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