Before the Frost

A Kurt and Linda Wallander Novel

By: Henning Mankell, Ebba Segerberg - translator

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In this latest atmospheric thriller, Kurt Wallander and his daughter, Linda, join forces to search for a religious fanatic on a murder spree.

Just graduated from the police academy, Linda Wallander returns to Skane to join the police force, and she already shows all the hallmarks of her father - the maverick approach, the flaring temper. Before she even starts work she becomes embroiled in the case of her childhood friend, Anna, who has inexplicably disappeared.

As the case that her father is working on dovetails with her own, something far more dangerous than either could have imagined begins to emerge. They soon find themselves forced to confront a group of extremists bent on punishing the world's sinners.

More mayhem? Listen to all of our Kurt Wallander mysteries.

©2002 Henning Mankell (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Powerful....Thoroughly engaging....Amazingly human characters....Mankell [is] a master storyteller." ( San Francisco Chronicle)
"Gripping, beautifully orchestrated....Henning Mankell is an addictive writer." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Story Marred by Reader

The reader’s interpretation of Kurt Wallander as an angry, irascible tyrant was very annoying. She portrayed him one dimensionally at best.

Wonderful author

If you could sum up Before the Frost in three words, what would they be?

Mankell is one of my favorite authors both for his terrific stories and his beautiful writing. Having read just about all his books, Before the Frost is particularly enjoyable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

All Mankell's books are thought provoking. He tends to have a clear agenda (very liberal) behind his writing but he also tends to focus on very important topics.

Good story, but not impressed with the narrator.

First off this is not the place to start, but almost out the end. if you happend to find this book by Henning Mankell by accident do t start here. I have listened to all the Wallander books in order and have like them all. Good story, good characters, good environment the whole 9 yards. He really brings you in to his world and listening to them back to back really makes you feel part of the story.

As its been stated and I feel the same way the narrator in this one leaves something to be desired. I can get past the fact, at least to me that Men do a more passable female voice than Women do at a male voice. Maybe it's just preference but that's the case here. Ms Campbell's Walander is terrible. Yes he a gruff character but he a.ways sounded pissed off in the book even when he shouldn't be.

The other point I had was the way she changed the pronunciation of cities, towns and character names. Probably a minor point but after listening to 7-8 other books it just ruins the flow of the story for me.

I wouldn't not recommend this only because it would ruin the flow of the timeline by skipping it but just to say I had a harder time staying interested and at times the run of the story just felt off and I really have to blame the reader not the writer here. Even though there is a dIfferent reader for the last story in the series ( Robon Sachs - The Troubled Man) it just reads better.

terrible reader - arghh - what a disappointment

I've enjoyed the other Mankell novels very much. This narrator, destroys the book. the worst.

Not the best Mankell, not the best narration

The story isn't as compelling as the other Wallander novels. Wallander has a history of doing things on his own and now so does his daughter. Except Linda just seems annoying and irresponsible but -naturally - super smart. It gets old quite quickly.
The unlikable character is not aided by the narrator who switches between a Northern accent, a whiny 10 year old and a computerized voice. The story drags a bit, despite many characters and storylines, and there are too many times that I just wanted to get it over with
It is also slightly irritating that the pronunciation of people and places that readers know from previous novels is very different.

The Best

This was sadly the last Wallander book in the series for me. However it was a happy way to end things, as I think it was the best of all the books. The narrator was very good, and the story which is told from Linda's point of view was very insightful.

All of the other books are a bit depressing because Kurt Wallander is a very depressed individual. This book is more upbeat because Linda is just beginning her police career and has a youthful, inexperienced way of looking at things. She has inherited her dad's intuition and courage, but she is very different from her dad in that she has many friends and is quite outgoing and demonstrative to those she cares about.

I'm glad I decided to listen to this book. I only wish there were more books that included both Kurt and Linda. It's very sad to say goodbye!

Perspective

I've listened to at least 10 Wallander novels and love this particular narrator, having listened to several other novels she has performed. However, I was rather disappointed to hear Wallander's daughter's opinion of her father - which is mostly portrayed in a negative tone through the narration. There were many times I felt the narrator could have made him more caring...stern but less harsh and uncaring. This story is told from Linda Wallander's perspective and it is not the same flawed Wallander I have come to know through the previous stories. In his daughters eyes he is more cold and uncaring.

Poor narration

I am a Mankell fan and the story is good, but the narrator ruined it all with wrong pronunciation. Was it so hard to contact a Swedish association to learn that Ystad is not pronounced Ustad, or that the "berg" -ending of names is not "berje"?

Great book, difficult narrator

I love Wallander. All the books, most of the film and TV adaptations. This book is particularly excellent as it's from his daughter Linda's pov. The issue I have with the narrator is that whenever she voices Kurt she sounds cartoonishly pissed off. Yes, Kurt is a difficult man, but he's also three dimensional. I felt the narrator had a personal problem with him, which I couldn't care less about. Still a worthy listen.

Successful transition to Linda Wallendar POV

Who was your favorite character and why?

Although we've met Linda Wallendar in previous books in this series, she comes fully to life in this volume. Mankell shifts easily to writing from her point of view, and shows us a character who shares many personality traits with her father, but is still uniquely her own.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Unfortunately, the narrator, Cassandra Campbell, makes Kurt Wallendar a completely unlikable character. In this book he is seen for the first time from his daughter Linda's perspective, and while the character Linda is well aware of his shortcomings, she recognizes that they are part of the package that makes him a successful detective. Not so for the narrator, who clearly finds nothing redeeming in Kurt. I suspect that anyone being introduced to the series for the first time with this volume would be disinclined to read any of the other books where Kurt Wallendar is the protagonist, given the thoroughly unpleasant personality she projects onto him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.