One Step Behind

A Kurt Wallander Mystery

By: Henning Mankell

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

On Midsummer's Eve, three role-playing teens dressed in 18th-century garb are shot in a secluded Swedish meadow. When one of Inspector Kurt Wallander's most trusted colleagues, someone whose help he hoped to rely on to solve the crime, also turns up dead, Wallander knows the murders are related. But with his only clue a picture of a woman no one in Sweden seems to know, he can't begin to imagine how.

Reeling from his father's death and facing his own deteriorating health, Wallander tracks the lethal progress of the killer. Locked in a desperate effort to catch him before he strikes again, Wallander always seems to be just one step behind.

Translated from the Swedish by Ebba Segerberg.

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

©1997 by Henning Mankell; 2002 by The New Press (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Satisfying in a way that has less to do with the wonders of forensic science than with the pure pleasure of rational thought." ( New York Times)
"Mankell remains central to the flowering of a new, distinctly darker strain of the European hard-boiled crime novel." ( Booklist)"Sure to please those who like weighty police procedurals....Mankell's writing is deadpan and stark, the plotting meticulous and exacting." ( Publishers Weekly)

Another great story

This was my third Kurt Wallender mystery. We’ll done; good narrator, and a fine listen.

Nobody's going to sleep

Kurt Wallander's back again chasing another serial killer. This time, a local policeman is one of the victims and Wallander has developed the acute symptoms of diabetes. The disease drains his energy and blurs his vision as he leads a 24-7 search for the illusive killer. Wallander is driven to catch the killer before he/she strikes again and before his illness forces him off the case. Between working on the case 20 hours a day and having to urinate every 15 minutes, Wallander barely has the energy to make it to the end of the book.

This is my second Mankell book and I am excited about going back in time to read the earlier books and learning more about the Swedish police detective. With Dick Hill's excellent narration, Kurt Wallander has a very Harry Bosch-like feel. So if you miss Harry, give Kurt Wallander a chance.

Excellent story, perfect narration

Of the first seven books starring Swedish police detective Kurt Wallender, this one especially captures what makes the character so memorable. The plot is that he’s chasing a serial killer who targets happy people. Through it all, Wallender is short-tempered, self-pitying, jealous and forgetful but he’s also good-hearted, generous, romantic at heart and hard working. In short, he’s human through and through, a fact that’s made especially clear when he trips and falls during the big finale. And I love how he doesn’t solve the crimes so much as comes to the right conclusions by listening, truly listening, to everyone around him. Anyway, I don’t know if many Americans will like these books because they are not at all “thrillers.” But if you like Swedish noir, this is quintessential. Bechdel test: fail. Grade: A

Now, about the narration, which some people seemed to hate: Dick Hill is Wallender. His voice perfectly captures the glum, whiny detective. Hill is not right for every book — I think his take on "Crime and Punishment" was too histrionic, for example — but he's absolutely right for this book. Start from the beginning of the series and you'll see how it's a perfect melding of character and narrator, like Ralph Cosham's take on Detective Gamash in Louise Penny's books.

If you love Bosch, you will like Wallander

I have been utterly spoiled by Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series and so finding another like him has been hard. Now that I have found the Kurt Wallender series I think I will quit looking. Like Bosch, he has his flaws, but the mysteries are well detailed and the characters are fleshed out just the right amount. Of course, having Dick Hill do the voice just adds to the similarity. Still, a great story here.

Good but not great

I have enjoyed all of the Mankell mysteries - Pyramid is my favorite. This is a good listen and well worth your tim

uneven story

What did you love best about One Step Behind?

I am quite fond of the Kurt Wallender stories, and have read them in order. This one was a bit uneven - we discover Kurt is experiencing symptoms of diabetes, and they play a big part of the first half of the story. However, when he's on the track of the killer, suddenly he is no longer experiencing symptoms??? The thirst and frequent urination was a big part of the first half of the story, but all of a sudden, that thread disappears.

If you’ve listened to books by Henning Mankell before, how does this one compare?

The back -story is more uneven than in previous stories.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

awesome. Dick Hill could read the phone book.

A Great Police Procedural

Mankell captures the mood of the city. If you like Michael Connelly/Harry Bosch, you will like this too.

Henning Markell - Gifted Mystery Writer

I’ve listened to several Henning Markell books and enjoyed everyone. Dick Hill pulls you into Mankell’s stories with the feelings of realness, honesty, and emotion. I highly recommend Mankell’s books.

Entertainingly Surprising

Hapless, no gun, no phone, no pen or paper, almost out of gas. So good that the universe gifted great detection and intuitive skills, otherwise he would have died in the first book.

What a dud!

I liked Wallander but now that he’s old, cranky, lost his memory as to notebooks, guns, phone, etc, he should just retire! Ugh.