The Fifth Woman

A Kurt Wallander Mystery

By: Henning Mankell, Steven T. Murray - translator

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

In an African convent, four nuns and an unidentified fifth woman are brutally murdered, and the death of the unknown woman is covered up by the local police. A year later in Sweden, Inspector Kurt Wallander is baffled and appalled by two strange murders. Holger Eriksson, a retired car dealer and bird watcher, is impaled on sharpened bamboo poles in a ditch behind his secluded home, while the body of a missing florist is discovered strangled and tied to a tree. The only clues Wallander has to go on are a skull, a diary, and a photo of three men.

What ensues is a case that will test Wallander's strength and patience, for in order to solve these murders he will need to uncover their elusive connection to the earlier unsolved murder in Africa of the fifth woman.

©1996 Henning Mankell (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The darkest of Swedish noir." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Intricate plotting, chilling psychological divination, and thrilling police procedural." ( Library Journal)

transported.

Once again Mankell has transported me from my mundane life to one of adventure and pathos. From Africa to Sweden. The amazing thing is the personal life of detective Wallander so parallels the lives that people in his age group are experiencing at this moment in time. Family problems, parents ill and dying, adult children without direction, divorce, searching for meaning and love, being under appreciated for the work they do, and along side this he weaves an enthralling mystery that keeps you involved with the plot. A Great Writer and a great Book.

Another intriguing Kurt Wallander Story

If you could sum up The Fifth Woman in three words, what would they be?

Worth the listen!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Fifth Woman?

I wouldn't want to say for fear of writing a spoiler.

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

Dick Hill does an excellent portrayal of the very realistic and unglamorous Wallander, a character whose flaws and indecision are a refreshing yet very tense contrast to the usual do-it-all perfect detective. Wallander maintains his humanity while struggling with his near paralytic reticence. He changes, but very slowly.

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

Yes.

Kurt Wallenger does it again

The story is well paced and our hero is real and as usual shows his weaknesses with all his strenghts. Loved the voices of the charactors and the dialog was real

Good story/audio

This book was well read. The story is set in Sweden and the reader has a Scandanavian accent. The story is quite good and seems fairly original.

Best mystery writer!

Mankell's characters are fully developed, the plot is believable, pacing builds gradually giving the story time to unfold.

bit disjointed

I really enjoy the Wallander books, but this one was bit of a let down. the motivation behind the killings was never really very clear, so hard to understand what drove this xhange

Good listen

I really enjoyed this book. My advice is to not get boggled down with all the Swedish names and cities. It's captivating and easy to follow.

Narration sucks!

The narrator was painful to listen to. Found it hard to concentrate on the story as his voice was shrill and stiff. Can’t even finish!

I love the Wallander novels

I’ve read the books and watched the tv series but I am totally enjoying having them read to me. I’ve started the series from the beginning and have been engrossed in the stories despite having read them before. The reading is excellent - thanks to audible for providing such wonderful entertainment!

better to read than listen

Usually I prefer books by ear than by eye, but this one is one of the exceptions. The narration is banal, the story slow to develop. I like Mankell, and the book, but the audio format does not work on this one.