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)

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.

a bit too long and

I've liked Mankell's other books much more than this one. The story is good, but I found it went on for too long. The narrator got on my nerves a bit. He made several noises, chuckling, exasperated blowing, and for one fellow he devised a slow, almost stutter-like voice. Maybe the script said that the guy was that way early in the book. But, he was a minor character. Tolerable enough to get to the end to find out whodunit.

Great book. First pages of prologue missing

The audio version starts in the middle of the prologue for some reason. Before listening I recommend reading the first couple pages in the amazon preview of the printed version online. Those pages will make a difference in your understanding as the book progresses.

Slow moving

The story moved along at a plodding pace. The reader paused his reading at the weirdest places. The Swedish accent???? There was none. The story was a good one - but the above issues made it difficult to get through....

Clever story, but maybe a bit too clever

Would you consider the audio edition of The Fifth Woman to be better than the print version?

Yes, I think the reader brings the characters to life more than I would be able to in my head. I often feel that a good audio book with a gifted reader is more like a radio play than a novel. This book is no exception. The reading makes it feel very alive and immediate.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The killer was revealed in a very interesting manner, felt three-dimensional and believable. I thought that character was the best in the book, next to the ongoing unraveling of Kurt Wallander, who is a bit of a crumpled mess by this point in the series.

Which scene was your favorite?

A man out jogging at night in preparation for some sort of orienteering event stumbles on the corpse of a victim. It was told well, quite exciting.

Any additional comments?

Mankell's work is not translated into English very fluidly. It messes up the story a bit, I think. For example, "It was 6 a.m. in the morning" and similar clunky phrases recur and distract.

Excellent!

Like very much! More character development and excellent description of weather - I could feel the cold in middle of summer!

Make sure you are tuff enough to endure

Story was good but the author is relentless about presenting information overload. After getting into the story I felt like the author was pretty sure I couldn't process information so he fed the story to me in baby bites guided by s sledgehammer. Reminded me of why I don't enjoy Russian writers for the most part....but I will say the story was good and Dick Hill did his usual good job.

A good story told well.

Dick Hill's reading, reminds me this is a Swedish novel.It is not English or American. It is translated. A lot of nuance is lost in language translation. It is not 2009, but 1994. Think of policing outside mobile phones and DNA testing and computer profiles. Policing at the beginning of information available on computers, policing in a relatively small community, policing by people who still have a life outside policing, are explored in this story
The pace alters from the start where many avenues are considered to the closing very fast action..
The fast pace at the end had me going back, to listen again, because I had missed a piece. Without knowing, I tend to think in many ways that this story reflects the reports that police have to write. Often as I hear the story unfold, in my minds eye I see a written report. More I have the contact with the officer's thoughts and feelings as the case gathers momentum.
It is provocative, not only in questioning Justice, but also in questioning changes in society values.

Great story, delivery a little wanting

What made the experience of listening to The Fifth Woman the most enjoyable?

Henning Mandel weaves a complicated but enjoyable story into a mystery, not because you don't know whodunnit, but because you wonder how on earth Inspector Wallander is going to figure it out.

Would you be willing to try another one of Dick Hill’s performances?

After listening to Sean Barrett, who is brilliant, Dick Hill was very off-putting at first, but as the story developed the quality of the narration seemed less important than the excitement of the narrative.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended.

The Fifth Woman

I am enjoying this book so much. its so interesting and the reader is brilliant. Thank God for good books.