The White Lioness

A Kurt Wallander Mystery

By: Henning Mankell, Laurie Thompson - translator

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The execution-style murder of a Swedish housewife looks like a simple case, except that there is no obvious suspect. Wallander follows a lead on a determined stalker. But when his alibi turns out to be airtight, Wallander begins to realize that what seemed a simple crime of passion is actually far more complex and dangerous. Eventually, his search uncovers an assassination plot, and Wallander soon finds himself in a tangle with the secret police and with a ruthless foreign agent.

A riveting tale of international intrigue with compelling insights into the sinister side of modern life, The White Lioness will keep you on the knife edge of suspense.

©1998 Laurie Thompson; 1993 Henning Mankell (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"A first-class thriller." (New York Times)
"[Wallander is] a solid character, whose strengths and weaknesses are utterly credible, and Mankell knows how to make the most of his virtues." (Publishers Weekly)
"The action is skillfully grounded in human rather than political concerns....[Mankell's] stature as a major voice in international crime fiction remains undisturbed." (Booklist)

Menkell is the Master of Police Procedurals

This novel is a tour de force. It's story is complex and it's characters have flesh. It is a superb novel. As the story opens, Wallander and his team investigate the apparent execution style murder of a real estate agent. Nothing adds up, why would anyone murder this harmless mother of two? The story gets more complex. We are taken to apartheid South Africa in the days just prior to Nelson Mandela's presidency. An assassination is planned by a desperate group of Afrikaners. They hire a former KGB agent to train the chosen assassin. The training is to take place in Sweden. I will say no more. The beauty is in the details and I will not ruin the book for you. If you are a fan of police procedural novels, you will enjoy this book. It is long - we go at Wallander's pace, the reader is not allowed to miss the minutiae of police investigation, but the effort is worth it.

I should mention Mr. Hill's performance. I love him narrating the Ed McBain novels, but he fails here - everyone sounds like they are from New York! The books need a narrator who is more subtle, and who is able to project the melancholia that is so necessary here. George Guidall comes to mind, or the late wonderful Mark Hammer.

Transylvanian accents, not South African???

What made the experience of listening to The White Lioness the most enjoyable?

Not all the books are available from the Audible UK store, with 2 books missing. Therefore chance to catch up.

What other book might you compare The White Lioness to and why?

Michael Ridpath did a book that was more telling on apartheid, even though in the end it was obvious he hated South Africa and saw no hope for reconciliation.Read Deon Meyer for the now South Africa - 20 years on.

What aspect of Dick Hill’s performance would you have changed?

I prefer Sean Barret, who narrated the Mankell books from Audible.uk site.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

A Great Introduction to Mankell

I happened upon this book by chance when I was given an audible gift card for Christmas. Until now, I didn’t know you could get books for free that were “included“ with your membership. Since “the day of the jackal“ is one of my favorite espionage novels, I was intrigued at the thought of reading a similar story set against the backdrop of volatile South Africa. I was even more intrigued to see how the Swedish connection would be used.

I have read several police/detective stories in my time, and I was fascinated by the vast cultural differences between American and Swedish police. I can’t imagine national guardsmen here in the United States ever assisting with a murder investigation. I also appreciated that the protagonist, Kurt, did not start the book as a down and out drunken policeman who has seen too much. I thought the progression of his mental degeneration based on the increasing stress of the case was natural.

If Mankell was still alive today I would ask him if Tonya‘s death was supposed to be an allusion to the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus also had his hands and feet and heart pierced and was horribly disfigured by flogging before he died to save someone else. It may have been unintentional, but that is the symbolism I read.

In any case, I will likely check out other books by this author. It satisfied my desire for action, as well as history. As far as the narration, I thought Dick Hill did a great job conveying emotion when appropriate and giving the characters a distinct voice, which is not always easy.

Great

Impressive read. Couldn’t put it down. Enjoy it. Love the character ok Kurt and relationship with dad and daughter.

Another great Mankell story

The combo of Mankell and narrator Dick Hill are an unbelievable duo. RIP Mr. Hill and Mr. Mankell.

Awesome!

Great listening full of twists and turns and Wallander is at his best!!

eh... a hell of a lot of story...

There is a lot going on in this book. Tnere are a lot of characters to follow in this book. The storyline is great but there is just so much to follow. That kind of got redundant and a little overwhelming at the same time. I like how he follows along with history as strong as he does.

Great story.

At first the voices seemed off, but the story is really good. Draws you in. Loved it. Highly recommend.

Recap of history

This was set in two countries with some historical events and personalities. Very enjoyable but I could do without the writer somewhat becoming a little political a few times. He seems to drift off track of the story by introducing too many characters for the story line. I’ve read several of his books and will again but so many characters make coming up with accents and voices for each irritating.

Brilliantly written, brilliantly told.

A timely and insightful novel. Pertinent to today's worldwide events and to Black Lives Matter in the USA, 2020. Though I do not share genealogy with South Africans, I am proud of my ancestry and connection to the Ivory Coast, a small percentage, but within me all the more.