Faceless Killers

A Kurt Wallander Mystery

By: Henning Mankell, Steven T. Murray - translator

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

First in the Kurt Wallander mystery series.

It was a crime of senseless violence. On a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse, an elderly farmer was bludgeoned to death, his wife left to die with a noose around her neck. As if this didn't present enough problems for Ystad police inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman's last word, his only tangible clue, were foreign. If publicized, they could be the match that would inflame Sweden's already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.

With this case - unlike the situation with his ex-wife, his estranged daughter, or the young prosecutor who has piqued his interest - Wallander feels he has a problem he can handle. He quickly becomes obsessed with solving the crime before the already tense situation explodes, though it will require all of his talent to do so.

©1991 Henning Mankell, English translation 1997 Steven T. Murray (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"An exquisite novel of mesmerizing depth and suspense." (Los Angeles Times)
"Mankell's work mixes compelling procedural details with strong social consciousness....A superior novel and a harbinger of great things to come." (Booklist)
"[A] brilliant U.S. debut....The author goes well beyond the narrow police procedural in creating a full-bodied Wallender and in casting light on the refugee problem in contemporary Swedish society." (Library Journal)

Excellent novel ruined by narration

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent novel in one of the best crime series. I've read or listened to most of the Wallander books and was surprised to find Faceless Killers to be the first in the series -- the character is already fully formed, setting the stage for the novels that follow. My problem with the audiobook is the narration. I usually like Dick Hill and have enjoyed many of his other books (notably Lee Child's Reacher series), but he is simply not suited to this one. I wanted to listen to a Mankel/Wallander novel, not a Dick Hill novel.

Loved the book, but not the reader.

I bought this book because I had listened to the Martin Beck stories by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo read by Tom Weiner (which are great) and I wanted more Nordic mysteries.
This was the first time I heard Mr. Dick Hill as a narrator, and it was very hard getting used to his style. Almost painful. Having listened to Tom Weiner, and other great Audible readers such as Simon Vance and Patrick Tull (all of whom can really make you feel you are listening to different characters) I was very disappointed because listening to Mr. Hill, I could only hear at most 3 "different" voices, all of which, however, had the same inflection of what sounded like a 70 year old man. What a surprise when I Googled Mr. Hill and he does not look much older than 40! I listened to format 3. Will try format 4 next time.
The book itself was great and I will probably buy some more in the series. But I would have preferred a different narrator. Hopefully Mr. Hill just had a cold or something when he recorded this book.

Great story and good performance.

As an American I really enjoy the change of perspective. And it is interesting to know that in so many ways we are the same.

Enjoyable

This is typical Scandinavian noire detective fiction. It's a bit slow & dated, but well read.

Good Book

Enjoyed story but without this narrator not sure I would have gotten thru book as quickly as I did. Casual easy voice that fits well within story. Relatable characters...with flaws, makes the story believable.

Good police story and narration

Solid police investigation, with solid but flawed characters. Dick Hill is also the narrator for the Lee Child Jack Reacher novels and dies a fine job with Wallander.

Faceless Killers: Deliciously satisfying

Would you listen to Faceless Killers again? Why?

Perhaps at a later date but because Henning Mankell is so prolific, there are many of his books I have yet to read. The Kurt Wallander series is exciting and I look forward to moving on, sequentially, through every one of these books and to watching the Wallander character develop.

What did you like best about this story?

Henning Mankell has humanized detective Kurt Wallander by allowing him to be somewhat flawed and vulnerable. The realistic interaction between all the characters, coupled with natural dialogue, reinforces the storyline so it seems completely plausible. This story is set in the early 1990s so the communications, the technology and the overall pace of life is a fraction less frantic and uncensored than the life we know today. It may be one reason that the discovery of two dead bodies in a life raft on the open sea is marginally less shocking to the 21st century reader than it might have been a little more than 20 years ago.

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

There is no question that Dick Hill's interpretation of every character enhances the listener's experience on many levels. Mr. Hill is an extraordinary reader who distinguishes each personality by a nuanced speech pattern and subtle rythm, making the listener feel like an eavesdropper on the actual conversation.

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

I'd love the luxury of listening, uninterrupted to the entire book... or the entire series for that matter. The great advantage of Dick Hill's reading is that it is both exciting and natural, so if I have to stop listening and start again later, I don't feel the need to

Any additional comments?

The entire Kurt Wallander series is entertaining, exciting and interesting. You will love this intelligent and completely believeable sleuth. The mysteries are just that... mysterious and perplexing. These are murder mysteries so there is the expected violence but it is generally contained in the opening chapter and not of the extremely graphic nature one frequently finds in other works in this genre.

slow moving

I liked the story line, but it dragged a bit with a build up that was unnecessarily slow.

great writing good listen

This book was well written so listening to it was so enjoyable. It was not a fast-paced book but the writing and time taken to develop the characters made the book a good listen. No problem with the narrator.

Excellent

I've already listened to it twice and I just got it last week. Full of interesting little details and a great main character. Wonderful quirky narration. I appreciate that the crime investigation meanders a bit. The imagery of the Swedish countryside was beautiful. I'm planning on listening to all this author's books.