The Fifth Woman

The Fifth Woman (1996/2000) Henning Mankell translated by Steven T. Murray

This is the first Kurt Wallander I’ve read, and I wonder how I’ve gone so long without reading him before.

This is almost the definition of police procedural, and what we see is something that looks like what we’d actually see in a police investigation: long hours of meetings, huge stacks of reports to be sifted through, and other events happening at the same time that have to be dealt with.

This is actually the sixth book in the series, but I didn’t have any problems falling into the characters or setting (I find this to be common with mysteries).

The story opens with Kurt finishing up a vacation in Rome with his father–the last trip his father is likely to take, as the symptoms of Alzheimer’s take over his life.

Old age was dangerous; it held diseases and death, dark graves and fear.

It is made clear that Kurt has had a difficult relationship with his father in the past, and this vacation is something they both enjoyed, both for the trip and for the easy relationship the have while they travel.

But after he returns Ystad , Sweden, thinking he’ll only take up the never-ending case of illegal car imports, an old man is reported missing, and a brutal–horrific–murder is discovered.

“It sounds like some kind of torture chamber dug into a field in Skane.”

“Those are your words, not mine.”

“What are your words, then?”

“That there will be a press conference on Monday.”

What I particularly liked about this story are the dead ends that they have to follow up in their search of the murderer.

He thought that his work was basically nothing more than a poorly paid test of endurance. He was being paid to endure this.

But it wasn’t all the mystery of course. Wallander is a fascinating and complex individual, who may be absorbed by his job, but still have a complicated life.

In this story, we catch glimpses of the woman who is committing these murders, but that doesn’t answer why she is killing, and although we see the event that sets her off, it doesn’t truly explain anything.

All in all, I was delighted by this book, and definitely want to read more of this series.
Rating: 9/10

Published by New Press

 
 

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