Crime Fiction with Unusual Plot or Background

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Crime fiction detectives are usually smart, athletic, good looking and bold. So maybe for a change you may want to read about someone who is like the rest of us: Quite a bit overweight, closer to 50 than 40, depressed with his life, sexually frustrated, pissed-off with today's politics, and overworked. Meet the Swedish inspector Kurt Wallander. What he lacks in brilliant intuition he more than compensates with his stubborn methodical mind. Wallander is not one of those arrogant pricks that seem to know everything in advance. He rather prefers to discuss his cases with his colleagues and more often than not must be dragged into the right direction. Kurt Wallander was created by Henning Mankell. Born 1948 in Stockholm and raised in a small village of Northern Sweden, Mankell has spent much of his life in Maputo, Mozambique, where he is director of the Teatro Avenida. With his European-African background Mankell has a relentless grasp of the social and ethnic brutalities of our time. Make no mistake! Mankell's stories may be located in the seemingly peaceful Skane district of Southern Sweden, but there is nothing provincial or sleepy about the plots. They are about ruthless serial killers, psychopaths, racist fanatics and international terrorists. Under Northern Light you will find some of the most outrageous crime scenes.

	Henning Mankell (2004) The Fifth Woman. Vintage In one of the best thrillers of the Kurt Wallander series the Swedish detective is trying to cope with the death of his father, while he struggles to make sense of a series of seemingly unrelated, brutal killings in southern Sweden. He uncovers the ties that bind these murders to killings in Algeria, many years ago. More...		Henning Mankell (2006) Before the Frost. Vintage Atmospheric thriller about a religious fanatic on a murder spree. In his latest Kurt Wallander crime novel, Henning Mankell describes a secret world of religious extremists in peaceful southern Sweden, who are bent on punishing the world's sinners. More...

	Henning Mankell (2004) The Dogs of Riga. Vintage Kurt Wallander, the stoic Swedish detective is investigating the murders of two unidentified men washed up on the Swedish coast in an inflatable dinghy. It leads him into the dangerous underworld of government corruption characteristic of Soviet-style totalitarian regimes. Scandinavian police work at the aftermath of the Soviet Union collapse. More...		Henning Mankell (2003) Firewall. Vintage The book starts with random, seemingly unrelated acts of violence in the town of Ystad, southern Sweden. But slowly Wallander detects that these small-town murders are part of a conspiracy in cyber terrorism targeted to collapse the world's financial system. More...

	Henning Mankell (2007) The Man Who Smiled. Vintage Kurt Wallander of the Ystad Police Force reluctantly investigates the death of an aging attorney on a desolate road, initially considered an accident. Depressed and in danger of becoming an alcoholic, Walander, stoically battles through the complexities of the crime and his own life. A realistic alternative to the smooth action thrillers, this dark tale slowly turns into a horrific nightmare. More...		Henning Mankell (2003) Faceless Killers. Vintage Shivering in the cold Swedish winter, Kurt Wallander tries to solve a savage double murder on a remote farm. In this novel, Mankell probes the underside of the liberal Swedish society with its ugly streak of anti-foreigner prejudice and hate. More...

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