There was a point in The Fifth Woman where I thought, "Christ, Wallander is getting preachy. I wonder if Mankell realizes it?" And then a couple of chapters later it came clear that Mankell did realize what was happening to his Ystad Detective because those closest to Wallander comment on his fondness for lecturing everyone around him about the ills of Sweden and his philosophy of police work. They then prod him to become a lecturer at the local police academy.

A literary snap of the fingers and Mankell makes this new trait of Wallander an acceptable part of his character. At least for me.

As for the rest of the book, it's not the strongest in the series, but it is still a page turner. I powered on late into the night to finish, and it was definitely full of suspence. Wallander himself remains one of my favourite literary detectives. I admire his doggedness, but I love him because of his emotion. He feels, sometimes too intensely to be healthy, but he feels everything, and it dooms him to loneliness. He cannot express his emotions, you see, and so he buries them and works. Works. Works. Works. I find myself caring more about him the longer the series goes on and wanting something good for him in his life. I don't think he's going to get it.

If you're new to Wallander, don't start here because he's changing, and you need to know him before to enjoy the changes. But you should enjoy this book just fine when you reach it.

later: I hadn't seen the sixth episode of the BBC Wallander until last night; I'd been saving it after I finished the book. Since I finished it yesterday I thought I should give it a watch, and it is the first time I was disappointed.

Both the mystery and the emotional core of Kurt Wallander were too distant from Mankell's book. Kurt, in the book, begins to resolve his relationship with his father, taking a week long vacation with his father in Rome, so when his father passes away there is no deep pool of despair for Kurt to dive into. But he dives intot that pool in the book, wandering around like a Basset Hound who can't find his owner.

The mystery gets short shrift too because of Wallander's whiny broodiness. We get none of the killer's POV, which offered some interesting moments in the book. We get too little of the crimes of the abusive men, the victims of the killer, and the crimes we do get are altered in ways that lessen their severity and make the men much easier to feel sorry for.

These aren't the only changes either. Anna-Britt isn't shot, it's Kurt who takes the bullet. Baiba isn't the one Kurt loves, it is a witness for the case named Vanja. His relationship with Linda is short changed. It's just plain bad.

I have serious concerns about this show going forward, and I am bummed because I was looking forward to series 3 becoming available in North America. Huge bummer for me.

Synopsis: in an African convent, four nuns and an unidentified fifth woman are murdered. It's covered up; then it lands on Wallander's desk.

The Fifth Woman starts with a prologue where five women are brutally murdered by some unknown murderers in a remote place in Africa. Four of them are nuns and the fifth woman is a tourist who takes shelter with the nuns. While the nuns' death is acknowledged by the police and government, they hush up the murder of the fifth woman to avoid any political conflicts. The death of the fifth woman would have gone unnoticed if not for a policewoman who investigated this murder and who decides to write a confidential letter to the fifth woman's daughter in Sweden informing her about the tragic incident. This proves to be a turning point in the daughter's life.

The following chapters tell the reader about a series of brutal murders that take place in and around Ystad. Wallander is involved in the investigation and he tries to find the murderer before the person can cause more harm. All through the book, we see a battle of intelligence - the murderer and Wallander try to outdo themselves and prove who is smarter. We all know, every criminal makes a mistake and that is how Wallander solves the case.

The book has a very strong opening. The plot generates an amount of intrigue and dread in the hearts of the reader. The murders are brutal and dreadful, but you can't stop from reading further to know what happens next. The way Mankell ties in different story lines and introduces the twists and turns keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even though the murdered characters are of little use later on, Mankell takes the trouble of giving these characters a personality of their own.

Mankell took a lot of care in developing the plot and the motive behind the murders, but I was let down by how the mystery was solved. Wallander was on the right track all along and one simple mistake from an otherwise meticulous murderer gave the identity away - which is hard to believe. When the murderer escapes from the station, Wallander takes a wild guess about where the murderer might go and it turns out to be true and that is another weak point in the book. Why did the murderer end up going to that place when it was very well known that the place is already known to the police? Mankell also lets a few loose ends flutter and does not tie them up. We never come to know the story behind the severed head found in the first victim's safe. And what about the diary found in the safe? What was the relation between the owner of the diary and the victim? Despite these weak points, the book was a very interesting read.

Unlike the other mystery authors, Mankell gives a human touch to the hero of his books. Wallander is not painted as a dashing, intelligent, flawless man who every woman desires. Instead, he is shown to have problems of his own - a divorce, a daughter who does not really get along well with him and a father who is always complaining that Wallander does not devote enough time to him. Mankell not only focuses on the plot of the book, but cares to touch about other social issues. He brings in debatable issues of citizen militia and mercenaries, but never loses the momentum of the story. He even gives us a glimpse of the woes of a working mother - how difficult it is to balance a profession and family when there is no support around. This particularly touched my heart because I am a working mother myself.

This book is the tenth in the Wallander series. I read the first one and jumped straight to 10th, but it no way affected the pleasure I had in reading the book. Strong plot, interesting characters and a deep insight into the investigative procedure make this book a highly readable one.

This book qualifies for n  Nordic Challange 2011n and n  2nds Challenge 2011n.

4stelle e 1/2 per un Commissario Wallander che non delude mai! Un bel giallo!!

I enjoyed this book very much, even though know who the killer is pretty much from the beginning... we know, but we still don't know so we keep reading!

There are a few things, though, that I didn't quite understand:

1. why Wallender is convinced all three killings were made by the same person when they are so different?

2. why Holger Eriksson leaves money in his will to the church in the village where he abducted the Polish woman all those years ago? we are not told the reason for this but it is such an important detail for the investigation.

3. I would have wanted to know why Katarina Taxell spent more than 2 weeks in the maternity ward at the hospital. Again, this is very important for the investigation, as she is the key to find the killer, but we are left without knowing why she was there and the killer had to go to visit her in hospital.

After all that, I still think it's a very entertaining book and I look forward to the rest of the series.

"La quinta mujer" fue el primer libro que leí de Mankell y de la serie de Kurt Wallander y es una de las que me más me han gustado. Me habría gustado haber empezado por el primero libro de la serie, pero en España empezaron publicando esta, que es la que encontré en la librería. Posteriormente me he leído todas las demás, igualmente buenas, pero con cierto desorden que me ha impedido seguir la vida personal de Wallander en el orden correcto. Con ella me inicié en la lectura de novela negra escandinava, así que solo por eso se merecería una estrella más.

After spending much of the summer in an exhausting search for a serial killer, Kurt Wallander gets away to Italy on an idyllic vacation with his father. He returns home to Sweden tanned, relaxed and rejuvenated, but that won't last for long. An elderly car dealer, who writes poetry about birds in his spare time, is reported missing. His body is later found impaled on bamboo spikes in a trap that has obviously been deliberately set for him. It took a long time for the victim to die, and it seems apparent that someone was really angry with him.

Wallander and his team begin the investigation, but there are precious few clues to point them in the direction of the killer. In the meantime, another man, this one a florist, goes missing, and it seems clear that a diabolical killer is on the loose. This is especially scary, because serial killers are very rare in Sweden.

Nothing seems to link the victims, and Wallander and his team are pressed to the limit. Before long, everyone is exhausted from the long hours spent on the investigation, and it seems as though every time the slightest hint of a break in the case emerges, they have to go back to square one and rethink the entire thing.

This is a dark, brooding police procedural with a unique and clever antagonist matched against Wallander and his team. It's often said that a crime novel succeeds only to the extent that the villain is a worthy match for the protagonist, and that's certainly the case here. The killer has a long list of potential victims, and Wallander will be sorely tested if he and his team are going to save them. This is another very good entry in the series and should appeal to any fan of Scandinavian mysteries.

Second time 4 stars

My first Henning Mankell and I am not impressed. Whether I would read another Mankell ? Yes I would. Kurt Wallander is interesting considering that it is one the most popular Nordic detective around. The series shows some promise.

This book is set in cold and wet Sweden, as I am given to understand most of Mankell's books are. The hunt is on for a serial killer who is on a killing spree of old gentlemen. There were some characters or instances placed in the book which did not seem to have any connection to the ongoing plot and neither could I comprehend their role. The book started off smoothly with the tension building up, plots thicken leading to the elusive killer and finally the climax is sort of a slight letdown.

I took a long time to finish off this. But did I enjoy the book ? Yes. I will try one more Mankell given the choice.

Everything you need in a crime novel; personally dysfunctional detective, complex and interesting plot, fast paced and well written.

I really like this man. He is so human.
I like his passion for his job and his work ethic.
I like how he cares about things.
I like how he thinks things out.

This story was not as shocking as some of the previous stories, but it still had some chilling moments.

رمان دومی که از نویسنده ی سوئدی هنینگ مانکل خوندم البته به نظرم یه جاهایی از کتاب مقدار زیادی کش اومده بود ولی مثل کتاب بازگشت استاد رقص رونده قصه برام جذاب بود