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One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery Audiobook
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(4.00) - 5,302 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
On Midsummer’s Eve, three role-playing teens dressed in eighteenth-century garb are shot in a secluded Swedish meadow. When one of Inspector Kurt Wallander’s most trusted colleagues, someone whose help he hoped to rely on to solve the crime, also turns up dead, Wallander knows the murders are related. But with his only clue a picture of a woman no one in Sweden seems to know, he can’t begin to imagine how.
Reeling from his father’s death and facing his own deteriorating health, Wallander tracks the lethal progress of the killer. Locked in a desperate effort to catch him before he strikes again, Wallander always seems to be just one step behind.
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"The mystery in the Wallander books is always good. Be prepared for a slow pace. The real story is Wallander himself. I have loved him in books 1-6, his brooding, emotional and flawed character. In this book...not so much. He's a whiner. He's depressed about his love affair gone wrong. And I just can't feel sorry for him. He had a woman who was crazy about him, he was crazy about her, but he couldn't bring himself to DO anything! He has no one to blame but himself. What does he expect? I might be too angry with him to read book 8. His behavior regarding his diabetes was just bizarre. And what is it with Swedish men urinating in public all the time?! Really?"
— Marla (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Satisfying in a way that has less to do with the wonders of forensic science than with the pure pleasure of rational thought.”
— New York Times -
“Typical of the dense, intricate intelligence that Mankell brings to detection and crime writing.”
— Washington Post Book World -
“Lyrical, meticulous, and stunningly suspenseful.”
— St. Petersburg Times -
“Sure to please those who like weighty police procedurals…Mankell’s writing is deadpan and stark, the plotting meticulous and exacting.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“At the beginning of this engrossing, cerebral crime novel, narrator Dick Hill’s reading has a chilly, remote quality that seems in keeping with the Swedish environs where the book takes place. And surely that is part of Hill’s clever approach in this work…Hill’s strategy becomes clear as the tensions rise, the emotions tighten, and the bodies accumulate…Hill’s detachment eventually gives way with concussive impact, and he reveals himself as a master performer who has been unfolding a plan from the start. We have always been in expert hands.”
— AudioFile -
“Mankell remains central to the flowering of a new, distinctly darker strain of the European hard-boiled crime novel.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Awards
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A 2002 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Mystery/Thriller
One Step Behind Listener Reviews
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" I love the Kurt Wallander series. "
— Debby, 2/17/2014 -
" Quick moving - didn't want to put it down. "
— Cam, 2/4/2014 -
" My first Wallander and I liked it immensly. Pretty different from a typical detective novel. A bit grim, a bit dark and with a great protagonist. "
— Jakub, 1/26/2014 -
" Read this book in Dutch. "
— Digitaldolf, 1/23/2014 -
" Kurt Wallander's colleague dies and three young adults go missing. Kurt's on the trail. Good story. The translation is still a little stilted, but the plot is not affected. "
— Pat, 1/21/2014 -
" A really good, suspenseful story. This Wallander was much more a developed character and the storyline was more mature than the first one in the series. "
— Jane, 1/9/2014 -
" I just love Kurt Wallander more and more. "
— Jessica, 12/19/2013 -
" Truly a suspenseful tear-jerker and a brutal bloodbath "
— Bettie, 12/7/2013 -
" I thought maybe I should write a review in English here. Although I have enjoyed all the Wallendar books, I thought this one was especially good. The plot involving Svedberg was something new and different and added to the story. "
— Sandra, 11/16/2013 -
" I haven't read all the Wallander books yet, but so far this one has the most intricate plot (which is saying a lot!). Really fascinating and unexpected turns. "
— Florence, 11/16/2013 -
" A really good mystery with all the action taking place in Sweden and Denmark. Contained none of Mankell's usual rant on the politics of South Africa or the Baltic States. "
— Maura, 8/20/2013 -
" A fellow detective is killed, and along with a real difficult investigation, more is learned about the detective than any of his work colleagues ever knew! "
— Elli, 8/17/2013 -
" another great book. i highly recommend this author and character "
— Jharkey, 7/21/2013 -
" Detective makes a lot of obvious mistakes. Part of the character development, yet I found the errors quite unbelievable because we have been taught that the lead character is a very intelligent person. Timely commentary about violence in society, and the book was written 15 years ago. "
— Irene, 6/20/2013 -
" He is one of the best Swedish writers.. The crime stories are quite amazing.. "
— Rupesh, 4/3/2013 -
" I love everything by Mankell...so far. "
— Becky, 12/4/2012 -
" Excellent story and intense writing. You can't stop reading. "
— Augusto, 10/1/2012 -
" This is the first Hanning Mankell book I have read. A fun, suspenseful read! Mankell always had me guessing and trying to figure out whodunnit. "
— Tenaya, 9/8/2012 -
" The Wallender series is top notch. "
— Casey, 5/28/2012 -
" These keep getting better and better, and that seems to be true no matter what order I read them in. "
— Stven, 5/4/2012 -
" Great book, but I remembered certain details from the PBS adaptation. I knew who the bad guy was and how it all came to be, but it's the sign of a good book when you keep reading even when you know what's going to happen. "
— Heather, 1/23/2012 -
" Gripping read. Sent chills down my spine. Wallander is both fallible and brilliant. My favourite Mankell so far. "
— Connie, 12/15/2011 -
" this is one of his best! I love Wallender. What a normal person. "
— Margarete, 8/8/2011 -
" An interesting mystery, with good dramatic tension built up as we the reader know more than Wallander does. Despite very few descriptive passages, Mankell manages to bring an incredible sense of place to the story, I felt like I was there with him every step of the way. "
— Fionna, 7/15/2011 -
" I went to sleep last night midway through this book feeling way creeped out. So it is effective. Though it did make me wonder why I wanted to feel like that... "
— Grace, 5/20/2011 -
" Thank you, Kathy, for introducing me to Henning Mankell. I'm looking forward to reading many more of his books. "
— Jane, 5/15/2011 -
" A really good mystery with all the action taking place in Sweden and Denmark. Contained none of Mankell's usual rant on the politics of South Africa or the Baltic States. "
— Maura, 5/15/2011 -
" No one combines a sense of dread, Swedish angst and meticulous mystery like Mankell. May he live for years and write write write. To his brilliant and unsung translators-work faster! "
— Carole, 4/29/2011 -
" One of the best. Mass murder, suspense.. I will not say more. I really enjoyed this one. "
— Daniel, 4/21/2011 -
" Another enjoyable Kurt Wallender mystery, he's beginning to feel like a friend to me......working hard to do the right thing, understand office politics, keeping his memories of friends and family. "
— Anne, 4/11/2011 -
" One of the best in the Kurt Wallender series. "
— Pamela, 3/30/2011 -
" Love those Swedish police inspectors. But how do they handle all that coffee? "
— Susan, 3/30/2011 -
" I liked this mystery better than most of his that I have read. The dialogue and transitional passages not as stilted. Good story. "
— Phbinc, 3/27/2011 -
" this is one of his best! I love Wallender. What a normal person. "
— Margarete, 3/7/2011 -
" A great story about a transvestite serial killer. The police were always one step behind trying to catch her & him. Mankell's character, Kurt Wallender is such an interesting character. Mankell's writing style is real and I really have enjoyed the Wallender mysteries. "
— Pam, 2/17/2011
About Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell (1948–2015) was Sweden’s most-read author worldwide. His novels, which include the bestselling Kurt Wallander mysteries, have been translated into thirty-seven languages with more than thirty million copies in print worldwide. He has received the Crime Writers’ Association’s Macallan Gold Dagger and the German Tolerance Prize and has been a three-time finalist for the Los Angeles Times Mystery/Thriller Book Prize.
About Dick Hill
Dick Hill, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, is one of the most awarded narrators in the business, having earned several Audie Awards and thirty-four AudioFile Earphones Awards. In addition to narrating, he has both acted in and written for the theater.