THE WHITE LIONESS by Henning Mankell translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson

I started reading Henning Mankell after PBS dramatized several of his Kurt Wallander novels on Mystery.  TV shows put me to sleep and I never got to watch a complete Wallander episode. However, what I did see was enough to start me reading.

The White Lioness begins with what appears to be a routine disappearance of a Swedish housewife. As Kurt Wallander investigates, it becomes apparent that the case is more complex and dangerous. It involves a ruthless ex-KGB agent and an international assassination plot in South Africa, following Nelson Mandella’s release from prison by president F.W. deKlerk. The two investigations run simultaneously, but come together in the suspenseful conclusion.

Mankell seems to be pointing out that Sweden’s social problems are increasing and becoming more complex, as immigration of Russians and east Europeans add a new dimension to crime. Wallander questions his ability to cope the new dynamics. He ends up frustrated and angry, just as he is portrayed on PBS’s Mystery, but the book makes his feelings understandable.

SS