From Publishers Weekly

When two dead bodies show up in the Swedish town of Ystad, the aging and disheartened police detective Kurt Wallander begins to investigate the murders as the press attacks his reputation. Mankell delivers a solid mystery with excellent buildup and dynamic characters, and Dick Hill's delivery keeps the tension taut through the story. Hill's gruff voice perfectly brings the downtrodden Wallander to life, but other characters' voices are sometimes unconvincing. Hill uses the same tone and pitch for all characters, rendering men and women confusingly interchangeable. The liberal use of audible sighs, snorts and chortles pull listeners deep into the narrative, and Hill should also be commended for his smooth reading of Swedish names and places. A Vintage paperback. (Apr.)
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Review

"Well-paced...a thinking man's thriller." --_The New York Times Book Review_

?Satisfying?. [Mankell's] Sweden, cold, isolated and brimming with disappointment--is as intriguing a landscape as Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles or Charles Willeford's Miami." --_The Wall Street Journal
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?Wonderful! Police procedural with personal texture.? --_Associated Press
_ -- Review