Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
Are you striving to become a better problem solver? I love detective stories, and I have mentioned here that reading these kinds of books enable you to become a better problem solver. This year I am reading globally, so I chose Faceless Killers: The First Kurt Wallander Mystery
by Henning Mankell because it is set in Ystad, Sweden. This book is ideal for learning how to problem solve because the case takes a long time to solve, which is probably more representative that in detective stories set in the West. The pace of the story is a lot slower, and the way that the detectives work is different from North America.
An elderly farmer, Johannes Lovgren, is viciously attacked and killed, while his wife, Maria, is also attacked, but left to die from her wounds, with a noose around her neck. Their neighbor, Nystrom hears a weak cry, and his wife encourages him to go to their neighbor. The bloody scene that greets Nystrom is horrific. He calls the police and Kurt Wallander and his team arrive at the scene. This is the worst crime scene they have ever seen – it's like a slaughterhouse. Although the book is great to teach problem solving skills, there are several sections that I find extremely distracting, and perhaps too much information. For instance, Wallander gobbles down his food, resulting in diarrhea, and I ask myself, if eating too quickly can trigger loose bowels. While he is sitting on the toilet, he notices that his underpants is soiled and needs to change, so I check out of the story, wondering if he doesn’t shower each day. I am an active reader so I am right there with the characters. Wallander, who is very senior in the police force, holding the position of Chief of Police while his boss is away, in one instance, drives his car while intoxicated. This is a big no-no for me, and his character turns me off at this point, even though he is very methodical in solving the crime. I understand that we are all flawed, but a police officer drinking while driving? That’s definitely a no-no.
This blog post is not a book review, but a look at problem solving. Before Maria dies in the hospital from the wounds she sustains during the attack, she says the word foreign. What does foreign mean? Non-Swedes? That’s what the police officers have to find out. After Nystrom calls the police and they arrive, there is a noose around Maria's neck, how significant is that. The horse outside is also fed, who fed the horse, and is that significant?
Everyone thinks that Johannes was a poor farmer, but Maria’s brother tells the police officer that he was wealthy, gaining his wealth during the war. The farmer did not share the wealth with his wife, but with a younger woman, with whom he had a son. Where are the mother and son, and did they kill Johannes? The police also learns that the farmer has safety deposit boxes, and that he pays the other woman over 25,000 Krona three times a year.
Somehow the media find out that the last word Maria says is foreigners, so they publish it, and stir racial hatred. Wallander gets a call from an unidentified man, telling him that if he doesn’t solve the couple’s murder in three days someone will die. Wallander takes the threat seriously, but he faces many obstacles, and doesn’t solve the murders as quickly as he would have liked. A refugee is shot and killed while going on a walk. Through very good detecting they discover that an ex-police officer, with ties to hate organizations is involved. But the ex-cop and his accomplice did not kill the couple, so who did?
One of the things evident in Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell is that some of the witnesses who are good at paying attention to details provide very good clues. Problem solving is also about paying attention to even the smallest detail. It is also about trial and error because you seldom have all the information that you need. The story reminds us that some clues are more important than others, and that while solving a problem, you may take a wrong turn and have to start over again. These are the little things in the book that makes it great at problem solving. By reading the book, you see the process of elimination helps to solve a case.
Grab a copy of Faceless Killers: The First Kurt Wallander Mystery by Henning Mankell, then try to figure out who killed Johannes and Maria Lovgrens.
Get Started Here – I want to help you get started on your learning journey. Read The Invisible Mentor 2015 Reading Challenge, then Join the Facebook Group for the Reading Challenge today, connecting the ideas from the books you read!
In the meantime, THANK YOU for your time… Thank you for sharing this post, and thank you for connecting with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest! What was your biggest takeaway from today?
Brought to you by Avil Beckford – dedicated to helping you grow and blossom professionally. You’re never alone!
Book links are affiliate links.