THE WHITE LIONESS

Henning Mankell is a master of using the bleak landscape of Ystad, Sweden, to illuminate the temperament of his depressed and cautious detective, Kurt Wallander. Here Wallander is confronted with the murder, execution style and with no apparent motive, of a young realtor and pillar of the Methodist church. Wallander soon finds himself in a confusing tangle involving a ruthless ex-KGB agent and racist South Africans determined to prolong Afrikaner rule. Dick Hill translates Mankell's minimalist narrative style without flashiness and generates tension at the same time, an impressive feat. Hill seamlessly switches viewpoints and accents among Swedish, Russian, and South African characters with absolute believability, despite the clunky plot. A.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 07]