Annika Bengtzon
nordic noir
Series · Nordic noir
Kurt Wallander
The Kurt Wallander series by Henning Mankell has 11 known books (11 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Faceless Killers (1991).
- Books
- 11 known books (9 novels + 1 novella + 1 collection)
- Published
- 11
- First published
- 1991
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime, Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: Faceless Killers (1991) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Faceless Killers
Faceless Killers opens the Kurt Wallander series in 1991, introducing the overweight, diabetic, divorced detective Henning Mankell built as the genre's anti-hero. It's followed by The Dogs of Riga, and its investigation into a brutal farmhouse murder sets the template for the melancholy, socially engaged procedural that founded Scandinavian noir.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Faceless Killers - Book 2:
The Dogs of Riga
The Dogs of Riga, the second Kurt Wallander novel, appeared in 1992. Mankell sends Wallander into a newly post-Soviet Latvia, using the investigation as a lens on regional anxiety the same way each book in the series uses crime to comment on Swedish society.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Dogs of Riga - Book 3:
The White Lioness
The White Lioness precedes The Man Who Smiled in the Kurt Wallander series, published in 1993. Wallander's loneliness and physical decline are never softened as Mankell widens the series' geopolitical reach.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The White Lioness - Book 4:
The Man Who Smiled
The Man Who Smiled, published in 1994, is the fourth Kurt Wallander novel. Mankell keeps developing Wallander's relationship with his father and daughter Linda alongside the case, part of the continuous character arc that runs across the whole series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Man Who Smiled - Book 5:
Sidetracked
Sidetracked, book five of the Kurt Wallander series, appeared in 1995. Mankell keeps the mystery functioning as serious commentary on Swedish society rather than pure puzzle-plotting, the same melancholy procedural mode that made him the writer credited with founding Scandinavian noir.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sidetracked - Book 6:
The Fifth Woman
The Fifth Woman sits between Sidetracked and One Step Behind in the Kurt Wallander series, arriving in 1996. Wallander's declining health and disillusionment continue developing across the investigation, part of the continuous arc Mankell builds book to book.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Fifth Woman - Book 7:
One Step Behind
One Step Behind follows The Fifth Woman in the Kurt Wallander series, published in 1997. Mankell's bleak Skane winters and unsparing portrait of a burnt-out detective continue to set the template later credited with launching an entire genre.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of One Step Behind - Book 8:
Firewall
Firewall, published in 1998, is the eighth Kurt Wallander novel by Henning Mankell. It continues the series' focus on organised crime and technology-driven threats as a lens on late-20th-century Swedish anxiety.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Firewall - Book 9:
The Pyramid
The Pyramid is a story collection in the Kurt Wallander series, published in 1999. Most of its stories are prequels set before Faceless Killers, useful as backstory but readable at any point since they sit outside the main numbered run.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Pyramid - Book 10:
An Event in Autumn
An Event in Autumn, running 176 pages, was published in 2004 as a short novella in the Kurt Wallander series -- originally written for a Dutch book-week promotion. It sits outside the main numbered run but keeps Mankell's melancholy, socially engaged tone intact.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of An Event in Autumn - Book 11:
The Troubled Man
The Troubled Man arrived five years after An Event in Autumn, continuing -- and deliberately concluding -- the Kurt Wallander series in 2009. Mankell wrote it as the character's final case, closing out the run that established the template for the Scandinavian noir genre.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Troubled Man
About the Kurt Wallander series
Kurt Wallander is a middle-aged detective in the small Swedish town of Ystad, and Henning Mankell built him, deliberately, as the anti-hero of the genre he helped invent: overweight, diabetic, divorced, depressive, and quietly appalled by the racism and social fracture he sees creeping into a Sweden he no longer fully recognises. Mankell used each investigation -- into organised crime, far-right violence, trafficking, political conspiracy -- as a lens on late-20th-century Swedish anxiety about immigration, the welfare state's erosion, and a national self-image under strain, and is widely credited as the writer who established the template for the entire Scandinavian noir genre that followed him.
The appeal is melancholy, socially engaged procedural writing: bleak Skane winters, a detective whose loneliness and physical decline are never softened, and mysteries that function as serious commentary on Swedish society rather than pure puzzle-plotting. It's for readers who want the originators of the genre that gave rise to Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo, and the books were adapted into both Swedish and BBC television series, the latter starring Kenneth Branagh.
Frequently asked questions
How many Kurt Wallander books are there?
There are 11 entries: 8 main novels (1991-1998), the short-story collection The Pyramid (1999), the novella An Event in Autumn (2004), and the final novel, The Troubled Man (2009).
What order should I read the Kurt Wallander books in?
Publication order, starting with Faceless Killers (1991). Wallander's health and family life develop continuously, and the series was deliberately concluded with The Troubled Man (2009).
Is the Kurt Wallander series finished?
Yes. Henning Mankell said he wrote The Troubled Man (2009) as a deliberate ending for the character, and Mankell himself died in 2015.
Is Before the Frost part of the Kurt Wallander series?
Before the Frost (2002) features Wallander's daughter Linda as the lead investigator, with Kurt in a supporting role. It's usually treated as a separate spinoff rather than a numbered entry in this series.
What is The Pyramid?
The Pyramid (1999) is a collection of short stories and novellas, most of them set before Faceless Killers, filling in Wallander's early career and personal life before the main series begins.
If you like the Kurt Wallander series
Reading order last verified .