THE WHITE LIONESS by Henning Mankell

Finished We 8/29/18

This is a trade paperback that I got at last June's library book sale. The author is Swedish and the book is the third in the Kurt Wallender Mystery Series (1998).

From wikipedia-

"The story itself takes place in 1992. The plot follows two parallel patterns, one during late apartheid South Africa where incumbent president F.W. de Klerk, leader of the Afrikaner minority which is on the brink of losing power to the African majority under the leadership of the ANC, about to end 44 years of suppression by the Broederbond rule. Simultaneously, Detective Chief Inspector Kurt Wallander is investigating a case of a missing female Methodist real-estate agent outside Ystad. Upon the eventual recovery of her body, as well as the discovery of a severed black finger at the crime scene, Detective Chief Inspector Wallander realizes the case has deep roots in the history and current development in South Africa, where it appears that an extremist cell of the Broederbond is about to orchestrate the murder of F W de Klerk by an infamous black assassin, wishing to plunge the country into a long and devastating civil war.''

Notes:
Konvovalenko is from the old Russian Secret Service and one of the most vicious killers I've ever encountered. He is working for a secret agency in the South African government. He's living in Sweden and training a hit-man to take out a prominent leader, and the only goal is to create chaos. Either the white leader of the party in power, or Mandela himself- it doesn't make a difference since the aim is to create the maximum of civil unrest.

I thought that it was interesting how the body of the real estate agent is found. A professional thief is contracted to steal three metal water pumps. These were pumps that were common in rural Sweden and they are wanted by Swedes living abroad. The pumps remind them of home.

The character of Wallander is very interesting. He's not the normal, 'in charge' type of lead, but he is riddled with quirks and neurotic tendencies. He loves his college aged daughter, but rarely thinks about his ex-wife.

I really liked the novel and would have finished it much sooner,  but I got involved in Mrarky Ramone's biography of his time in The Ramones, 'PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG- My Life As A Ramone'.
The BBC made a film of  THE WHITE LIONESS in 2016 with Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. I'd like very much to see this when it's available.