[books 2009] Wallander again and Tim Powers

8. The White Lioness by Henning Mankel

Another one from the Wallander series about the adventures of a small-town Swedish detective. Although the style is very similar to Firewall, I liked this book a lot more. It's stretching credibility a bit that in both books I've read a crime in rural Sweden is tied into something much bigger and international, but this is what makes it interesting. In this case the assassination of Nelson Mandela (this is 1992) is being organised from a farmhouse outside Ystad. Wallander and his detective chums are as gloomy as ever, but quite a lot of this book is based in South Africa, focusing on both the criminals and the South African investigation. The suspense is tight right up to the very end.

Probably only one for people who like detective novels, but pretty good for what it is.

9. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

This month's Bibliogoths selection. Still one of my favourite adventure stories ever, but apparently I'm in the minority.

So I've finally finished the big pile of library books I took out in December, which means I can get stuck into my own pile, and finally tackle the books that techbint has lent me.