The fifth woman : [an Inspector Wallander is one of the most wonderful creations in contemporary crime writing ... a classic of its genre

In an African convent, four nuns and a unidentified fifth woman are brutally murdered--the death of the unknown woman covered up by the local police. A year later in Sweden, Inspector Kurt Wallander is baffled and appalled by two murders. Holger Eriksson, a retired car dealer and bird watcher, is impaled on sharpened bamboo poles in a ditch behind his secluded home, and the body of a missing florist is discovered--strangled and tied to a tree. The only clues Wallander has to go on are a skull, a diary, and a photo of three men. What ensues is a case that will test Wallander’s strength and patience, because in order to discover the reason behind these murders, he will also need to uncover the elusive connection between these deaths and the earlier unsolved murder in Africa of the fifth woman. from Goodreads Four Nuns And A Fifth Woman Are Killed In A Savage Night-time Attack In Africa. A Year Later, Inspector Kurt Wallander Investigates The Disappearance Of An Elderly Birdwatcher And Discovers A Gruesome And Meticulously Planned Murder - A Body Impaled In A Trap Of Sharpened Bamboo Poles. Then, Another Man Is Reported Missing. Once Again Wallander's Life Is Put On Hold As He And His Team Work Tirelessly To Find A Link Between The Series Of Vicious Murders. Winner Of The Cwa Gold Dagger For Sidetracked. Four nuns and a fifth woman, a visitor to Africa, are killed in a savage night-time attack. Inspector Kurt Wallander is home from an idyllic holiday in Rome. But when he investigates the disappearance of an elderly birdwatcher, he discovers a gruesome and meticulously planned murder - a body impaled in a trap of sharpened bamboo poles. Inspector Kurt Wallander is home from an idyllic holiday in Rome, full of energy and plans for the future. But when he investigates the disappearence of an elderly birdwatcher he discovers a gruesome and meticulously planned murder - a body impaled in a trap of sharpened bamboo poles. Then another man is reported missing. When a serial killer confounds him and his team of detectives with increasingly brutal murders, Wallander must discover how these seemingly unrelated deaths are connected before the killer strikes again.