Folio presents the first illustrated edition of Lee Child’s phenomenally popular thriller, Killing Floor – thanks to artist Oliver Barrett, action hero Jack Reacher has never looked more formidable.
Faceless Killers
Book 1 in the Wallander series
Illustrated by Morgan Schweitzer
Introduced by Patti Smith
Translated by Steven T. Murray
Henning Mankell’s Faceless Killers made detective Wallander a household name and catapulted Nordic noir into the mainstream. The first ever illustrated edition, with an introduction by Patti Smith, is a must-have for fans of the genre.
$80.00
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‘An exquisite novel of mesmerizing depth and suspense.’
- Los Angeles Times
A gruesome murder in a remote farmhouse; a detective with a long list of personal demons; and the bleak backdrop of a harsh Swedish winter: add Henning Mankell’s explosive prose and you have the novel that brought Nordic noir to the attention of crime-fiction fans worldwide. The first book in Mankell’s best-selling ‘Wallander’ series, Faceless Killers is a page-turning thriller of the highest order, as well as a frank snapshot of Sweden’s political and social landscape in the 1990s. Patti Smith’s original introduction is reproduced in English for the first time in this edition, to accompany Steven T. Murray’s translation, while award-winning illustrator Morgan Schweitzer elevates the tension with a series of atmospheric illustrations that culminates in the stark binding design, encased in an eye-catching die-cut slipcase.
Bound in blocked and printed textured paper
Set in Garamond with Avenir as display
312 pages
Frontispiece and 4 full-page colour illustrations, including a double-page spread
Black & white map
Die-cut slipcase
9˝ x 5¾˝
‘Mankell is one of the most ingenious crime writers around.’
- Observer
With more than 30 million copies sold and three screen adaptions – including the BAFTA-winning BBC series – Henning Mankell’s Wallander is one of the most successful modern crime-fiction creations … and it all began with Faceless Killers. For the first-ever illustrated edition, Folio commissioned American illustrator Morgan Schweitzer, whose graphic artwork perfectly matches the astonishing pace and tension of the novel. Meanwhile, a newly commissioned map by Neil Gower helps to contextualise the fast-moving investigation. Patti Smith’s 2016 introduction, which appears in Swedish editions of the work, is so beautifully crafted that is has been repurposed for our English-language edition. After stumbling upon the novel at an airport, Smith felt drawn to both the protagonist and the author, and her heartfelt introduction describes her fortuitous introduction to the series and her subsequent friendship with Mankell.
When Patti Smith writes: ‘I felt a kinship with this slightly alcoholic, melancholic police detective’ in her introduction, she speaks of Mankell’s skilful crafting of his empathetic protagonist. Recently and reluctantly separated from his wife and daughter, Kurt Wallander loses himself in whisky and opera, snatching fitful hours of sleep and guilt-ridden fast food while working this perplexing and shocking case: an elderly farmer tortured to death; his wife barely alive by his side. The culprit proves elusive but the pace is electric. Mankell peels away Wallander’s layers; the decay of his private life starkly contrasting with his dogged determination to solve the crime. The rugged, windswept region of Skåne weaves itself inextricably into a novel that not only launched an addictive new crime-fiction sub-genre, but also addressed Sweden’s demons: the rise of the far-right, the vilification of refugees and police antipathy. More than 30 years after publication, the success of the genre shows no sign of waning, and the issues raised are equally pertinent across Europe, and beyond.
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