Book description
The fantastic fourth classic instalment in the Martin Beck detective
series from the 1960s - the novels that have inspired all Scandinavian
crime fiction.
The Martin Beck series is widely recognised as the greatest masterpiece
of crime fiction ever written. These are the original detective stories
that pioneered the detective genre and inspired writers from Agatha
Christie to Henning Mankell; Graham Greene to Jonathan Franzen.
Translated into 35 languages, they have sold over 10 million copies
around the world.
Written in the 1960s, they are the work of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo -
a husband-and-wife team from Sweden. The ten novels follow the fortunes
of the detective Martin Beck, whose enigmatic, taciturn character has
inspired countless other policemen in crime fiction. The novels can be
read separately, but do follow a chronological order, so the reader can
become familiar with the characters and develop a loyalty to the series.
Each book will have a new introduction in order to help bring these
books to a new audience.
On a cold and rainy Stockholm night, nine bus riders are gunned down by
an unknown assassin. The press, anxious for an explanation for the
seemingly random crime, quickly dubs him a madman. But Martin Beck of
the Homicide Squad suspects otherwise: this apparently motiveless killer
has managed to target one of Beck's best detectives - and he, surely,
would not have been riding that lethal bus without a reason.
With its wonderfully observed lawmen, its brilliantly rendered felons
and their murky Stockholm underworld, and its deftly engineered plot,
'The Laughing Policeman' has long been recognised as a classic of the
police procedural. 'An influential police procedural with a
precision-engineered plot that can grip and shock a reader…the plotting,
pacing and characterisation are all exquisite: and the halting
translation and the dated, just plain weird sexual politics somehow seem
only to make it more compelling.' Independent on Sunday
'For Beck, as with Maigret, each investigation is less a riddle to be
answered than a human situation to be understood…it's all done with
immense accomplishment. A welcome addition to the Martin Beck casebook.'
Matthew Coady, Guardian
'If you haven't read Sjowall/Wahloo, start now.' Sunday Telegraph
'I've read “The Laughing Policeman” six or eight times. Each time I
reach the final twist on the final page, I shiver afresh.' Jonathan Franzen
'Tantalizing…the splendid story of an apparently motiveless crime.' New
York Times Book Review
'The decalogue about the Swedish Chief Inspector Martin Beck created by
Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo during the 1960s and 1970s are indeed classic
police fiction. They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction
after these novels is inspired by them in one way or another.' Henning
Mankell Per Wahlöö was born in Göteborg, as the son of Waldemar and
Karin (Svensson) Wahlöö. After graduating from the University of Lund in
1946, he worked as a journalist, covering criminal and social issues for
a number of newspapers and magazines. In the 1950s Wahlöö was engaged in
radical political causes, activities that resulted in his deportation
from Franco's Spain in 1957. After returning to Sweden, he wrote a
number of television and radio plays, and was managing editor of several
magazines, before becoming a full-time writer. Maj Sjowall is also a
poet. She lives in Sweden.
