Martin Beck Police Mysteries (Paperback)

2 primary works • 5 total works

Man Who Went Up in Smoke

by Major Maj Sjowall and Per Whaloo

Published 12 March 1976

Cop Killer

by Major Maj Sjowall and Per Whaloo

Published 12 April 1978

Man on the Balcony

by Major Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo

Published July 1969

The third thrilling classic instalment in the Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s - the novels that have inspired all crime fiction written ever since.

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.

Someone is killing young girls in the once-peaceful parks of Stockholm - killing them after having his own way with them. The people of Stockholm are tense and fearful. Police Superintendent Martin Beck has two witnesses: a cold-blooded mugger who won't say much and a three-year-old boy who can't say much. The dedicated work of the police seems to be leading nowhere, and with each passing day, the likelihood of another murder grows. But then Beck remembers someone - or something - he overheard.

`The Man on the Balcony' balances the most inhuman of crimes with the humanity of the men who must solve it - resulting in a police procedural that is as moving and credible as it is enthralling.

Murder at the Savoy

by Per Wahloo

Published April 1972

The sixth thrilling installment in the Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s -- the novels that have inspired all crime fiction written ever since. Widely recognised as the greatest masterpieces of crime fiction ever written, these are the original detective stories that pioneered the detective genre. When Viktor Palmgren, a powerful industrialist, is casually shot during an after-dinner speech, the repurcussions -- both on the international money markets and on the residents of the small coastal town of Malmo -- are widespread. Chief Inspector Martin Beck is called in to help catch a killer nobody, not even the victim, was able to identify. He begins a systemic search for the friends, enemies, business associates and call girls who may have wanted Palmgren dead -- but in the process he finds to his dismay that he has nothing but contempt for the victim and sympathy for the murderer! 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 has a new introduction in order to help bring these books to a new audience.

Roseanna

by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo

Published October 1968

The naked body of a young woman is dredged up from a Swedish canal. She has been sexually assaulted and strangled. But no one has reported her missing and Martin Beck of the Stockholm homicide squad can find no clue to her identity. But then patience, a little luck and good, honest police work turn up a broken-down pleasure boat, information from Nebraska and some tourist's photographs, and gradually Beck's investigation comes to its troubling conclusion.