The Laughing Policeman (The Martin Beck series, Book 4)

(Paperback)

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The fourth book in the classic Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s the novels that shaped the future of Scandinavian crime writing.
Hugely acclaimed, the Martin Beck series were the original Scandinavian crime novels and have inspired the writings of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbo.

Written in the 1960s, 10 books completed in 10 years, they are the work of Maj Sjwall and Per Wahl a husband and wife team from Sweden. They follow the fortunes of the detective Martin Beck, whose enigmatic, taciturn character has inspired countless other policemen in crime fiction; without his creation Ian Rankins John Rebus or Henning Mankells Kurt Wallander may never have been conceived. The novels can be read separately, but are best read in chronological order, so the reader can follow the characters development and get drawn into the series as a whole.

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 Becks 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.

Reviews

Ive read The Laughing Policeman six or eight times. Each time I reach the final twist on the final page, I shiver afresh. Jonathan Franzen

Tantalizingthe splendid story of an apparently motiveless crime. New York Times Book Review

An influential police procedural with a precision-engineered plot that can grip and shock a readerthe 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 understoodit's all done with immense accomplishment. A welcome addition to the Martin Beck casebook. Matthew Coady, Guardian

They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction after these novels is inspired by them in one way or another. Henning Mankell

If you havent read Sjwall/Wahl, start now. Sunday Telegraph

Pick up one bookand you become unhinged. You want to block out a week of your life, lie to your boss, and stay in bed, gorging on one after another. Observer

Author Bio

Maj Sjowall is a poet. She lives in Sweden.