- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; (Reissue) edition (3 Dec 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007242999
- ISBN-13: 978-0007242993
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 231,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Martin Beck series - Cop Killer
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Product Description
Review
Praise for ‘Roseanna’:
‘The writing is elegant and surprisingly humorous – if you haven’t come across Beck before, you’re in for a treat.’ Guardian
‘I have never read a finer police story.’ Los Angeles Times
‘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 inspired by them in one way or another.’ Henning Mankell
‘If you haven’t read Sjowall/Wahloo, start now.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Their mysteries don’t just read well; they reread even better. Witness, wife, petty cop or crook – they’re all real characters even if they get just a few sentences. The plots hold, because they’re ingenious but never inhuman.’ New York Times
Product Description
The thrilling ninth classic 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.
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.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sjowall and Wahloo were the husband and wife team who together conceived and wrote a series of 10 police novels about the exploits of detectives from the the special homicide commission of the national police in which the character of Martin Beck was the main protagonist and backing him up was his assitant Kollberg.
This novel is the 9th in the series and deals with a murder of a woman in Southern Sweden however there is a secondary story which deals with a teenage killer of a policeman.
What you see in these novels is the beginnings of modern Swedish crime fiction, with the writers being concerned with swedish society and the changes which were occurring in the 60'/70's. What is remarkable is that this is still being reinforced by modern Swedish and Nordic writers, especially Mankell, Larsson and the icelandic writer Indridason.
This novel is the 9th in the series and deals with a murder of a woman in Southern Sweden however there is a secondary story which deals with a teenage killer of a policeman.
What you see in these novels is the beginnings of modern Swedish crime fiction, with the writers being concerned with swedish society and the changes which were occurring in the 60'/70's. What is remarkable is that this is still being reinforced by modern Swedish and Nordic writers, especially Mankell, Larsson and the icelandic writer Indridason.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Martin Beck plays a lesser role in this police procedural which features two seemingly unconnected deaths. The authors are vociferous in their criticisms of the nationalisation of the police force, the failings of the Welfare State and the shortcomings of the, so-called, 'Third Way'. These criticisms are voiced via the narrator rather than the characters.
The book features the usual cast list but concentrates on Beck's closest friend, Kollberg. The latter's disenchantment with 'the force' is central and also extends to a vital parting gift to Beck.
The book gripped me from a chilling, opening chapter. It has a few knowing references to the earlier books in the series but is an excellent stand alone read for those unwilling to commit to the decalogue.
If you like the police procedural genre these authors must be in your Top Ten and this book is one of their best.
The book features the usual cast list but concentrates on Beck's closest friend, Kollberg. The latter's disenchantment with 'the force' is central and also extends to a vital parting gift to Beck.
The book gripped me from a chilling, opening chapter. It has a few knowing references to the earlier books in the series but is an excellent stand alone read for those unwilling to commit to the decalogue.
If you like the police procedural genre these authors must be in your Top Ten and this book is one of their best.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There was the Swedish writing team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. They created the character of Inspector Martin Beck and in ten volumes pretty much gave birth to the concept of Swedish noir. Henning Mankell's Inspector Wallander series and Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander/Mikael Blomkvist stories are the literary progeny of Sjowall and Wahloo's wonderful creation.
"Cop Killer" is the ninth of ten stories in the Inspector Beck series. It focuses on the disappearance and likely murder of Sig Mard in a small town far from Stockholm. Inspector Martin Beck, now the head of Sweden's national homicide bureau is called in to investigate. There is some pressure on Beck to round up the usual suspects, certainly the available evidence seems to suggest a limited universe of potential killers), but Beck will have none of it. Beck, as usual, is painstakingly thorough, almost plodding. There are no Sherlock Holmes-like flashes of genius. Beck is a good cop because he works hard, is thorough and has a way of sifting through the evidence until a picture forms of the crime sufficient for a resolution.
A number of things keep the Martin Beck stories interesting for me. First and foremost is the character development of the major players. Beck and his colleagues are far from angels or virtuous men on horseback coming in to save the world from crime. They are cops, first and foremost, doing a tough job in a country which has had (based on these books at least) more than its share of murder and mayhem. Yet, after reading a few of these books I've grown attached to Beck and his crew. They aren't geniuses but they work. They dig out clues and they wait and they analyze and they dig some more. Second is the setting: Sweden in the 60s and 70s. Sjowall and Wahloo world view (they were socialist and strong supporters of the Social Democratic Party) does not create a rose-colored look at society but, rather, one that shows crime and moral decay even within a system that on its surface is dedicated to egalitarianism. Cop Killers sets out the dysfunction created by the Swedish 'system'in stark relief and in particular on the impact of that dysfunction on Beck and his colleagues. They still do their job but they cannot help but take a cynical approach to the world around them, particularly toward the preening bureaucrats that rise to the top of the administrative heap for all sorts of reasons not related to competence.
I did like Cop Killer and I do recommend it. It can be read as a stand-alone novel. However, given the evolution of Beck and his fellow officers over the course of the series I'd recommend that the books be read in order. I think if you like the initial couple of books enough to keep reading you just may find yourself reading all ten.
"Cop Killer" is the ninth of ten stories in the Inspector Beck series. It focuses on the disappearance and likely murder of Sig Mard in a small town far from Stockholm. Inspector Martin Beck, now the head of Sweden's national homicide bureau is called in to investigate. There is some pressure on Beck to round up the usual suspects, certainly the available evidence seems to suggest a limited universe of potential killers), but Beck will have none of it. Beck, as usual, is painstakingly thorough, almost plodding. There are no Sherlock Holmes-like flashes of genius. Beck is a good cop because he works hard, is thorough and has a way of sifting through the evidence until a picture forms of the crime sufficient for a resolution.
A number of things keep the Martin Beck stories interesting for me. First and foremost is the character development of the major players. Beck and his colleagues are far from angels or virtuous men on horseback coming in to save the world from crime. They are cops, first and foremost, doing a tough job in a country which has had (based on these books at least) more than its share of murder and mayhem. Yet, after reading a few of these books I've grown attached to Beck and his crew. They aren't geniuses but they work. They dig out clues and they wait and they analyze and they dig some more. Second is the setting: Sweden in the 60s and 70s. Sjowall and Wahloo world view (they were socialist and strong supporters of the Social Democratic Party) does not create a rose-colored look at society but, rather, one that shows crime and moral decay even within a system that on its surface is dedicated to egalitarianism. Cop Killers sets out the dysfunction created by the Swedish 'system'in stark relief and in particular on the impact of that dysfunction on Beck and his colleagues. They still do their job but they cannot help but take a cynical approach to the world around them, particularly toward the preening bureaucrats that rise to the top of the administrative heap for all sorts of reasons not related to competence.
I did like Cop Killer and I do recommend it. It can be read as a stand-alone novel. However, given the evolution of Beck and his fellow officers over the course of the series I'd recommend that the books be read in order. I think if you like the initial couple of books enough to keep reading you just may find yourself reading all ten.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
martin beck series
Really enjoyed this series. I can see where the interest in scandinavian crime writers comes from. Much the same approach your used to if your a Mankell fan. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Alan Waites
Swedish trifecta
Another highly entertaining crime novel from the Swedish writers Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. "Cop Killer" has a challenging plot, with three stories interlinked; some extremely... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Blue in Washington
Penultimate outing for Martin Beck in classic Swedish series
Although written in the 1970s, this ninth volume in the Martin Beck series remains a strong, relevant novel today. Two stories are told, both sent in the Malmo region of Sweden. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Maxine Clarke
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