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The Martin Beck series - The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
 
 
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The Martin Beck series - The Man Who Went Up in Smoke [Paperback]

Maj Sjowall , Per Wahloo , Val McDermid
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Frequently Bought Together

The Martin Beck series - The Man Who Went Up in Smoke + Roseanna (The Martin Beck series) + The Martin Beck series - The Man on the Balcony
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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Fourth Estate; (Reissue) edition (23 Jun 2011)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007439121
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007439126
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 17,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Product Description

Review

‘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 haven’t read Sjöwall/Wahlöö, start now.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Pick up one book…and 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

‘The writing is elegant and surprisingly humorous – if you haven’t come across Beck before, you’re in for a treat.’ Guardian

Product Description

The second 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 Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö – 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 Rankin’s John Rebus or Henning Mankell’s 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.

‘The Man Who Went Up in Smoke’ starts as Martin Beck has just begun his holiday: an August spent with his family on a small island off the coast of Sweden. But when a neighbour gets a phone call, Beck finds himself packed off to Budapest, where a boorish journalist has vanished without a trace. Instead of passing leisurely sun-filled days with his children, Beck must troll about in the Eastern Europe underworld for a man nobody knows, with the aid of the coolly efficient local police, who do business while soaking at the public baths – and at the risk of vanishing along with his quarry.


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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
brilliant all over 27 July 2011
By Ramses
Format:Paperback
This is "number 2" in the Martin Beck series. It is really interesting, happening mostly in Budapest where BEck is looking for a vanished Swedish journalist. The plot is good, but what make this exceptional are the character cast, dialogs, location, humour, really special hero (Martin Beck) ... well everything. Must read 10-book series, not to be missed.
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Format:Paperback
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke is a curious book. The edition I read is 198 pages long and for the first 80 or so very little happens. The narrative focuses on mundane, everyday life - Beck's increasingly distant relationship with his family, his ambivalence towards his job, getting to know a new city. There are no dramatic events, no sudden revelations or twists and turns, no quickening of the pace. In this sense, the pacing and observations mimic Beck himself, who finds it difficult to summon any interest or enthusiasm for the case. And yet the story is captivating. Sjowall and Wahloo's prose has a calm but insistent cadence as they immerse the reader in Beck's world and the cities of Stockholm and Budapest. They portray a terrific sense of atmosphere and place. In the second half of the book, there is a shift in pace as the clues start to be aligned and people start to react to Beck's investigation. A wonderfully under-stated police procedural.
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Brilliant 22 Dec 2011
By bookworm8 VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was recommended a while ago to try the Martin Beck series and I am so glad I took the advice. I am really enjoying them and recommend them highly for anyone interested in police procedurals and thoughtful detective stories. The plots are well worked out but the best aspect for me is the development of the main character, Martin Beck, and his interaction with his wife and family, and his colleagues. Very believable, very engaging, very worthwhile buying!
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