The Laughing Policeman (A Martin Beck Police Mystery)

ISBN: 143326353X

Author: Maj Sjowall

Condition: New

Product DescriptionOn 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 Superintendent Martin Beck of the Stockholm 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.ReviewMust reading for anyone who claims to be [a student] of the best detective fiction. -- Saturday Review. A tantalizing, intricate tale. -- New York Times Book Review. A top-notch example of the police procedural school of mystery. --Chicago Sun-Times. 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. --."Must reading for anyone who claims to be [a student] of the best detective fiction." --Saturday ReviewA top-notch example of the police procedural school of mystery. --Chicago Sun-TimesAbout the AuthorMAJ SJOWALL AND PER WAHLOO, wife and husband team, wrote ten Martin Beck mysteries. Maj Sjowall besides being a crime novelist is also a poet. Per Wahloo, who died in 1975, was a reporter for several Swedish newspapers and magazines and wrote numerous radio and television plays, film scripts, short stories, and novels.From AudioFileLate on a cold night, eight passengers and the driver of a municipal bus are gunned down. This begins another excellent police procedural about Martin Beck and his colleagues of the Stockholm Homicide Squad. Once again, Tom Weiner gives a performance that is pitch perfect for the material. The very different personalities of the squad members are beautifully rendered, as are characters we meet only once or twice--in particular, a detective's wife and the girlfriend of one of the victims. The plot takes several unexpected turns, but Weiner's sure narration is always on key with what is happening. The result is that while we are lost in the emotion of the story, we are never lost amid the action. R.E.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine