Cop Killer

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. (A chronological list is or will be set out in a comment below this review). I think if you like the initial couple of books enough to keep reading you just may find yourself reading all ten.

The works by the Swedish writing duo of Sjowall/Wahloo are certainly an acquired taste. While their writing skills (characterizations, prose, story) are certainly laudable, their subversive interwoven social commentaries are probably not to everyone's liking. All their books make it seem as if Sweden is some absolutely horrible place due to the utterly inept government and decaying societal norms. 'Cop Killer' is a classic Sjowall/Wahloo mystery novel. 'Cop Killer' is actually two disjointed mysteries which come together in the end. As the title suggests, one of them involves the death of a police office. The other involves the grisly death of a woman. While neither mystery in my itself is brilliant, and I found the fusing of these two stories at the end of the novel to be contrived, Sjowall/Wahloo keep the reader entertained with really fine characterizations (especially of the frazzled police investigators). The book never bored me. But alas, I don't think 'Cop Killer' will be a memorable reading experience. Bottom line: if you think you'd like Swedish mysteries written by fierce social critics then this book is for you. :-) But probably a curious read for all others.

The Beck mysteries are a unique series of politically critical, human procedurals that are wonderfully translated into English. They need to be read as a set--there are 10 of them--in order to understand the unique contribution that this husband and wife team have made to mystery fiction.

All of the Martin Beck mysteries (I believe there are 10 in all) are excellent reads that offer a window into the criminal Scandinavian landscape. Sharply etched characterizations and stories that remind one of the Magritte novels of Simenon. It's a shame that they are hard to find!