The Man Who Went Up in Smoke: A Martin Beck Police Mystery (2)

How can I write a review when not received after nearly 5 weeks

It had been decades since I'd read a Martin Beck roman policier from the Swedish team of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö - so long that I can't remember which ones I might have read. But on a friend's recommendation I went back to Beck in a 1969 mystery "The Man Who Went Up In Smoke." While reputedly not their best effort, it was good enough for me to want to read more. In it Detective Beck interrupts his summer vacation to travel from Stockholm to Budapest to investigate the seeming disappearance there of a Swedish journalist. While the plot is not that intriguing, the policemen are -- Swedes and Hungarians alike. They share a stocism, a sardonic Weltanschauung, and unresolved marital problems. As a result, they come off as human beings at work instead of formulaic heroic crime-fighters. As when Beck's colleague Kollberg is receiving an oral report on the apprehension of two suspects from an unimaginative provinical Swedish cop, Backlund, who states that they "`were taken to police headquarters...by Patrolmen Kristiansson and Kvant. Both men were under the influence of alcohol.'" "`Kristiansson and Kvant?'" "Backlund gave Kolberg a look of reproach and went on..." Subtle humor, Swedish humor perhaps, which peppers the gritty novel at unexpected moments. But most alluring is the Cold War-era view of Europe, the deliberate pacing, and the crisp prose as translated by Joan Tate. The result is soothing, reminding me of Simenon's Maigret novels. Like Maigret, Beck drinks a lot. Also like Maigret, he has a long-suffering wife -- though Beck's does not suffer silently as does Madame Maigret. From 1965 to 1975 Sjöwall and Wahlöö published 10 Martin Beck mysteries, the most noted being "The Laughing Policeman," made into a 1973 movie, set in San Francisco in lieu of the novel's Stockholm, with Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern.

I was first introduced to the work of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo back in the 1980s when I was assigned to read "The Laughing Policeman" as part of a detective fiction college course. Since then, I have looked for their books but with no success. Just recently, I saw that the first two books in their ten book series were republished by Vintage Crime, so I have started reading the series from the beginning. The first book is called "Roseanna," and this book, "The Man Who Went Up in Smoke" is the second. So far, this is my favorite (not counting "The Laughing Policeman"). The mystery has many twists and turns. Martin Beck, the protagonist in all ten books, is taken away from his vacation and sent to Hungary to investigate the disappearance of a Swedish journalist, who seems to have "went up in smoke." At first, Beck is at a loss as to what really happened, though he does interview people who may have seen him. But eventually, the picture becomes clearer and by the end Beck solves the case. What I liked about it is that the story comes across as realistic, and the investigation is centered on how a real police investigation would be conducted. The solution is surprising yet satisfying, and is completely different from their first book "Roseanna." This is an excellent series, and I can hardly wait for Vintage Crime to release new editions of the third and fourth books in the series, "The Man On the Balcony" and "The Laughing Policeman" (which I am anxious to reread), in February of 2009.

I met a man who wasn't there. Summer vacation season is in full swing and Inspector Martin Beck has just arrived in an isolated summer cottage on an island off the Swedish coast. The very next morning a neighbor rows out to advise him that he is wanted on the telephone. He is needed back in Stockholm for a meeting with the Police Chief and the Swedish Foreign office. Beck grudgingly returns for the meeting and is asked to travel to Budapest, Hungary to find a missing journalist. The journalist, Alf Matsson, has gone missing and the tabloid newspaper he works for has pressured the Foreign Office to search for the report. Beck has been asked to `volunteer' for the task. Despite, or perhaps because of, his wife's displeasure (their marriage is not in the best condition) at his departure, Beck accepts the assignment. In short order he is provided with a full set of travel documents, a brief dossier on Matsson, and a ticket for Budapest. The only thing Beck lacks is the first clue as to how to locate Matsson. As the story progresses we see Beck put together bits and pieces of information as he wanders, seemingly aimlessly, through the picturesque streets of Budapest. Beck is traveling purely as a civilian and soon attracts the attention of the Budapest police force, in particular a detective who may or may not be an ally of Beck. Beck also attracts the attention of what may be either Budapest's underworld or representatives of the Hungarian security forces. For all intents and purposes Beck is a stranger in a strange land. As with all the other Martin Beck mysteries in this ten-book series (this is the third in the series), "The Man Who Went Up in Smoke" is rich with character-driven narrative. Beck's character and his relationships with his colleagues and his wife are fleshed out as Beck plods along trying to unravel the mystery surrounding Matsson's disappearance. The authors, the husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall, do a nice job of revealing details in a measured pace along the way. The plot and narrative do fall squarely within the usual police procedural `formula' but that does nothing to take away from the enjoyment of reading the book. Although the reader may find the ending a bit predictable (I didn't) the real enjoyment of the series involves the development of Beck's character. As with many good detective series (Simenon's Maigret comes to mind here) the personality of Beck takes pride of place. He is far from being a super hero, is no Sherlock Holmes (who is?), smokes too much, doesn't eat right, and has some troubles at home. He is appealing because of these flaws not despite them and his dogged determination and his personal involvement in the cases he handles drags the reader right into the story. He works at his job and doesn't and cannot rely on flashes of genius to solve a crime. The Beck series has been an entertaining one. I recommend starting with the first book in the series (Roseanna) and work