Description
Book SynopsisThe ninth book in the classic Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s and 70s 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.In a Swedish country town, a woman is brutally murdered and left buried in a swamp. On a quiet suburban street a midnight shootout takes place between three cops and two teenage boys. Detective Inspector Martin Beck and his partner Lennart Kollberg are called in on both cases. In the unfamiliar small-town setting, they encounter figures from their earlier cases
Trade Review‘The godparents of Scandinavian crime fiction.’ Jo Nesbo
'Some of the most gripping crime fiction ever written.' Michael Connelly
‘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
‘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
‘They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction after these novels is inspired by them in one way or another.’ Henning Mankell
‘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
