Stephanie Jane recenzis The Locked Room de Per Wahlöö
Brilliant!
5 steloj
I've now read nine of the ten Martin Beck police mysteries and have only Cop Killer left unread, although I will happily reread the earlier unreviewed ones again when I get a gap in my hectic reading schedule! I think that The Locked Room is probably my favourite so far and I loved this take on the classic detective setup. Sjowall and Wahloo intertwine two apparently unrelated crimes and their ultimate connection of the dual narratives is simply brilliant!
What sets this series apart for me though is Sjowall and Wahloo's depiction of Swedish society as it was in the 1960s and 1970s. They openly criticise aspects of the Swedish state and the behaviours of their fellow Swedes, but also show the positives of Swedish life at times. Their characters interactions are a masterclass in how to present a large cast within the confines of a novel. In The Locked …
I've now read nine of the ten Martin Beck police mysteries and have only Cop Killer left unread, although I will happily reread the earlier unreviewed ones again when I get a gap in my hectic reading schedule! I think that The Locked Room is probably my favourite so far and I loved this take on the classic detective setup. Sjowall and Wahloo intertwine two apparently unrelated crimes and their ultimate connection of the dual narratives is simply brilliant!
What sets this series apart for me though is Sjowall and Wahloo's depiction of Swedish society as it was in the 1960s and 1970s. They openly criticise aspects of the Swedish state and the behaviours of their fellow Swedes, but also show the positives of Swedish life at times. Their characters interactions are a masterclass in how to present a large cast within the confines of a novel. In The Locked Room, Martin Beck actually takes a bit of a back seat so we get to spend more time with his colleagues, each of which are fully rounded characters in their own right. Even brief cameo appearances are easily imagined as are the Stockholm locations.
The Martin Beck series to my mind is easily still the best when it comes to police procedural novels and it's fun sometimes to spot Sjowall and Wahloo's influence in many of the works that have been published since. Thoughtful and inventive, these books aren't perhaps ideal for action fans, but I highly recommend them to mystery solvers.