Customer Reviews

The Abominable Man (A Martin Beck Police Mystery) (Martin Beck Police Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Abomidable Man" is one of the better entries in the ten "Martin Beck" mysteries by the husband-and-wife team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. It features the unforgettable characters of Martin Beck, Leonard Kollberg, and their colleagues at the newly nationalized Swedish Police Force as a particularly brutal murder of a police officer in a hospital is investigated. With few clues, Beck and his colleagues eventually solve the case, but are overtaken by events in the sort of bleak existential denouement that characterizes this unmatched series of crime stories. The authors use the police procedural as a prism through which to look at society, and their liberal outlook seems innocent and quaint given the passage of time. Search your local used bookstores and garage sales for any entries in this series (not too uncommon in paperback) and let's hope that Black Lizard rereleases the whole series. NOTE: This book was made into an outstanding Swedis! ! h film called "The Man on the Roof", available on video at certain outlets.

The sixth Martin Beck novel. The crime this time around is the brutal murder of a decorated police officer in his hospital bed. Beck (now divorced from his shrewish wife) and his partner Kollberg, are on the case again.

This is the best novel in the series, masterfully interweaving the virtues of Beck's patient, methodical style of detection with a damning indictment of the pointless brutality and general incompetence of modern law enforcement. The point of the book, made in a variety of ways, is that law enforcement needs better cops, not bigger guns. Excellent as both a crime thriller and social commentary.

And don't miss the cliffhanger ending.

Unfortunately, it's out of print, and hard to find. Beg, borrow, or steal a copy, and read it.

This 7th Martin Beck Mystery was made into a film in Sweden in 1976 titled "Mannen pa taket" (The Man on the Roof). After reading the book, it is easy to imagine what that film must look like; because the last full 65 or so pages of "The Abominable Man" are some of the best visual-action writing I've ever read. The book really puts you right there for a very extended, visually complex, inner-city Stockholm, gunman-on-the-roof, lone-madman vs. hundreds standoff.

"The Abominable Man" was released in 1971 in Sweden, the same year as the film "Dirty Harry" in the U.S.; and the book's extended climax scene definitely has some of that same feel. This pure-action, cinematic second half is what distinguishes this book from others in the series (I wonder if Sjowall & Wahloo had seen "Dirty Harry" before writing the second half of the book). Expert writing nonetheless.

The book's first 150 or so pages are more familiar territory for the series; both in the tight plotting and the underlying themes. In this case the writers are looking at police brutality; and its' prevailing systemic coverup from bottom to top; as yet another example of governmental/societal breakdown in Sweden. The case presented and its' backstory have interesting aspects of complexity, and are not dated in the least bit; nor unique to Sweden for that matter.

The character portraits presented by the writers are very realistic and not over-simplified. As the case unfolds, our hero Martin Beck is plagued increasingly by a sense of dread and responsibility. Beck really shines in this book; both as the backbone of conscience of the series, and as a "man of action."

The "abominable man" of the book's title refers not to the gunman on the roof; but instead to the man who essentially put him up there... Good book. Recommended.

The book's themes are as relevant today as they were when written. Sadly, our societies have not learned so much from the lessons spelled out here - as we see so frequently in the news. Innocents dies at the hands of police officers, tarnishing the whole force, undermining the public's trust and respect for professional men and woman who, for the most part, do exceptional work on our streets every day and night. It is up to society to shine brighter and more courageous lights on those in our midst, trusted with weapons and a badge, who misuse them - whether willfully and deliberately or from ignorance or lack of training. This book will stay with you a long time, I believe, a tragic, gripping and powerful story in 30 slim chapters.

A seriously ill man is butchered in his hospital bed. He turns out to be Chief Inspector Nyman, a cop notorious for being tough on criminals, drunks, troublemakers and ordinary citizens he mistakes for any of the above.

Sjöwall and Wahlöö, who pioneered the weaving of social critique into crime fiction, are concentrating on police brutality in this book.

The story presents us with every kind of policeman. Mild mannered Martin Beck, who rarely carries his gun. His best friend Kollberg, who goes unarmed on principle. Gunvald Larsson, a well-armed, bad-tempered, good-hearted man of action. And Nyman and his cronies, who regularly abuse their power and cover for each other.

The novel first appeared in 1971, when people were still playing records and winding clocks, and peaceful demonstrations didn't always end peacefully. Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö give us an interesting picture of Sweden in this era.

The plot of The Abominable Man is fairly simple, and the political message blatant, but for all this I found a book quite satisfying. There's a very funny scene with Nyman's doctor - and the denouement is non-stop exciting. Overall, the book fits beautifully into the flow of the series.

I advocate reading all the Martin Beck mysteries in order, which is what I'm doing. Many of the conventions of crime fiction have their roots in this seminal series. Sjöwall and Wahlöö forever changed the genre with their wit, depth and style.

Wow! Could not put down "The Abominable Man" for the last 60 pages or so-- after Kristiansson takes a bullet in the knee. This story has the strengths (e.g., character's idiosyncrasies) and weaknesses (e.g., translation goofs) of the earlier books in the series, but is the fastest-paced of the bunch. Certainly a must-read for Martin Beck fans, of which I've become one, thanks to the other reviewers who recommended this series in their not-so-complimentary reviews of newer Swedish police procedurals that Amazon is pushing. Thanks, guys.

After reading all ten of the Martin Beck series, I'll contest the other reviews: This is one of the two lame-ducks of the lot. ("Murder at the Savoy" is the other.) The socialist commentary is ladled on like chocolate syrup at an unsupervised birthday party for four-year-olds. The action is limited to one day (unlike the careful development of time in other Beck books) and places an emphasis on the stupidity and brutatlity of Swedish police, and it's far over-the-top when compared to other works in the series, such as "Cop Killer" and "The Laughing Policeman."

Whatever you do, DON'T start with this one. "Roseanna" and "The Laughing Policeman" are better bets to ease into the Beck series.

Ironically, the book ended up as an excellent Swedish movie -- "The Man on the Roof" -- that's subtitled in English and available used in VHS. The movie stripped out the socialism and other extraneous commentary to focus on action and plot development.

A man is being treated in a hospital. An intruder enters and stabs him with a bayonet. The victim was Chief Inspector Nyman. Detective Rönn estimated the death occurred 30 minutes before he arrived based on the coagulation and body warmth (Chapter 6). Chapter 7 tells of destruction of districts and their rebuilding to exploit valuable land in the 1960s. Apartments were replaced with office buildings. [What did that do to traffic patterns?] There has never been an unsolved murder of a policeman in Sweden (Chapter 10). Nationalization of the police forces had negative consequences. Nyman's best friend doesn't know who could have killed him (Chapter 13). Chapter 14 lists the civilian complaints against Nyman. (Is there a clue here?) One clue is who knew the room number for Nyman.

Then a shot hits on uniformed policeman by the Eastman Institute (Chapter 23). Detective Larsson called for help and to block off the area (Chapter 24). The Child Welfare people took away the daughter of a former policeman (Chapter 25). Did this create a crisis? [Is there such oppression in Sweden?] This sniper on the tallest building was seemingly unstoppable (Chapter 27). But new tactics are used to end this problem, with suspense until the last page. [There is no last chapter to tie up loose ends.]

The authors seem to have copied the 1966 case of the sniper at the University of Texas for this story about the effects of oppressive tactics.

In light of the way this book keeps returning to my mind, I'd like to give it a fairly high rating. It is a work of murder-mystery fiction, written by two Scandanavian journalists. I don't want to give too much away. There is a "Darryl Gates" type of figure: i.e. a Police Chief who for years presides over a brutal police force. That is why I keep recalling this book. One might argue Gates's merits, but this work presents the worst-case-scenario.

Another spellbinding Martin Beck mystery that invites the reader into the world of the Swedish police in the 70's. The characters are memorable, the plot is very believable, it's an excellent piece of mystery fiction.