Customer Reviews

The Fire Engine that Disappeared (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

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The Fire Engine That Disappeared, first published in Sweden in 1969 was the fifth in a series of ten Martin Beck mysteries written by the Swedish, husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. The plot and structure of the Beck mysteries I've read to date do not deviate from the standard format found in any well-written police procedural. However, what sets the Beck mysteries apart is their location and character development. Naturally enough, each book is a small window into Swedish life and culture in the 1960s and 1970s when the books were written.

Further, as the series develops the character of Beck and his colleagues evolve and the reader slowly obtains a real feel for Beck and his fellow police officers. By this fifth book, the personalities of Martin Beck and his police colleagues have developed to the point where the reader almost has an instinct for how each will react to a given situation. At the same time the characters, especially Beck, remain far from predictable. However, they are already fully formed in the authors' minds and for that reason I suggest reading these books in order.

Martin Beck does not play center-stage in The Fire Engine That Disappeared. Rather, the leading role is played by his gruff, not very well liked colleague Gunvald Larsson. As the story opens, Larsson is taking a short- shift staking out a small boarding house on a frigid winter's night in Stockholm. The house explodes. Larsson rushes in and despite his heroic efforts there are quite a few deaths. The coroner quickly rules out arson but Larsson, being the stubborn cuss that he is, refuses to accept that conclusion. As the story progresses we see Larsson plowing ahead, diligently if not brilliantly. At the same time a seemingly unrelated case keeps Beck busy.

A number of things keep the Martin Beck stories interesting for me. First and foremost is the character development. None of the recurring characters are 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 city, Stockholm, which had 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. They even seem to put forward some puritanical notions as they describe some of the consequences of the sexual revolution of the 60s and its impact on Swedish life. In other words, these remain detective stories and good ones at that. They are not polemics, quite the contrary in fact.

All in all the Martin Beck detective series is well worth reading and "The Fire Engine That Disappears" will not disappoint fans of the series.

L. Fleisig

The fifth Martin Beck novel. When an apartment building under police surveillance mysteriously explodes in the middle of the night, it's up to Beck to solve the crime. Was it terrorism? Assassination? Or just a gas leak?

One of the better novels in the series, this is the first one to deal seriously with organized crime and the underworld. It also gives more time to the hilarious Gunvald Larsson, introduced in earlier novels but here playing a major supporting role.

An excellent crime thriller.

set in 70's Sweden, one of the "Martin Beck" Mysteries (there are 10 of them I think). Although they were Swedish, they made it into mainstream American Paperback print. Racy covers with contradictorily reasonably serious themes and decent writing.

"And just why is it not longer in print?" one of the bureaucrats might ask.

"Ridiculous" Beck might think under his breath.

These books give me the feeling that the authors really had a lot of experience in the world of police detective work. I don't know if they did or not. I think perhaps they were journalists who covered some criminal investigations.

There isn't a gunfight on every other page, and they don't get the guy who did it quite as easily as all that.

The work is methodical and frustrating, but in the end things get done and in the end the book is a satisfying read with small insights into both the work and the lives of the men.

This particular one has a good bit of Gunvald Larsson (not exactly Beck's favorite colleague, but definitely my favorite character) and the brick walls he very nearly runs into in trying to solve this case.

The comic relief, like the more serious moments, is reserved but very well done. I've reread some of the Larsson scenes many times.

jl

The 5th Martin Beck, released in 1969, begins with an explosion and resulting 4-plex fire that kills 3 and injures 8. The case proves deceivingly complex; and as it slowly comes together, the detectives are led out of Stockholm to the city of Malmo in southern Sweden, across the Oresund channel to Copenhagen, Denmark, and eventually into the larger criminal world of continental Europe.

Beck and the Stockholm Homicide Squad initially assume the crime to be a local affair, committed by more or less the usual type of local amateur criminals; for in their careers that is all they have seen in Sweden. But it is the late 1960s and things are beginning to change; with crime as with other aspects of society, Sweden is becoming less provincial and more global.

The work of Detective Per Mansson of the Malmo Police Department proves key to the solving of the case, and the writers have some fun contrasting the confused, arrogant, and bureaucratically hamstrung Stockholmers versus their cool, rational, honest and free colleague from the Skane region.

Detectives Gunvald Larsson, Einar Ronn, and the green Benny Skacke take center stage in this book, with Kollberg, Melander and Martin Beck in supporting roles. The over-the-top Gunvald Larsson is prominently featured and many will find humor in his scenes.

The title of the book is actually a red herring of sorts; as the only fire engine that disappears is a toy that Ronn's 4 yr old son has misplaced. It is a bit of a riddle as well, as the address of the house that burns down is, by some city planning fluke, actually the address of two separate locations- and of course the fire engine dispatched goes to the wrong one...

... Just the beginning of many confusions, blunders and societal breakdowns that Gunvald Larsson and his Stockholm Homicide Squad colleagues must bungle through; solving the case in a less than smooth, less than timely, but quite enjoyable fashion.

A house explodes on an odd bit of road in Stockholm. It's inhabited by prostitutes, children, old people and a small-time gangster of some interest to the police, who are watching outside half frozen in the slushy snow.

Everything about the fire is peculiar, from how it started to how it was reported to how it was interpreted. This dramatic incident sets in motion a wonderfully clever, weirdly witty plot.

The reader can look forward to ingenious murder methods, dramatic rescues, lethal mistakes, comic carnal encounters - and lots of engrossing police work.

Superintendent Beck of the Stockholm homicide squad catches cold again and does not particularly shine in this investigation. But he has the admirable skill, so lacking in many supervisors, of letting others shine. Lesser intellects than Beck perform quite brilliantly, despite (or because of) their flaws.

The stand-out is inspector Gunvald Larsson, best known for roughing up thugs and kicking in doors. He's not well liked in the department, but readers who appreciate a man of action will love him.

There's also a brief but welcome reappearance of the incompetent cop duo Krant and Kristiansson, who specialize in avoiding work, being rude to citizens and mishandling any crisis.

The title is perfect, in my opinion. The fire engine winds its way through the plot as a kind of brain teaser, underscoring the whimsical quality of the case.

If you read the introduction, do it last. It quotes some very funny dialog from the book that you'll want to experience fresh.

I smiled a lot at the offbeat, understated humor in the previous Martin Beck mysteries. But this time I positively cackled. The Fire Engine that Disappeared is my favorite book so far in the series. I'm off to the next.

The fire engine does not disappear, so the title is inaccurate and the plot synopsys on the back cover is ridiculous, but the fire engine is nonetheless the dog that doesn't bark in the night. Beck are his colleagues are losing momentum on the investigation of a crime until Karlsson focuses on the fire engine. An excellent follow up (though in no way a sequel) to The Laughing Policeman. Take note of the Chandler novel that Beck is reading.

A look into the world of Swedish Homocide Bureau Chief Martin Beck. The book is well plotted and gives the reader a realistic look into the procedures of the police, as well as a glimpse into the steamy side of life (and crime) in Sweden in the late sixties.

The books written by these two swedish authors are wonderful and provide the reader with a real sense of what life was actually like for a detective trying to solve crimes, balance his own monsters, and deal with his family that barely seem to connect to him in life. I have read about half their novels and plan to read the rest of them before too long. Anyone would gain some wonderful insight getting to know the character of Martin Beck.

The Fire Engine That Disappeared, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

It was three o'clock in the morning when a shot was heard by a neighbor. The police came and found a dead man, a suicide in a locked room. He had written "Martin Beck" on a pad (Chapter 1). Martin Beck, Chief Inspector of the Homicide Squad, went to visit his mother at the old people's home. A man in an old house is being watched. Suddenly, the house exploded (Chapter 2)! Two women and a man jumped out the window. Next, two children and their mother jumped. Gunwald Larsson climbed inside to rescue an old woman and man. The roof fell in as the fire trucks and police cars rolled up (Chapter 3). The suspect being watched had been involved in a stolen car racket (Chapter 6). A man walked in and confessed to a murder (Chapter 7). But this is a comic mistake.

Next they learn that watched suspect was dead before the fire began (Chapter 8). Detective Melander discovered that Malm died due to suicide by gas (Chapter 9). Larsson questioned one of the survivors (Chapter 11). They didn't know Malm. When Larsson questioned another survivor he found a connection to Olofsson (Chapter 12). Forensics said it was arson (Chapter 13). A new investigation was needed (Chapter 14). They go to the apartment and cottage of Olofsson (Chapter 16). Benny Skacke worked undercover to learn more (Chapter 17). Suicide is not approved news in Sweden because there are so many of them (Chapter 18). Who reported the fire at that old house? In Malmö two young boys saw a car in muddy water (Chapter 19). There was a dead man in this old, small car (Chapter 20). No identification on the body (Chapter 21). This dead man was Olofsson. They had been on the wrong track (Chapter 22). Was there a connection to Malm?

Skacke methodically questioned the area and found where a room was rented to a foreigner who fit the profile (Chapter 24). Weeks passed by, it is vacation time. Beck learned of a connection between Malm and the suicide in Chapter 1, and the name of this foreigner (Chapter 27). Eriksson told of his knowledge of Olofsson's business affairs to Månsson. They found witnesses on the ferry and located a rented car. Will expert searcher Månsson also find the missing fire engine (Chapter 29)? Do they have proof against Lasalle? A month later a Telex warns them that "Lasalle" is flying to Stockholm (Chapter 30). Kollberg and Skacke hope he will do something stupid; he does. They can close the case.

This series used Swedish society as the background to these stories. It describes things that must not have changed much since the 1960s. The ending seems to have been tacked on. A clever professional killer wouldn't have panicked.

thanks to amazon.com for this forum and I don't want to step on any toes, but if you need to read this book I will lend you my copy until they get some in stock