Customer Reviews

Cop Killer (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

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There was the Swedish writing team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. They created the character of Inspector Martin Beck and in ten volumes pretty much gave birth to the concept of Swedish noir. Henning Mankell's Inspector Wallander series and Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander/Mikael Blomkvist stories are the literary progeny of Sjowall and Wahloo's wonderful creation.

"Cop Killer" is the ninth of ten stories in the Inspector Beck series. It focuses on the disappearance and likely murder of Sig Mard in a small town far from Stockholm. Inspector Martin Beck, now the head of Sweden's national homicide bureau is called in to investigate. There is some pressure on Beck to round up the usual suspects, certainly the available evidence seems to suggest a limited universe of potential killers), but Beck will have none of it. Beck, as usual, is painstakingly thorough, almost plodding. There are no Sherlock Holmes-like flashes of genius. Beck is a good cop because he works hard, is thorough and has a way of sifting through the evidence until a picture forms of the crime sufficient for a resolution.

A number of things keep the Martin Beck stories interesting for me. First and foremost is the character development of the major players. Beck and his colleagues are far from 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 country which has had (based on these books at least) 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. Cop Killers sets out the dysfunction created by the Swedish 'system'in stark relief and in particular on the impact of that dysfunction on Beck and his colleagues. They still do their job but they cannot help but take a cynical approach to the world around them, particularly toward the preening bureaucrats that rise to the top of the administrative heap for all sorts of reasons not related to competence.

I did like Cop Killer and I do recommend it. It can be read as a stand-alone novel. However, given the evolution of Beck and his fellow officers over the course of the series I'd recommend that the books be read in order. (A chronological list is or will be set out in a comment below this review). I think if you like the initial couple of books enough to keep reading you just may find yourself reading all ten.

All of the Martin Beck mysteries (I believe there are 10 in all) are excellent reads that offer a window into the criminal Scandinavian landscape. Sharply etched characterizations and stories that remind one of the Magritte novels of Simenon. It's a shame that they are hard to find!

The ninth Martin Beck novel. Not as good as some of their previous work, but still pretty engaging nonetheless. ... The authors frequently remind us of how much better things were back in the good old days. Funny satire, but pretty cranky, and not much of a thriller.

The book redeems itself with some of Gunvald Larsson's uproarious antics and the shocking revelation of the identity of the title character.

"Cop Killer" is entertaining in parts, but I think Sjowall and Wahloo were beginning to get bored with the police procedural, and it shows.

Another highly entertaining crime novel from the Swedish writers Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. "Cop Killer" has a challenging plot, with three stories interlinked; some extremely well-drawn characters, not the least of which are the illustrious Martin Beck, his long-time partner, Lennart Kollberg and the slightly outrageous, Gunvald Larsson, and a few surprises sprinkled throughout the story. As is the case with many of the books in this series, the authors express some strong feelings about the problems of the Swedish welfare state (circa 1979 in this case) and some sharp-edged criticism of the country's criminal justice system. For a crime novel with a cop protagonist who had reached the status of international icon at the time this book came out, there is surprisingly harsh commentary about the quality of Swedish policemen and their alleged lack of commitment to their work. Sjowall and Wahloo also use the book to examine the question of guns and their use by police. Their views on the matter--voiced by a couple of cop characters in the book--would be controversial in a lot of societies, certainly in ours here in the U.S.

Despite the fact that this is a murder story with other serious crimes and misdemeanors tossed in and the writers are liberal with their criticism of the Swedish state throughout, Sjowall and Wahloo manage to keep the tale light-hearted and funny from beginning to end. This is done largely through their really brilliant character sketches, but they are also well-connected with the absurdities of life and skilled at threading a good dose of that element throughout the book.

I'm not getting into the details of the plot--others have already done that with some skill. I can add that "Cop Killer" surprisingly brings three different crimes together in a perfectly plausible and entertaining way. This is a really good read and does justice to the whole series. Highly recommended.

I read Liza Marklund's introduction after finishing Cop Killer, and it put the whole series in context - just the help I'd been wishing for. Because as much as I love these books, the political agenda is sometimes a bit too intense for me.

But after all, the series reflects its time and place. It was written in the late 1960s and early 1970s, an era of tremendous political awareness. And it mirrors the many conflicts surfacing in Sweden during that period - an idealistic social philosophy somehow resulting in a violent, unhappy society.

Sjöwall and Wahlöö do a masterful job of plotting in Cop Killer. They excel at portraying two investigations at once that turn out to have a surprise connection - a technique also used quite brilliantly in The Locked Room.

Martin Beck is in charge of one investigation. In the small town of Anderslöv a woman has disappeared. This would not normally concern the head of the National Homicide Squad, but the woman's nearest neighbor is a convicted sex murderer. We met him in Roseanna, the first book in the series.

The interest here is finding any suspects beyond the obvious one. This is a type of puzzle I always enjoy.

The other investigation revolves around small-time thieves and panicky shoot-outs with cops. This case is an opportunity for the higher-ups to make fools of themselves launching laughable military-like operations.

Cop Killer is rich in terrific characters. Police, criminals and supporting cast are wonderfully portrayed, often with wry humor. And while the authors relentlessly satirize Swedish society, Martin Beck quietly does his job, carefully avoiding political discussions. This in itself is a fascinating irony.

I suggest reading all the Martin Beck books, in order, for a full appreciation of the achievement of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö.

Up until the ending, which is a real let-down, this is one of the best mysteries I've ever read. Then the killer seems to come from outside the story, which is very unsatisfying, almost like a deus ex machina. But the first three-fourths has everything: fascinating and fully developed characters, lots of humor, interesting procedural details, good forward momentum, and it makes fun of the police brass, the politicians and the welfare state. But the ending throws a wet blanket over the whole thing, sorry to say. For me, it would have been better if they had either not solved the mystery, or if they had brought the killer into the story more, or kept speculating that there was something they were missing. This may be the way it happens in real life, but it doesn't make for a satisfying story.

The works by the Swedish writing duo of Sjowall/Wahloo are certainly an acquired taste. While their writing skills (characterizations, prose, story) are certainly laudable, their subversive interwoven social commentaries are probably not to everyone's liking. All their books make it seem as if Sweden is some absolutely horrible place due to the utterly inept government and decaying societal norms. 'Cop Killer' is a classic Sjowall/Wahloo mystery novel.

'Cop Killer' is actually two disjointed mysteries which come together in the end. As the title suggests, one of them involves the death of a police office. The other involves the grisly death of a woman. While neither mystery in my itself is brilliant, and I found the fusing of these two stories at the end of the novel to be contrived, Sjowall/Wahloo keep the reader entertained with really fine characterizations (especially of the frazzled police investigators). The book never bored me. But alas, I don't think 'Cop Killer' will be a memorable reading experience.

Bottom line: if you think you'd like Swedish mysteries written by fierce social critics then this book is for you. :-) But probably a curious read for all others.

The Beck mysteries are a unique series of politically critical, human procedurals that are wonderfully translated into English. They need to be read as a set--there are 10 of them--in order to understand the unique contribution that this husband and wife team have made to mystery fiction.