Customer Reviews

The Locked Room

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you can grasp hold of it and show off what you can do." Mickey Friedman

There is no mystery formula more traditional than the locked door mystery. It is almost as old as the genre itself. So, when an author(s) writes a book in which the central plot device is a murder committed in a locked room it can best be judged not for originality but for the panache (or lack thereof) with which it is carried off. Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall get high marks for performance in "The Locked Room".

"The Locked Room", published in Sweden in 1972 and in the U.S. in 1973 was the eighth 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 four Beck mysteries I've read to date do not deviate from the standard format found in any well-written police procedural. In fact, and as noted, this plot seems to pay homage to police or detective procedurals generally. 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. 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.

In "The Locked Room" Inspector Martin Beck has just returned from an extended leave while he recovered from gunshot wounds. (The shooting takes place in The Abominable Man) and is tasked with investigating the death of a man found dead in a locked room. At the same time, the rest of his squad are investigating a bank robbery in which a masked, robber has managed to shoot and kill one of the bank's customers. The investigations are, or appear to be, unrelated and the rest of the book is devoted to the parallel investigations.

One of the pleasures of reading these Martin Beck stories is the way in which the reader sees the process of the investigation. There are no Sherlock Holmes-like flashes of genius. Rather, we see how Beck and his colleagues struggle (sometimes comically, sometimes incompetently) to put together the jigsaw puzzle of a crime. At the same time we catch glimpses of Beck's personal life and the lives of his fellow detectives.

Like a good gymnast "The Locked Room" succeeds is showcasing how well Sjowall and Wahloo can work within a tried and true formula. The ending, which I found a bit surprising and thought-provoking, was more than satisfying if more than a bit ironic. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig

The Locked Room, May Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö

A woman walks into a bank and robs it, shoots a man, then escapes into the neighborhood (Chapter 1). Bank personnel hand over the cash to avoid the more costly injuries or death from resistance. The four witnesses' description diverged, Each remembered what they noticed (Chapter 2). Martin Beck is recovering at home from a wound (Chapter 3). After he returned to work he was given "a most interesting case" (Chapter 4). A retired old man was found dead in his locked room (Chapter 6)! Not much interest was shown in a dead bum (Chapter 7). One witness is interviewed (Chapter 8). The bank camera had a problem and did not record the bank robber (Chapter 9). Chapter 10 discusses the unintended consequences of new laws. The police liked two escaped convicts for the bank job.

Beck went to that locked room and inspected it (Chapter 12). Werner Roos is brought in for questioning, then released (Chapter 13). The criminal careers of Malmström and Mohrén are described (Chapter 14). They knocked over check-cashing establishments who would not contact the police. Now they are planning a bank job. Two men from Germany will work with them (Chapter 15). Lennart Holm has some bad luck (Chapter 16). Will he squeal (Chapter 17)? The raid on the apartment doesn't go as planned (Chapter 18). Mauritzon answers more questions about a large and modern bank in downtown Stockholm (Chapter 19). Their plan would draw police away from the bank. Beck continues to investigate Svärd's death (Chapter 20). A gray truck is used for corpse removal and sanitation (Chapter 21). Beck visits the house where Svärd used to live and learned about him: stingy and tight. Gunvald Larsson shadowed Mauritzon (Chapter 22).

Kollberg and Larsson visit a house for an unofficial inspection and find something (Chapter 23). Chapter 24 tells about the life of Monita. Mauritzon is recalled for questioning (Chapter 25). Beck goes to the hospital that treated Svärd. He learns about the bank account. The value-added tax on groceries was a new form of exploitation. Beck learns more about Svärd's job as a warehouseman. Shipping containers make smuggling easy as their contents aren't inspected. Beck visits the last place where Svärd roomed (Chapter 26). Chapter 27 describes the bank holdup and the decoys used to draw the police away in another city! No plan is perfect. All new banks have the same interior design. Most cities have a "Main Street". Beck checked the park across from Svärd's room and found the missing evidence (Chapter 28). The interrogation ties up all the loose ends. But there is a mistake in one assumption! There is an ironic ending, Beck is passed over because of his clever solution to Svärd's death!

This is one of the longest stories in this series, and probably the most cynical in its ending. One feature of this series was to feature life in Sweden as the background. This story will give you another view of the "Stockholm Syndrome", which may only be a rationalized explanation of events there.