Murder at the Savoy (The Martin Beck) [Import] [Paperback]

Maj Sjowall (Author), Per Wahloo (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperPerennial (August 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007242964
• ISBN-13: 978-0007242962
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,592,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stomping at the Savoy, January 24, 2008

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder at the Savoy (A Martin Beck Police Mystery) (Paperback)

The plot of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's "Murder at the Savoy" is simple. Viktor Palmgren is a wealthy Swedish businessman. His business conglomerate includes not only typical legitimate business interests but also some seamy interests that include the ownership of slum housing developments and the possible international sales of arms and munitions to third-world nations. So, when on a warm sunny evening in the Swedish city of Malmo he is gunned down while giving a speech in a hotel restaurant the local police naturally assume the murder was driven by political or corporate interests. So Police Inspector Martin Beck is sent down from Stockholm to lead the investigation.

Published in English in 1971, "Murder at the Savoy" is the 5th of 10 Inspector Beck mysteries written by the husband and wife team of Sjowall and Wahloo. Although I've found the five Beck books I've read (including this one) to be enjoyable I agree with the sense of the other reviews that this is one of their weaker efforts. The tension and the plot and character development that marked some of the earlier books in the series. The story itself is interesting enough and the writing is full of sharp and cynical observations about life in Sweden in the 1960s and 1970s but, ultimately, this book was not as compelling as the others. The story line unfolded in a fairly predictable way and there was nothing along the way that served to heighten the dramatic tension. Even the one attempt at showing a rather intimate encounter between two of the characters came across as routine. By the time the investigation reached the point of revealing the `solution' I was perfectly happy to just nod my head, say "okay" and move on to the next book on my to be read pile.

I do recommend the Martin Beck series to any reader interested in good detective stories. For the most part the series has been very satisfying. For example, The Man on the Balcony, Roseanna, and The Laughing Policeman are all excellent detectice stories. As someone who already knows the main characters and likes the series, Murder at the Savoy was a decent if not totally satisfying read. However, if this book had been my introduction to Inspector Beck I probably would not have picked up the second one. So, by all start with some of the other books in the series. If you like them and then come across Murder at the Savoy it is worth reading to keep up with the development of the series and its characters. I wouldn't recommend it for a one-off book to pick up off the shelf nor would a fan of the series lose any sleep if they gave this one a pass. L. Fleisig

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!, May 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder at the Savoy (Hardcover)

Along with Roseanna and The Man on the Balcony, Murder at the Savoy easily ranks in the top three out of the ten Martin Beck series. Logical, crisp plot. Great references to the political climate of the 60's. A real pleasure.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not one of the best, September 27, 2002

By 

daveklein222 (New Brunswick) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at the Savoy (Hardcover)

The eighth Martin Beck novel. For the first time in the series, Sjowall and Wahloo feel like they're treading water. The crime this time is the mysterious murder of a wealthy industrialist at a fancy supper club. The murderer shoots him once in the back of the head at dinner, with thirteen witnesses in attendance, exits through a window, and rides away on his bicycle. But amazingly, Stockholm homicide detective Beck finds the crime virtually unsolvable.

As in some of their previous novels (particularly "The Man who Went Up in Smoke") very little happens during the course of the book, the ending is anticlimactic and the solution to the crime has less to do with police work than dumb luck. However, in their previous novels, the extra space with filled in with the fascinating details of police investigation: false leads, lying witnesses, and bueracratic incompetence. Although those elements are again present in this work, here the focus is on heavy-handed political and social criticism, particularly the evils of capitalism (Sjowall and Wahloo were Marxists.)

Still, the book has its own paticular charm.