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brontebucket's review against another edition
3.0
Good but not my favourite one in the series. Two threads to the book with the mystery of the dead man in the Locked Room and a sprightly if armed robberies in the City. Beck is back from time-out rehabilitation having been shot in previous book. Hw is cutting his teeth on the Locked Room investigation which his boss Malm thinks is pointless. Kollberg and others are in the bank robberies. We are introduced to henchmen from Germany and also the mastermind of the robberies. The book got better as it moved on. It had a good twist at the end and was all brought together very well.
There had been talk of Beck being promoted to Commissioner which he didn’t want as a desk job but it was felt he was not ‘back to normal’ after his obsession with the Locked Room. He was happy not to be promoted. Not all detectives want to be managers!
There had been talk of Beck being promoted to Commissioner which he didn’t want as a desk job but it was felt he was not ‘back to normal’ after his obsession with the Locked Room. He was happy not to be promoted. Not all detectives want to be managers!
mobyskine's review against another edition
3.0
Love the plot, but the pace somewhat lacking. It did not excites me as much like my previous Martin Beck. Story was more focus on Beck this time-- of what had happened to him in previous series gave some sort of different vibe about Beck. But Beck investigation on the locked room murder was still interesting to read. That curious Beck and his instinct. The robbery plot was okay, not really a fan for the team, quite humorous but lack team work and investigation was here and there, kind of messy.
I love Rhea so much in here and Monita too. I have no idea why I love on how Monita plotting the crime but she sure a brilliant girl I mean it looked so easy and yet how can she do that? And the after story part, such a twist!
Still enjoyable nevertheless.
I love Rhea so much in here and Monita too. I have no idea why I love on how Monita plotting the crime but she sure a brilliant girl I mean it looked so easy and yet how can she do that? And the after story part, such a twist!
Still enjoyable nevertheless.
johnnygamble's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised how cynical it was concerning Sweden and its government, albeit in 1972. The mystery satisfied, the characters were great, the plot well conceived.
antij's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book felt much more like a direct criticism of the police system than the other books in the series. Some of the stories had bumbling and lucky coincidences, but this one had officers making stupid mistakes because of apathy and poor training and then the system does nothing to punish those people. It simply tries to brush it all under the rug. It has the top brass not knowing or caring about police work and rewarding people not based on merit but instead longevity.
margardenlady's review against another edition
3.0
Beck is in his first case after medical leave and while he seems pretty effective, I didn't find him very likeable. He is given a case that was written off as a suicide but turns out to be a murder. And the story plods on. It gets interesting around 90% of the novel,when the disparate pieces begin to fall together.
heypretty52's review against another edition
4.0
I read this in college after being issued a copy of The Laughing Policeman for a detective fiction class. This is not a style of mystery that I would read regularly, but I very much enjoyed the unfolding of the story.
piccoline's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting stretch. For much of the book I was convinced it was too diffuse, even though many of the elements were delightful in isolation. It's worth noting, in case I haven't previously, that Sjöwall and Wahlöö are wonderfully witty. They have a fine understated comedic voice, but here they show some slapstick skills. And of course you've still got the attentive, careful, biting critique of a society beset by greed, lack of care, and crumbling infrastructure (which certainly still feels of-the-moment all these years later, yet also demonstrates a clear-sighted honesty that's desperately hard to locate in American fiction, whether literary or genre). On top of all that good stuff, they do manage to find some way to wrap it all up in a rather satisfying way. Plus Beck gets some great development in this installment, as one would expect after the events at the close of [b:The Abominable Man|1105468|The Abominable Man (Martin Beck, #7)|Maj Sjöwall|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1330360433s/1105468.jpg|787880].
sannereadstheworld's review against another edition
4.0
The Martin Beck series as a whole is a great read, though the Locked Room is the one I enjoyed most of all, as the ending and twists of the plot (no I won't spoil it) are the strongest of all.
_gq_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sarahsadiesmith's review against another edition
5.0
This is a toofer. There’s an Agatha Christie-esque locked room mystery, you know the sort, man found murdered in a room locked from the inside, and then running tangent to this, just a wee bank robbery and a whole criminal enterprise in the background. This novel is one of my favourites of the series, Martin Beck is a little different in this story, but not in an inconsistent way, he’s changed the way people sometimes do, a little more disillusioned (not that he was ever particularly chipper) and not as prone to bite his tongue. We also meet a new recurring character here, if there was anything lacking from these novels it was a complex female character in her own right, we get that here in the form of Rhea (there is not a complete absence of female characters in the series, but they don't feature prominently, nor terribly frequently), I should probably warn you you’re going to want several toasties, she has quite the appetite, hot sandwiches are mentioned more than once (as they should, in all novels, for there is no better food group. I say this as someone who has wanted cheese on toast for the past 4 days but cant have it due to a temperamental wisdom tooth. I am at a loss as to see what can be considered wise in denying a person cheese on toast, silly tooth)
Now this is where I’m supposed to write about how the locked room case Martin Beck is investigating draws parallels with his life and the locked room that has become, but to be honest I’m a little tired and I’m sure plenty of other reviews will cover that better than mine. The way he solves the mystery is what we’ve come to expect from Sjöwall and Wahlöö in that it is methodical yet riveting, and we get as ever a plausible elegant solution.
The robbery conversely offers much humour, a bit of a buffoon takes the lead in that investigation, Bulldozer Olsson who in the hands of an other author could easily become something of a caricature but here it doesn’t feel like that. In fact it is very much an accurate representation of the sort of person who often has all the power (Hi Donald and Boris) but very much shouldn’t. On a more local level I do feel at the moment an awful lot of decisions that have a direct bearing on my own life (I’m purposely trying to be vague) on a day to day basis are being made by quite the conglomerate of Bulldozers (which maybe gives me a better word to use than running my mouth calling a high proportion of these people dickholes at every opportunity...sorry my anger has been festering away unchecked for a while now, occasionally it leaks out)
Anyway, along with the problems that come with egotism we get to see more of the argument that society is often responsible for crime, as is an inept policing of that society. Policemen wreaking havoc upon it’s citizens in the form of excessive force and harassment is as apparent in 1960s Sweden as it is in current day America. These novels retain all of their relevance to modern day life as they did to half a century ago. It’s more than a little disheartening that the corruption and problems that existed remain with us now, and it suggests more and more that for the large part humans are rotten at their very core. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but as a whole there is something not quite right about the things the world is built on, but then kindness, community, and logical thought doesn’t alas fill the pockets of the Bulldozers in charge.
Now this is where I’m supposed to write about how the locked room case Martin Beck is investigating draws parallels with his life and the locked room that has become, but to be honest I’m a little tired and I’m sure plenty of other reviews will cover that better than mine. The way he solves the mystery is what we’ve come to expect from Sjöwall and Wahlöö in that it is methodical yet riveting, and we get as ever a plausible elegant solution.
The robbery conversely offers much humour, a bit of a buffoon takes the lead in that investigation, Bulldozer Olsson who in the hands of an other author could easily become something of a caricature but here it doesn’t feel like that. In fact it is very much an accurate representation of the sort of person who often has all the power (Hi Donald and Boris) but very much shouldn’t. On a more local level I do feel at the moment an awful lot of decisions that have a direct bearing on my own life (I’m purposely trying to be vague) on a day to day basis are being made by quite the conglomerate of Bulldozers (which maybe gives me a better word to use than running my mouth calling a high proportion of these people dickholes at every opportunity...sorry my anger has been festering away unchecked for a while now, occasionally it leaks out)
Anyway, along with the problems that come with egotism we get to see more of the argument that society is often responsible for crime, as is an inept policing of that society. Policemen wreaking havoc upon it’s citizens in the form of excessive force and harassment is as apparent in 1960s Sweden as it is in current day America. These novels retain all of their relevance to modern day life as they did to half a century ago. It’s more than a little disheartening that the corruption and problems that existed remain with us now, and it suggests more and more that for the large part humans are rotten at their very core. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but as a whole there is something not quite right about the things the world is built on, but then kindness, community, and logical thought doesn’t alas fill the pockets of the Bulldozers in charge.