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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
By the time you've gotten to the 9th book in the series, there's no doubt that you're in good hands.
The authors deliver another top-notch police procedural, with appearances by the culprits of both the first and second novels in the series.
The authors deliver another top-notch police procedural, with appearances by the culprits of both the first and second novels in the series.
The series of books are intended to show different aspects of police work, crime, and society in Sweden in the 60s - 70s. There are serious problems of increasing crime and militarization of police. The authors then descend into portraying the police as farcically incompetent, except for Beck and a few of his associates.
In addition the books have always depicted the tedium of the police investigation and the results coming from persistence along with some luck. But in this book the coincidence factor is just too great. And the tedium is too drawn out with several unnecessary scenes.
The opening murder scene totally disregards the humanity of the victim.
The synopsis of the book tells about two crimes that are apparently overlapping. But the second one - that involves the titular Cop Killer - doesn’t occur until 60% of the book has gone by.
Beck thankfully has finally been relieved of his constant sniffles and stomach problems (which are more annoying to the reader than Beck) because he is in a happy relationship. But the references to his lady friend are incidental and as nothing to the story or character development.
This is the penultimate and very least interesting installment of an otherwise great series. I hope the last one gets better.
In addition the books have always depicted the tedium of the police investigation and the results coming from persistence along with some luck. But in this book the coincidence factor is just too great. And the tedium is too drawn out with several unnecessary scenes.
The opening murder scene totally disregards the humanity of the victim.
The synopsis of the book tells about two crimes that are apparently overlapping. But the second one - that involves the titular Cop Killer - doesn’t occur until 60% of the book has gone by.
Beck thankfully has finally been relieved of his constant sniffles and stomach problems (which are more annoying to the reader than Beck) because he is in a happy relationship. But the references to his lady friend are incidental and as nothing to the story or character development.
This is the penultimate and very least interesting installment of an otherwise great series. I hope the last one gets better.
The second last installment with 3 stories in one. The pinnacle of all police procedurals.
In its portrayal of police work, this is up there with the best of the Martin Beck series. The killing of a policeman (which, technically, is not even what it is) happens much later in the story than another murder, which as readers we witness immediately in chapter 1. It has nothing to do with any police officer, as is obvious from the start.
Martin Beck travels to the Swedish hinterland and meets (not for the first time in the series) a perfectly competent and perfectly pleasant rural policeman. They almost instantly respect each other and become friends. Beck's longtime colleague Kollberg comes out too for a while, and even Melander is mentioned. What's more, some previously arrested perpetrators figure in this story — notably the killer of Roseanna from the first book in the series, who's done his time and now lives in this quiet town. Since the chapter 1 murder victim is a woman who fits his victim profile, the brass back in Stockholm pressure Beck to arrest the once-convicted murderer for this crime and be done with it.
There are a couple of very overblown police operations with helicopters and riot gear, orchestrated by the top level, that fail miserably. These serve to illustrate how Sweden's police system has been ruined by bureaucracy, which has sorely demoralized good cops Beck, Kollberg and Melander. In contrast, the local policeman is happy in his work and good at his job, unhampered by the idiots in administration in the capital. In the end we see (not for the first time) how a crime is solved by accident, by coincidence, and not by any clever detective work. It's neatly done, and for that I'd mark this as one of the better Martin Beck books.
Martin Beck travels to the Swedish hinterland and meets (not for the first time in the series) a perfectly competent and perfectly pleasant rural policeman. They almost instantly respect each other and become friends. Beck's longtime colleague Kollberg comes out too for a while, and even Melander is mentioned. What's more, some previously arrested perpetrators figure in this story — notably the killer of Roseanna from the first book in the series, who's done his time and now lives in this quiet town. Since the chapter 1 murder victim is a woman who fits his victim profile, the brass back in Stockholm pressure Beck to arrest the once-convicted murderer for this crime and be done with it.
There are a couple of very overblown police operations with helicopters and riot gear, orchestrated by the top level, that fail miserably. These serve to illustrate how Sweden's police system has been ruined by bureaucracy, which has sorely demoralized good cops Beck, Kollberg and Melander. In contrast, the local policeman is happy in his work and good at his job, unhampered by the idiots in administration in the capital. In the end we see (not for the first time) how a crime is solved by accident, by coincidence, and not by any clever detective work. It's neatly done, and for that I'd mark this as one of the better Martin Beck books.
dark
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not one of the strongest books in the series but still interesting.
I randomly picked this audiobook up at the library, mistaking it for some other book I planned to read.
Of course I chose the next to last book in the series to be my introduction to a series. Do I move on to number 10 now or do I go back to number 1?
I greatly enjoy Scandinavian crime novels. There's just something about them.
Of course I chose the next to last book in the series to be my introduction to a series. Do I move on to number 10 now or do I go back to number 1?
I greatly enjoy Scandinavian crime novels. There's just something about them.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes