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A review by sarahsadiesmith
The Locked Room by Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
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.