A review by piccoline
The Locked Room by Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö

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].