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A review by mira_fitz
Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
First and foremost, Murder at the Savoy is a deeply critical love letter to (boring and overly bureaucratic) police procedure and Scandinavian culture. Simply showcasing everything honestly, from the heat of the stranded city in the summer to the deeply rooted issues of class struggle in Stockholm, is what makes this book feel earnest and authentic, without feeling as if it is preaching their ideology to the masses.
There's always a concern when reading a book that is part of a continuous anthology-- that you will miss important context that the author(s) don't care to explain in later books -- especially when you start somewhere in the middle or end. Thankfully, whether it be because of the nature of the mystery genre or how the authors of Murder at the Savoy chose to present this novel, this book didn't feel as if I was missing out on anything. Everything is re-explained, re-referenced. The reader is continuously given refreshers on characters and their place in the story, which in a book that is a character driven as this one, is welcome.
I generally get tired of novels that read as though they're just long form movie pitches; it seems to be a plague in the Young Adult genre and a symptom of capitalism at best. Yet, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö do this without any ulterior motive and without seemingly trying. Every chapter reads like a collaborative script, with certain scenes feeling like an improv exercise between characters that was just transcribed afterwards. The dialog is gripping and entertaining at every turn, and if you want an insular example, just read chapter 3, which is genuinely one of the most charming interrogation scenes I've read, if an interrogation can be characterized as such.
It's a nice feeling to be able to figure out a mystery as it unfolds in a novel, but in a plot where the plot seems simple and obvious from the get go, you are constantly surprised and forced to change your perspective of every aspect of the investigation. One moment you feel as though you are being guided to a clear answer, or even a linear investigation plot, and yet it is not only the blockades of characters withholding information, but also the politics and bureaucratic nature of the justice system. Waiting for warrants and subpoenas, not being able to divulge important information what would compromise the witness, the process of collecting and finding evidence, even the sheer incompetence of other officers are all things that are touched upon with a thoughtfulness and care that is cast to the side in modern crime fiction in place of artificial excitement and intrigue.
Even though this novel is also constructed in a similar manner, it is so deeply rooted in reality that even waiting around until sundown outside a suspect's house sans cellphones feels exciting and suspenseful. Regardless of your political affiliation, any critique of a political affiliation or ideology is done with a certain care and respect, which considering how many characters' perspectives you muddle through with all their differing outlooks, is an organizational and narrative feat.
Not a single character feels particularly out of place or cast aside, and all of their methodology when it comes to solving the titular murder feels reasonable and thought out. It's refreshing for the genre and time period for every character to be competent at their jobs, and for their respective levels of experience to be expressed so clearly by their actions and thoughts. If any name gets confused, or descriptions get mixed around, the characterization so clearly differentiates them that I would have barely noticed an editing error in the dialog, if at all.
Regardless of how gripping the plot or characterization is, the writing does become a victim of the time period in its characterization of sex workers and women. We rarely get any internal dialog from our singular female main character, and it often comes of as "I'm-not-like-other-girls" down to her being a short brunette recovering from her victimhood compared against a continuous string of tall, blonde Scandinavian women who all seem to either be vindictive and shallow, or perpetual victims with no agency. Normally, it's something easily ignored when a book is made "in a different time", but when something is revered for its progressive leftist politics, the villainization of women who are powerful and who choose to be sex workers, while still treating its one female protagonist as the ever loved "Cool Girl", it loses some points in my book; even disregarding the ever convenient plot point that the female protagonist works to “sniff out” and arrest prostitutes and escorts with no empathy for whatever choices may have lead them to that point.
None of this should detract from the general reading experience. It is an entertaining read that can be divorced from the actual mystery, but cannot from its (now) historical and socio economic commentary, as it can read as a modern autofiction novel of an ever changing and broken Stockholm of the past. I look forward to reading more of the Martin Beck series. 4 stars.
There's always a concern when reading a book that is part of a continuous anthology-- that you will miss important context that the author(s) don't care to explain in later books -- especially when you start somewhere in the middle or end. Thankfully, whether it be because of the nature of the mystery genre or how the authors of Murder at the Savoy chose to present this novel, this book didn't feel as if I was missing out on anything. Everything is re-explained, re-referenced. The reader is continuously given refreshers on characters and their place in the story, which in a book that is a character driven as this one, is welcome.
I generally get tired of novels that read as though they're just long form movie pitches; it seems to be a plague in the Young Adult genre and a symptom of capitalism at best. Yet, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö do this without any ulterior motive and without seemingly trying. Every chapter reads like a collaborative script, with certain scenes feeling like an improv exercise between characters that was just transcribed afterwards. The dialog is gripping and entertaining at every turn, and if you want an insular example, just read chapter 3, which is genuinely one of the most charming interrogation scenes I've read, if an interrogation can be characterized as such.
It's a nice feeling to be able to figure out a mystery as it unfolds in a novel, but in a plot where the plot seems simple and obvious from the get go, you are constantly surprised and forced to change your perspective of every aspect of the investigation. One moment you feel as though you are being guided to a clear answer, or even a linear investigation plot, and yet it is not only the blockades of characters withholding information, but also the politics and bureaucratic nature of the justice system. Waiting for warrants and subpoenas, not being able to divulge important information what would compromise the witness, the process of collecting and finding evidence, even the sheer incompetence of other officers are all things that are touched upon with a thoughtfulness and care that is cast to the side in modern crime fiction in place of artificial excitement and intrigue.
Even though this novel is also constructed in a similar manner, it is so deeply rooted in reality that even waiting around until sundown outside a suspect's house sans cellphones feels exciting and suspenseful. Regardless of your political affiliation, any critique of a political affiliation or ideology is done with a certain care and respect, which considering how many characters' perspectives you muddle through with all their differing outlooks, is an organizational and narrative feat.
Not a single character feels particularly out of place or cast aside, and all of their methodology when it comes to solving the titular murder feels reasonable and thought out. It's refreshing for the genre and time period for every character to be competent at their jobs, and for their respective levels of experience to be expressed so clearly by their actions and thoughts. If any name gets confused, or descriptions get mixed around, the characterization so clearly differentiates them that I would have barely noticed an editing error in the dialog, if at all.
Regardless of how gripping the plot or characterization is, the writing does become a victim of the time period in its characterization of sex workers and women. We rarely get any internal dialog from our singular female main character, and it often comes of as "I'm-not-like-other-girls" down to her being a short brunette recovering from her victimhood compared against a continuous string of tall, blonde Scandinavian women who all seem to either be vindictive and shallow, or perpetual victims with no agency. Normally, it's something easily ignored when a book is made "in a different time", but when something is revered for its progressive leftist politics, the villainization of women who are powerful and who choose to be sex workers, while still treating its one female protagonist as the ever loved "Cool Girl", it loses some points in my book; even disregarding the ever convenient plot point that the female protagonist works to “sniff out” and arrest prostitutes and escorts with no empathy for whatever choices may have lead them to that point.
None of this should detract from the general reading experience. It is an entertaining read that can be divorced from the actual mystery, but cannot from its (now) historical and socio economic commentary, as it can read as a modern autofiction novel of an ever changing and broken Stockholm of the past. I look forward to reading more of the Martin Beck series. 4 stars.