Roseanna
Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
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Recommended by Claire
‘The Martin Beck series comprises 10 separate mysteries, all threaded together with the story arc of Detective Inspector Martin Beck of the Stockholm police. Written between 1965 and 1976 they are dark, gritty and – in the best possible way – very slow. The writing duo, married couple Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, have produced not just a series of great reads but an important social commentary on Swedish society at the time. They are considered the inspiration for the modern Scandi Noir. Start with Roseanna and work your way through.’
From the publisher
The first book in the classic Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s - the novels that shaped the future of Scandinavian crime writing. Hugely acclaimed, the Martin Beck series were the original Scandinavian crime novels and have inspired the writings of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbo. Written in the 1960s, 10 books completed in 10 years, they are the work of Maj Sjoewall and Per Wahloeoe - a husband and wife team from Sweden. They follow the fortunes of the detective Martin Beck, whose enigmatic, taciturn character has inspired countless other policemen in crime fiction; without his creation Ian Rankin's John Rebus or Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander may never have been conceived. The novels can be read separately, but are best read in chronological order, so the reader can follow the characters' development and get drawn into the series as a whole. 'Roseanna' begins on a July afternoon, the body of a young woman is dredged from Sweden's beautiful Lake Vattern. Three months later, all that Police Inspector Martin Beck knows is that her name is Roseanna, that she came from Lincoln, Nebraska, and that she could have been strangled by any one of eighty-five people. With its authentically rendered settings and vividly realized characters, and its command over the intricately woven details of police detection, 'Roseanna' is a masterpiece of suspense and sadness.