Edgar Award Best Novel Winner
The Laughing Policeman
by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
Summary
When a gunman massacres the passengers on a Stockholm bus, including one of Martin Beck's own detectives, the police face a baffling mass murder with no clear motive. Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö write a methodical procedural that follows the grinding teamwork of investigation while quietly criticizing Swedish society. This fourth Martin Beck novel is widely regarded as a landmark that shaped modern Scandinavian crime fiction.
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Historical Context & Significance
Part of the influential ten book Martin Beck series, the novel was adapted into a 1973 American film starring Walter Matthau that relocated the action to San Francisco.