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Shop nowThe Laughing Policeman
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Learn moreOn a cold and rainy Stockholm night, nine bus riders are gunned down by an unknown assassin. The press, anxious for an explanation for the seemingly random crime, quickly dubs the killer a madman. But Superintendent Martin Beck of the Stockholm Homicide Squad suspects otherwise: this apparently motiveless killer has managed to target one of Beck’s best detectives, young Åke Stenström. Reasoning that Stenström would not have been riding that lethal bus without a reason, Beck retraces his steps and chases year-old clues to a crime long thought unsolvable.
With its wonderfully observed lawmen (including the inimitable Martin Beck), its brilliantly rendered felons and their murky Stockholm underworld, and its deftly engineered plot, this is another incredible installment in the acclaimed Martin Beck mystery series.
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, wife and husband team, wrote ten Martin Beck mysteries, virtually creating the modern police procedural. In addition to the many short stories and novels he wrote, Mr. Wahlöö, who died in 1975, wrote numerous radio and television plays and was a reporter for several Swedish newspapers and magazines. Maj Sjöwall is also a journalist and poet. She lives in Sweden.
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, wife and husband team, wrote ten Martin Beck mysteries, virtually creating the modern police procedural. In addition to the many short stories and novels he wrote, Mr. Wahlöö, who died in 1975, wrote numerous radio and television plays and was a reporter for several Swedish newspapers and magazines. Maj Sjöwall is also a journalist and poet. She lives in Sweden.
Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Reviews
“A tantalizing, intricate tale.”
“A top-notch example of the police procedural school of mystery.”
“I’ve read The Laughing Policeman six or eight times. Each time I reach the final twist on the final page, I shiver afresh.”
“Must reading for anyone who claims to be [a student] of the best detective fiction.”
“Must reading for [students] of the best detective fiction.”
“Another excellent police procedural about Martin Beck and his colleagues of the Stockholm Homicide Squad. Once again, Tom Weiner gives a performance that is pitch-perfect for the material. The very different personalities of the squad members are beautifully rendered, as are characters we meet only once or twice—in particular, a detective’s wife and the girlfriend of one of the victims. The plot takes several unexpected turns, but Weiner’s sure narration is always on key with what is happening. The result is that while we are lost in the emotion of the story, we are never lost amid the action.”
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