'Fiction is a solution, the best solution, to the problem of existential solitude'

The Locked Room Paperback

The Locked Room

Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö, and Michael Connelly

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. In one part of town, a woman robs a bank. In another, a corpse is found shot through the heart in a room locked from within, with no firearm in sight. Although the two incidents appear unrelated, Detective Inspector Martin Beck believes otherwise, and solving the mystery acquires the utmost importance. Haunted by a near-fatal bullet wound and trying to recover from the break-up of his unhappy marriage, Beck throws himself into the case to escape from the prison that his own life has come to resemble.

Reviews of The Locked Room

  • ‘I have never read a finer police story.’ Los Angeles Times

    ‘If you haven’t read Sjowall/Wahloo, start now.’ Sunday Telegraph

    ‘Their mysteries don’t just read well; they reread even better. Witness, wife, petty cop or crook – they’re all real characters even if they get just a few sentences. The plots hold, because they’re ingenious but never inhuman.’ New York Times

    ‘They changed the genre. Whoever is writing crime fiction after these novels is inspired by them in one way or another.’ Henning Mankell

    ‘Pick up one book…and you become unhinged. You want to block out a week of your life, lie to your boss, and stay in bed, gorging on one after another.’ Observer

    ‘The godparents of Scandinavian crime fiction’ Jo Nesbo

    ‘Some of the most gripping crime fiction ever written’ Michael Connelly

    ‘If you haven’t come across Beck before, you’re in for a treat.’ Guardian

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