Martin Beck

Martin Beck
The ten 2007 HarperCollins editions lined up next to one another

Roseanna
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
The Man on the Balcony
The Laughing Policeman
The Fire Engine That Disappeared
Murder at the Savoy
The Abominable Man
The Locked Room
Cop Killer
The Terrorists
AuthorMaj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
TranslatorLois Roth (1), Joan Tate (2, 5, 6, 10), Alain Blair (3, 4), Amy and Ken Knoespel (6), Thomas Teal (7, 9) and Paul Britten Austin (8).
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish, translated into English
DisciplinePolice procedural
Published1965-1975
No. of books10

Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in a series of ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö,[1] collectively titled The Story of a Crime. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapted into films between 1967 and 1994. Six were adapted for the series featuring Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck.

Between 1997 and 2018 there have also been 38 films (some released direct for video and broadcast on television) based on the characters, with Peter Haber as Martin Beck. Apart from the core duo of Beck and his right-hand man Gunvald Larsson, the latter adaptations bear little resemblance to the plots of the original series. They feature a widely different and evolving cast of characters, though roughly similar themes and settings around Stockholm.

  1. ^ France, Louise (22 November 2009). "The queen of crime". The Guardian. London.