The Abominable Man

The Abominable Man
First edition (Swedish)
AuthorMaj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
Original titleDen vedervärdige mannen från Säffle
LanguageSwedish
SeriesMartin Beck series
PublisherNorstedts Förlag (Sweden)
Pantheon Books (US)
Publication date
1971
Publication placeSweden
Published in English
1972
Pages194
ISBN91-1-715611-4
OCLC13383505
LC ClassPT9876.29.J63 V4
Preceded byMurder at the Savoy 
Followed byThe Locked Room 

The Abominable Man (Swedish: Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle, meaning "The abominable man from Säffle") is a 1971 police procedural novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. It is the seventh book in their series about Martin Beck. The plot follows Martin Beck and his colleagues trying to solve a murder on a senior policeman, known for his brutality against others. While the investigation is ongoing, a well armed man climbs up on a roof in Stockholm.

One of Donald Knuth's favourite novels, he described it as "one of Sjöwall and Wahlöö's brilliantly Swedish detective novels".[1]