good, nice pacing plot, characters. I felt the ending was a bit anti-climactic , would have given it a four, but was somehow disappointed with the wrap up. Nothing i can put my finger on, just too abrupt, i guess ( )

Roseanna by husband and wife team Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo is the first book in their Martin Beck series of police procedurals. This book was originally published in 1965 yet I found it stands up to today's’ standards very well. These two authors are credited with laying the groundwork for modern Swedish crime fiction.

As Martin Beck hunts for the killer of an American tourist, whose nude body was dredged from a busy waterway, we learn of the value of teamwork. The police inquiry becomes global as they discover that she was most probably thrown from a passenger cruise ship. Through interviews and examination of holiday photographers they are able to piece together how the victim spent her time on the cruiser and, they are able to identify a possible suspect who spent time with her. Martin Beck becomes convinced of this suspects guilt but surveillance doesn’t help so they set a trap.

This is the first book in the series so the characters are introduced and the reader is given a few pointers about their basic personalities. The police work isn’t glamorized but shows the hours of routine, repetition and legwork that is involved. There isn’t anything larger than life or especially heroic about Martin Beck, he comes across as a solid detective whose health and home life aren’t the best. I enjoyed this book and am interested in seeing how the series develops. ( )

Intense ( )

Intense ( )

Ett kvinnolik påträffas i Göta kanal och polisen med förste kriminalassistent Martin Beck i spetsen har mycket svårt att identifiera henne. Till slut lyckas de dock klargöra att hon hette Roseanna McGraw och var en turist från USA som befunnit sig ombord på Göta kanal-fartyget Diana. För att få tag på mördaren blir Beck tvungen att gillra en fälla med en ung kvinnlig polis som lockbete.