Cop Killer

Starred review from October 15, 2010

Sjowall and her common-law husband, the late Wahloo, together cowrote a series of ten police procedurals set in Sweden and featuring National Homicide Squad chief Martin Beck. This ninth entry, originally published in 1974, follows Beck and his assistant, Lennart Kollberg, as they investigate two cases: that of a murdered woman and the shooting death of a police officer. The lead suspect in the latter case is Folke Bengtsson, a convicted murderer who appeared in the series opener, Roseanna (1965). Beck, however, harbors doubts about his guilt. Throughout this low-key narrative, we see political infighting among the members of the Swedish police force and Beck and Kollberg's dissatisfaction with the status quo. Veteran voice artist Tom Weiner does his usual excellent job narrating this series, the entirety of which is available from Blackstone Audio. Highly recommended.--Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib.

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