From Petrona Noir to Swedish Noir

Thanks to Norm alias Uriah Robinson of Crime Scraps, I have just finished Roseanna, the first of the Martin Beck series of books by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, written in 1965. The book is readable and compelling. A murdered girl's body is dredged up from a canal at the start of the book. Over the ensuing year or more, policeman Martin Beck and his colleagues tenaciously investigate until the girl's identity, and then that of her killer, are found. The book is spare and focused, and utterly compelling in an unglamorous, uncompromising way.

I've read a great deal of crime fiction in my time, and although the "mystery" element is almost absent in this book, I found it completely absorbing. Beck is unromantic but realistic, both in his personal/family life and in his work. It is also educational to be reminded what it was like for us before straightforward international phone calls, faxing, emailing and the internet.

Highly recommended --- and as Norm predicted, I'll now have to read the next nine books in the series (one of which, The Locked Room, is reviewed at Crime Scraps). Norm has also written a succinct analysis of all ten books here.

Henning Mankell, Karin Fossum and Lisa Marklund are all superb present-day Swedish crime-fiction authors who write in the tradition established by Sjowall and Wahloo -- plot-driven books that convey plenty of sociopolitical comment along the way. For me, the combination of police procedural with "placeism" -- the details of everyday life that create an authentic and true voice  -- is what makes reading all these authors such a rewarding experience.

The edition of Roseanna I read is published by Harper Perennial. This edition has an excellent introduction by Henning Mankell (author of the Wallender series) about his love of the Sjowall/Wahloo books; and at the end are interviews with the authors and another analysis of the books, as well as a list of all the books in the series, all for £6.99. I was very impressed and wish that one found these additional items in books more often, to provide context for interested readers.

Comments

[kimbofo]

I've got Roseanna in my TBR pile - will have to bump it up higher now, having read your thoughts on the book. I read The Laughing Policeman last year and absolutely loved it, and I was so pleased Harper Perennial decided to reprint the rest of the series because, up until now, they've been difficult to get a hold of.

[KarenC]

If you're enjoying Scandinavian crime fiction I can highly recommend that you try Jo Nesbo's books - The Devil's Star is the first I read and it was an absolute standout.

(As you can probably tell from my blog - I'm a bit of a fan of Scandinavian authors :) )

[Maxine]

Actually, Karen, I began the Devil's Star last night after finishing posting! Great minds? No, I think I began it because of an earlier recommendation of yours!

[Karen M from Euro Crime]

Another Swedish author is Asa Larsson who will be published in the UK next year. There's also Helene Tursten but perhaps not The Torso, Maxine. I haven't read Detective Inspector Huss - that might be less, er, detailed.

[Maxine]

Our minds indeed are as one, Karen -- the Larsson book is in my Amazon basket waiting for it to be published. I think I must have picked up the recommendation from Sarah Weinmann a while back. Thanks for the tip about the Torso ;-) I don't actually mind gruesome -- I liked Manhunter (read it before Thomas Harris broke through and the quality of the writing went down) and have enjoyed quite a few gruesome ones, including early Cornwell. I just don't like it when it is done "for its own sake" or when it goes into "horror" genre. And more and more authors seem to think they need to do this in order to sell, I think.

[Norm alias Uriah Robinson]

Maxine, I am very pleased you enjoyed Roseanna. And I like the new design of Petrona, it is a bit easier to read for us older people.

Norm

[Maxine]

I'm in that club, Norm!

[Becky]

Hey, I recommended this to you a while ago! And on my blog (http://abookaweek.blogspot.com/2006/02/faceless-killers-by-henning-mankell.html) in this post where I COMPLAINED about Henning Mankell. Great minds think alike. Sorry I missed this post until right now....

[Maxine]

Thanks, Becky. It was a good recommendation. I think I picked up a few good reviews of it and forgot where I'd seen some of them.