Roseanna. Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo

ThefirstbookintheclassicMartinBeckdetectiveseriesfromthe1960s–thenovelsthatshapedthefutureofScandinaviancrimewriting.Hugelyacclaimed,theMartinBeckseriesweretheoriginalScandinaviancrimenovelsandhaveinspiredthewritingsofStiegLarsson,HenningMankellandJoNesbo.Writteninthe1960s,10bookscompletedin10years,theyaretheworkofMajSj?wallandPerWahl??–ahusbandandwifeteamfromSweden.TheyfollowthefortunesofthedetectiveMartinBeck,whoseenigmatic,taciturncharacterhasinspiredcountlessotherpolicemenincrimefiction;withouthiscreationIanRankin’sJohnRebusorHenningMankell’sKurtWallandermayneverhavebeenconceived.Thenovelscanbereadseparately,butarebestreadinchronologicalorder,sothereadercanfollowthecharacters’developmentandgetdrawnintotheseriesasawhole.‘Roseanna’beginsonaJulyafternoon,thebodyofayoungwomanisdredgedfromSweden'sbeautifulLakeVattern.Threemonthslater,allthatPoliceInspectorMartinBeckknowsisthathernameisRoseanna,thatshecamefromLincoln,Nebraska,andthatshecouldhavebeenstrangledbyanyoneofeighty-fivepeople.Withitsauthenticallyrenderedsettingsandvividlyrealizedcharacters,anditscommandovertheintricatelywovendetailsofpolicedetection,‘Roseanna’isamasterpieceofsuspenseandsadness.