Roseanna

A Martin Beck Mystery

By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

On a July afternoon, the body of a young woman is dredged from Sweden's beautiful Lake Vättern. Three months later, all that Police Inspector Martin Beck knows is that her name is Roseanna, that she came from Lincoln, Nebraska, and that she could have been strangled by any one of 85 people.

As the melancholic Beck narrows down the list of likely suspects, he is drawn increasingly to the enigma of the victim, a free-spirited traveler with a penchant for the casual sexual encounter, and to the psychopathology of a murderer with a distinctive - indeed, terrifying - sense of propriety.

With its authentically rendered settings, vividly realized characters, and command over the intricately interwoven details of police detection, Roseanna is a masterpiece of suspense and sadness.

©1967 Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (P)2008 Blackstone Audio

Deadpan Swedish police procedural from the 60s

This low-key, deadpan police procedural, written by a husband and wife team, exactly captures the pace and frustration endemic to actual police work. A country police station (aided by a Stockholm detective) has to investigate the murder of an unidentified woman on a cruise ship. It takes imagination as well as months of painstaking sifting for clues, first as to the identity and nature of the victim, and then to identify the killer. The writing is taut and workmanlike, and the somewhat dark narration fits the story well. Great read for fans of Nordic crime fiction.

Taut Novel, Excellent Narrator

Roseanna is a first-rate piece of detective fiction. Yes, it’s also a historically important landmark in the development of the police procedural genre and a pioneer in Nordic noir, but focusing on the trivia distracts from what it is, and what it is, is Good.

There have been many detective novels, and many of them are procedurals, but few of them get to the heart of the subgenre as well as Roseanna. A dead woman is found. What’s known is that she was murdered, and what’s unknown is everything else. Detective Martin Beck pursues the case patiently, and the facts emerge like a developing photograph: her name, her personality, and eventually, her last day alive.

This is the Martin Beck series firing on all cylinders. The characterizations are well done. Neither plot nor prose have much fat on them. The politics which I felt weakened the later series is absent. The realism level is pretty high: this isn’t about gunfights, deductive genius, or forensic super-science. It’s about a decent man, with an interesting job and a sputtering marriage, applying his experience to a knotty problem. Lastly, there’s a wonderful sense of setting. Beck and his colleagues evoke 1960’s Sweden every bit as much as Sherlock Holmes evokes Victorian England.

I’m surprised that the reading is love-it-or-hate-it. I loved it. I can’t comment on the pronunciations, but I felt Weiner nailed everything else. The clipped, restrained way he read highlighted both setting and the cerebral nature of the story. When it came time to shift gears and emote, he did so very well. His characters were generally spot on. The only interpretation I disagreed with was one of the suspects. I took him to be robot-like; Weiner interpreted him as Swedish Dracula.

All in all, 5 Stars. I was so glad to come across this old favorite that I paused my current read to enjoy it. Now I’ll keep that first book paused and start The Man Who Went Up In Smoke.

A great novel

There is great strength and confidence in the writing. The characters are unforgettable. The story and the observations of life are compelling and impactful. Read this book!

It's an okay detective novel.

I've listen and read around 10 detective/ spy novels now and this is my least favorite. The case the police follow seems slow and too similar to an actual cold case for my tastes. The reading was great but the deep voice of the reader made me sleepy at times. If you enjoy a slow build up to a fast climax then this might be your cup of tea.

Roseanna

This classic of the Swedish mistery genre, came to my attention thanks to the PBS series of European authors. Easy to read , psychologically insightful and informative about the society in which takes place, it has been a revelation for me. I plan to read the whole series of Inspector Martin Beck. Astrid Rusquellas