The Man on the Balcony - (Martin Beck Police Mystery) by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo (Paperback)

About the Book

Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Mystery, the chilling third novel in the Martin Beck series finds Beck investigating a string of brutal muggings and child murders.

Book Synopsis

In this chilling installment of "the first great series of police thrillers" (Michael Ondaatje, national bestselling author of Warlight) by an internationally renowned crime duo, superintendent Martin Beck investigates a string of child murders.

In the once peaceful parks of Stockholm, a killer is stalking young girls and disposing their bodies. The city is on edge, and an undercurrent of fear has gripped its residents. Martin Beck, now a superintendent, has two possible witnesses: a silent, stone-cold mugger and a mute three year old boy. With the likelihood of another murder growing as each day passes, the police force work night and day. But their efforts have offered little insight into the methodology of the killer. Then a distant memory resurfaces in Beck's mind, and he may just have the break he needs.

Review Quotes

"The first great series of police thrillers.... Truly exciting." --Michael Ondaatje

"Hauntingly effective storytelling." --The New York Times Book Review

"Sjöwall and Wahlöö write unsparingly and unswervingly.... Their plots are second to none." --Val McDermid

"It's hard to think of any other thriller writers (apart from Simenon perhaps) who can capture so much of a society in a couple of hundred pages and yet still hold true to the thriller form." --Sean and Nicci French

About the Author

MAJ SJÖWALL and PER WAHLÖÖ, her husband and coauthor, wrote ten Martin Beck mysteries. They plotted and researched each book together then wrote alternate chapters. The books were written over a ten year period and carefully planned to allow for gradual character development and evolving social commentary as the series continued. Mr Wahloo, who died in 1975, was a reporter for several Swedish newspapers and magazines and wrote numerous radio and television plays, film scripts, short stories, and novels. Maj Sjöwall is also a poet.