Roseanna by
Maj Per Sjowall
pbk out August 06
(Harper Perennial)
at £6.99
Roseanna was the first of a series of ten novels to feature Swedish policeman Martin
Beck. And, like Ed McBain, the authors pioneered a realistic portrayal of the
painstaking procedures of a police team investigating a murder. Set in Sweden and
originally published in 1965, Roseanna stands the test of time as a captivating and
suspenseful read. When the body of a young woman is recovered from Lake Vattern
the police first identify her as an American tourist, establish she was travelling on a
cruise boat and then very gradually narrow down the potential killer from all those on
board. Beck was one of the first 'everyman' detectives. He's ill-at-ease at home,
committed to work, by turns unnerved and saddened by the cases he investigates and
plagued by ill health. He's a good judge of character, a sharp observer and uses
empathy and imagination to get closer to the identity of the killer. Husband and wife,
Wahlöö and Sjöwall, manage to convey the lengthy process of an enquiry, the periods
of waiting for information (pre-Internet) and the frustration of dead ends and contrast
it with sudden spurts of progress and action, while retaining our interest throughout.
Roseanna also gives us a fascinating picture of daily life in Sweden in the 1960s.
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the series creator of TV Blue Murder)
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Roseanna by
Maj Per Sjowall 
