History Literature / MartinBeck

All of the novels were put to screen at least once, and between 1997 and 2016 [[Film/Beck1997 34 made-for-TV movies]] were made, that [[InNameOnly only used the names of the main characters]] from the novels. The novels remain one of the finest example of the NordicNoir, inspiring such followers as Henning Mankell's ''Series/{{Wallander}}'' series and Stig Larsson's ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy''. They are still very much in print and widely translated into many languages, which, ironically, meant that the one surviving coauthor, Maj Sjöwall,[[note]]Per Wahlöö died of pancreatic cancer shortly after completion of the last volume.[[/note]] has never made money on them, because they still are printed according to the original, not very profitable, deal with their publisher.

All of the novels were put to screen at least once, and between 1997 and 2016 [[Film/{{Beck}} 34 made-for-TV movies]] were made, that [[InNameOnly only used the names of the main characters]] from the novels. The novels remain one of the finest example of the NordicNoir, inspiring such followers as Henning Mankell's ''Series/{{Wallander}}'' series and Stig Larsson's ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy''. They are still very much in print and widely translated into many languages, which, ironically, meant that the one surviving coauthor, Maj Sjöwall,[[note]]Per Wahlöö died of pancreatic cancer shortly after completion of the last volume.[[/note]] has never made money on them, because they still are printed according to the original, not very profitable, deal with their publisher.

All of the novels were put to screen at least once, and between 1997 and 2016 [[Film/{{Beck}} 34 made-for-TV movies]] were made, that [[InNameOnly only used the names of the main characters]] from the novels. The novels remain one of the finest example of the NordicNoir, inspiring such followers as Henning Mankell's ''Series/{{Wallander}}'' series and Stig Larsson's ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy''. They are still very much in print and widely translated into many languages, which, ironically, meant that the one surviving coauthor, Maj Sjöwall,[[note]]Per Wahlöö died of pancreatic cancer shortly after completion of the last volume.[[/note]] has never made money on them, because they still are printed according to the original, not very profitable, deal with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive their publisher]].

** The eponymous victim in ''The Abominable Man'' is a policemen notorious for his callousness and brutality towards trainees and unlucky civilians, with many angry complaints angainst him and far more enemies than friends.

* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: ''Laughing Policeman''. The murderer shot his former henchman, the detective and seven bystanders deliberately to throw the police off. In addition, the old case being re-investigated is full of false leads, and the detectives find the murderer in the old case files only after the confession. Ironically, he was a respectable businessman who first organized murdering his ex-lover, then covered the tracks -- all to protect the well-being of his family.

* VillainKiller: Detective Benny Skacke kills [[spoiler:the main villains of both the fifth and tenth books in gunfights]].

** The eponymous victim in ''The Abominable Man'' is a policemen notorious for his callousness and brutality, with far more enemies than friends.

* WhoMurderedTheAsshole: As ''The Man Who Went Up in Smoke'' progresses, it becomes clear that the victim was a [[spoiler:heroin dealer]] who also loved antagonizing his peers by insulting them in deeply personal ways.

* NonProtagonistResolver: ThoseTwoGuys Kvant and Kristiansson first appear in the final chapter of the third book, where they, and not any of the main detectives [[spoiler:encounter and arrest that book's pedophiliac killer BigBad after recognizing him when they park near where he is isolating his next planned victim so that Kvant can pee behind some bushes]].

* ThoseTwoGuys: Kristiansson and Kvant/[[spoiler:Kvastmo]].

* WardrobeWound: Detective Gunvald Larsson.

* AlmostDeadGuy: In "The Laughing Policeman" one of the bus passengers survives for a day or so in the hospital, and lives only long enough to give garbled answers to two questions asked by Ronn. "Who did the shooting?" and "What did he look like." The dying man's answers are "Dnrk" and "Koleson." After re-listening to the tape of the interview several times, at different speeds, the detectives figure out that he was trying to say "didn't recognize" and "like Oleson", with Oleson being one of his coworkers who bore some resemblance to the killer.

* BaitAndSwitch: In "The Laughing Policeman" Beck is initially frightened that Kolberg is the policeman who was among those murdered when he calls his house and Kolberg's wife says he's out and she doesn't know where. He is relieved when he runs into Kolberg shortly after arriving at the crime scene.

* InstantlyProvenWrong: The end of ''The Laughing Policeman" has Beck talking about how their murdered colleague did a good job, but also showed himself to still be green by not leaving behind any records about the man he was investigating in case he got killed. They then get a phone call from another detective who reports that someone -[[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot belatedly]] checked under the dead detectives blotter and found that he did have some notes on the case, including the name of the murderer with a question mark by it.]] This is the incident which causes Beck to have an EverybodyLaughs ending, from which the title comes from.
* ItsAllAboutMe: The killer in "The Laughing Policeman". While he does have "unusually much much to lose" the man shows no remorse about killing a lot of innocents just to cover his own tracks and keeps ranting about being entitled to the actions he took, and bitterly blaming the police for the effect it will have on him and his family. Larson, who takes the man's confession, is decidedly unimpressed.

''Martin Beck'', or, alternatively, '''The Story of a Crime''', is a series of 10 NordicNoir [[MysteryFiction mystery novels]] by the couple of the Swedish authors and journalists, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, about the exploits of a titular detective, the head of the Special Homicide Commission in the Stockholm Police Department. They are notable for spurring [[UrExample the whole genre]], and being one of the first representatives of the new wave of crime and mystery fiction that took the genre from the [[GreatDetective drawing rooms of the high society]] into the often dark and gritty world of {{Police Procedural}}s filled by realistic culprits and equally believable {{Defective Detective}}s.

The series, written almost in real time with its internal timeline between 1965 and 1975, chronicle the progress of titular Martin Beck from a middle-aged, disillusioned, dyspeptic and disappointed with his marriage detective to a still disillusioned (but at least more personally happy) Police Commissioner, who is finally [[KnightInSourArmor resigned to see]] the Swedish welfare-state sliding through the dehumanising slippery slope of capitalism to the unpleasant end — both Sjöwall and Wahlöö were staunch Marxists, and conceived the novels as much as a social critique as an entertainment, though the message is weaved in quite subtly, without it becoming {{Anvilicious}}.

All of the novels were put to screen at least once, and between 1997 and 2016 [[Film/{{Beck}} 34 made-for-TV movies]] were made, that [[InNameOnly only used the names of the main characters]] from the novels. The novels remain one of the finest example of the NordicNoir, inspiring such followers as Henning Mankell's ''Series/{{Wallander}}'' series and Stig Larsson's ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy''. They are still very much in print and widely translated into many languages, which, ironically, meant that the one surviving coauthor, Maj Sjöwall,[[note]]Per Wahlöö died of pancreatic cancer shortly after completion of the last volume.[[/note]] has never made money on them, because they still are printed according the original, not very profitable, deal with [[CorruptCorporateExecutive their publisher]].

* ConsultingAConvictedKiller: The detectives question Birgersson (a man who killed his wife and is being mentally evaluated) a few time in "The Laughing Policeman" with the knowledge he has being related to some car expertise.
* DaddysGirl: Beck's daughter Ingrid, a WiseBeyondTheirYears teenager with whom he's actually keeps a close and equal frieendship.

* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: ''Laughing Policeman''. The murderer shot his former henchman, the detective and seven bystanders delidberately to throw police off. In addition, the old case being re-investigated is full of false leads, and the detectives find the murderer in the old case files only after the confession. Ironically, he was a respectable businessman who first organized murdering his ex-lover, then covered the tracks -- all to protect the well-being of his family.

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Åke Stenström]], a young and ambitious detective who gets killed mid-series [[spoiler:in a random spree shooting]], starting arguably the best known book of the series, ''The Laughing Policeman''.

'''Martin Beck''', or, alternatively, '''The Story of a Crime''', is a series of 10 NordicNoir [[MysteryFiction mystery novels]] by the couple of the Swedish authors and journalists, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, about the exploits of a titular detective, the head of the Special Homicide Commission in the Stockholm Police Department. They are notable for spurring [[UrExample the whole genre]], and being one of the first representatives of the new wave of crime and mystery fiction that took the genre from the [[GreatDetective drawing rooms of the high society]] into the often dark and gritty world of {{Police Procedural}}s filled by realistic culprits and equally believable {{Defective Detective}}s.

* AlmostDeadGuy: In "The Laughing Policeman" one of the bus passengers survives for a day or so in the hospital, and lives only long enough to give garbled answers to two questions questions asked by Ronn. "Who did the shooting?" and "What did he look like." The dying man's answers are "Dnrk" and "Koleson." After re-listening to the tape several times, at different speeds, the detectives figure out that he was trying to say "didn't recognize" and "like Oleson", with Oleson being one of his coworkers who bore some resemblance to the killer.

* ConsultingAConvictedCriminal: The detectives question Birgersson (a man who killed his wife and is being mentally evaluated) a few time in "The Laughing Policeman" with the knowledge he has being related to some car expertise.

* InstantlyProvenWrong: The end of ''The Laughing Policeman" has Beck talking about how their murdered colleague did a good job, but also showed himself to still be green by not leaving behind any records about the man he was investigating in case he got killed. They then get a phone cal from another detective who reports that someone -[[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot belatedly]] checked under the dead detectives blotter and found that he did have some notes on the case, including the name of the murderer with a question mark by it.]] This is the incident which causes Beck to have an EverybodyLaughs ending, from which the title comes from.

* AlmostDeadGuy: In "The Laughing Policeman" one of the bus passengers survives for a ay or so in the hospital, and lives only long enough to give garbled answers to two questions questions asked by Ronn. "Who did the shooting?" and "What did he look like." The dying man's answers are "Dnrk" and "Koleson." After re-listening to the tape several times, at different speed, the detectives figure out that he was trying to say "didn't recognize" and "like Oleson", with Oleson being one of his coworkers who bore some resemblance to the killer.

* Wardrobe Wound: Detective Gunvald Larsson.

The series, written almost in real time with its internal timeline bwtween 1965 and 1975, chronicle the progress of titular Martin Beck from a middle-aged, disillusioned, dyspeptic and disappointed with his marriage detectve to a still disillusioned (but at least more personally happy) Police Comissioner, who is finally [[KnightInSourArmor resigned to see]] the Swedish welfare-state sliding through the dehumanising slippery slope of capitalism to the unpleasant end — both Sjöwall and Wahlöö were staunch Marxist, and conceived the novels as much as a social critique as an entertainment, though the message is weaved in quite subtly, without it becoming {{Anvilicious}}.

* ActionGirl: Åsa Torell, [[spoiler: Åke Stenström's widow]], who hoins the Beck's team in the later part of the series.

** Karl Kristiansson and Kurt Kvant, two equally hapless patrolmen [[CountryMouse from Skåne]], who ''always'' screw something up. [[spoiler: After Kvant is killed mid-series, his replacement,]] Kennet Kvastmo, is even worse, because hot only he's equally dumb, he's also far more zealous.