Reviews

Cop Killer by Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö

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rainbowarpaint's review against another edition

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dark mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

jporterfield99's review against another edition

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2.0

This is a strange one in that it sends Martin Beck to a small town that resembles the village in "The Trouble with Harry" and not much else happens. The subplots are unfocused and tangential and the pacing uneven. Not one of the finer moments in the series.

tympligtlasande's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

michael5000's review against another edition

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4.0

The last-for-me Martin Beck book is as satisfying as others in the series, another grimly amusing hard-boiled police procedural from Sweden's underbelly.

A lot of the fun, reading these novels 50 years on, is noting the contrast between their basic theme -- that the world is going to hell in a violent, soulless handbasket -- with the subsequent decades of, by the standards of our planet, unprecedented peace, prosperity, and opportunities for individual self-realization. What felt like righteous clear-eyed social critique at the time, now sounds more than a little like your surly neighbor who can't handle the damn kids these days with their cells phones and tattoos and loud music.