The Swedish Detectives (Books) Arrive on the Scene

From the Martin Beck
Police Mystery Series

Another impact of Global Warming (my tongue is in my cheek here people) is the thawing effect on the Swedish Publishing Houses and the inundation of police procedurals flowing into the ever warming American readership. Case in point, only a few years ago did I first come in contact with Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander. Here was a detective who struggled with his inner demons, family, and criminals. It was a  new culture for me to explore, this Scandinavian landscape of cities and customs. I was pretty well versed with the British and Italian crime scenes, but like the saying goes this was a 'brave new world.' I will also admit to binge watching the BBC's adaptation of Mankell's work starring Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. A visually stunning production; Sweden is now high on my list of places to visit.

The librarians in my town have been doing their best to help with the importation of these wonderful authors. The Vintage Crime/Black Lizard division of Random House has released Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's Martin Beck Police Mystery series with newly written introductions by today's leading police mystery writers. This husband and wife team began writing in the mid-1960s around the time that I was born. These are stories of detection before the advent of computers, DNA fingerprinting, and cell phones. Cases took months to solve instead of weeks or even days. Solid footwork and deduction play the key roles in the capturing of criminals. These are not cozy mystery cases either; hard boiled, and often brutal crimes are committed. What I've learned is that crime and criminals haven't changed much in the last fifty years. I'm sure it is safe to say, that crime hasn't changed much since the dawn of mankind.