''Murder at the Savoy'' (original title: ''Polis, polis, potatismos!'' literally "Police, Police, Mashed Potatoes!") is a 1970 crime novel by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

writers

Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapte ...

. It is the sixth book out of ten in the detective series by revolving around police detective

Martin Beck Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapt ...

Title

''Murder at the Savoy'' is the English title of the novel. The Swedish title of the book, meaning "Police, police, mashed potatoes", is explained in a scene where

Gunvald Larsson Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapte ...

is telling off the miserably lazy policemen Kristiansson and Kvant. The two policemen had, instead of obeying their orders to arrest a suspect at

Arlanda Airport Stockholm Arlanda Airport is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly south-east of Uppsala. The airport is located within Stockholm County and the p ...

, been arguing with a man whose 3-year-old son had shouted "Police, police, mashed potatoes" at the two policemen while they were eating

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...

with mashed potatoes at a grill bar. This refers to the common rhyme "polis polis potatisgris" ("police, police, potato pig").

Plot

Martin Beck has to search through the high powered business man Viktor Palmgren's many enemies when the business man is shot in front of a dozen witnesses at a high-end restaurant. Behind the facade of legal transactions he finds out that Palmgren had earned most of his money with illegal arms deals. During the investigation it turns out that Bertil Svensson shot Palmgren because he had caused his unemployment, the loss of his home and, ultimately, the loss of his family. Svensson confesses and is arrested while Palmgren's unscrupulous business partners remain largely undisturbed.

Film adaptations

The novel has been adapted to film twice. The 1979 Latvian film ''

Unfinished Supper ''The Unfinished Supper'' ( Latvian: ''Nepabeigtās vakariņas'') is a 1979 Latvian police film about Martin Beck, directed by Jānis Streičs, based on the novel ''Murder at the Savoy'' (1970). Cast *Romualds Ancāns as Martin Beck * Ingrīda And ...

'', directed by

Jānis Streičs Jānis Streičs (born 26 September 1936) is a Latvian film director. Streičs' 1991 comedy film ''The Child of Man'' was runner-up for the Chicago International Children's Film Festival Rights of the Child Award in 1994. It had previously been L ...

, was based on the book. Romualds Ancāns played the role of Martin Beck. A Swedish adaption of the novel was released in 1993, directed by

Pelle Berglund Pelle may refer to: * ''Pelle'' (album), a 2000 studio album of the Italian band Punkreas * Pelle (given name) * Pelle (surname) * Pelle Pelle, a fashion brand * An enzyme, also known as IRAK1 * A familiar form of the male given name Per * Anothe ...

Gösta Ekman Hans Gösta Gustaf Ekman (; 28 July 1939 – 1 April 2017) was a Swedish actor, comedian, and director. Career Ekman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and was the son of the director Hasse Ekman and Agneta (née Wrangel). Ekman represented t ...

played the role of Martin Beck and

Rolf Lassgård Rolf Holger Lassgård (born 29 March 1955) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his many roles in crime dramas. Life and career Lassgård was born in Östersund, Jämtland. A keen amateur ice hockey player in his youth, he also joined theatre tea ...

played Gunvald Larsson. {{Martin Beck 1970 Swedish novels Swedish detective novels Novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö Pantheon Books books Norstedts förlag books Swedish novels adapted into films