''Cop Killer'' (original Swedish title: ''Polismördaren'') is a
crime novel
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
by Swedish 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 ...
, published in 1973. It is part of their detective series revolving around
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 ...
and his team.
Plot summary
A woman disappears from the small town of Anderslöv in Scania, Sweden. Since her neighbor Folke Bengtsson has an earlier conviction for the murder of an American tourist named Roseanna McGraw, he is naturally suspected of having a connection to the woman's disappearance. Homicide investigator with the Swedish Police, Martin Beck, is put on the case. He begins his investigation by looking into the previous murder of Roseanna, and the man he himself got convicted of it. After some time the disappeared woman's body is found dead in a wallow, and Folke is charged with murder and taken into custody by the police. Shortly after this a police squad is involved in a shoot-out with two teenage burglars and a police man is badly injured. One of the teenagers survive the shooting and disappears from the scene. Beck's colleague Malm gets to investigate the police shooting and search for the survivor. The wounded policeman dies and the investigation becomes one regarding homicide/manslaughter. The survivor is tracked to Stockholm, and it turns out he has fled in a car that is connected to the murdered woman found in the wallow - it appears the car is owned by the real murderer.
Characters
Folke Bengtsson, the killer from the first Sjöwall and Wahlöö novel ''
Roseanna'', returns as a suspect of the murder of the woman.
Hergott Nöjd is introduced as a character with a particularly appealing dry sort of humor. He and Martin Beck develop a friendship during the investigations. Nöjd returns in the next Sjöwall and Wahlöö book, ''
The Terrorists
''The Terrorists'' (Swedish title: ''Terroristerna'') is a crime novel by Swedish writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö; it is the final book in their 10-part detective series revolving around Martin Beck and his team. ''The Terrorists'' was unf ...
''.
Lennart Kollberg resigns from the police force by the end of this book.
Film adaptation
The novel was used as the basis for a 1994 Swedish-German film, directed by
Peter Keglevic
Peter Keglevic (born 1950) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 30 films since 1976. His film ''Bella Donna (1983 film), Bella Donna'' was screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.
Selected filmography
* ''Tatort: Be ...
. Titled ''Polismördaren'' in Sweden, it is known as ''The Police Murderer'' in the United States.
IMDB:AKAs
/ref> 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 as Martin Beck.
References
Novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö
1973 Swedish novels
Swedish detective novels
Pantheon Books books
Victor Gollancz Ltd books
Norstedts förlag books
Swedish novels adapted into films
{{1970s-mystery-novel-stub