''The Abominable Man'' ( sv, Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle, meaning "The abominable man from

Säffle Säffle () is a locality and the seat of Säffle Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 9,150 inhabitants in 2016. In 1951 the town of Säffle was officially awarded City status, the last place for this to occur in Sweden. This was abolished ...

") is a 1971

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

novel by Swedish writers

Maj Sjöwall Maj Sjöwall (; 25 September 1935 – 29 April 2020) was a Swedish author and translator. She is best known for her books about police detective Martin Beck. She wrote the books in collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö. Biograph ...

and

Per Wahlöö Per Fredrik Wahlöö (5 August 1926 – 22 June 1975) – in English translations often identified as Peter Wahloo – was a Swedish author. He is perhaps best known for the collaborative work with his partner Maj Sjöwall on a series of ten nove ...

. It is the seventh book in their series about

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 ...

. The plot follows Martin Beck and his colleagues trying to solve a murder on a senior policeman, known for his brutality against others. While the investigation is ongoing, a well armed man climbs up on a roof in Stockholm. One of

Donald Knuth Donald Ervin Knuth ( ; born January 10, 1938) is an American computer scientist, mathematician, and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is the 1974 recipient of the ACM Turing Award, informally considered the Nobel Prize of computer sc ...

's favourite novels, he described it as "one of

Sjöwall and 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 ...

's brilliantly Swedish detective novels".Knuth: Retirement
/ref>

Plot

A senior policeman known for brutality is violently knifed while in his hospital bed (in

Sabbatsberg Hospital Sabbatsberg Hospital ( Swedish: ''Sabbatsbergs sjukhus'') was a hospital in Vasastan in Stockholm. It was opened in 1879. In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was pronounced dead at 00:06 CET on March 1 at Sabbatsbergs Hospital, after havin ...

). Within a 24-hour period, Martin Beck investigates the policeman's many enemies in an attempt to identify the killer, for whom the murder was only a precursor to a

Charles Whitman Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966) was an American mass murderer who became known as the "Texas Tower Sniper". On August 1, 1966, Whitman used knives to kill his mother and his wife in their respective homes, then went to ...

-style attack on Stockholm. Since they cannot find a starting clue, the police go in the archives of the police ombudsman where they find many old complaints about Nyman. They encounter the entry of their former colleague Åke Eriksson; Eriksson's wife was in diabetic coma but she was considered drunk by Nyman and locked in the drunk cell, where she died. Finally, on the roof of a skyscraper in downtown Stockholm, it comes to a showdown with Eriksson, who has lost everything, at which point the novel ends with Martin Beck seriously injured by a gunshot.

Characters and their development

Martin Beck and his now grown-up daughter Ingrid develop their friendship; they eat out together. Police officer Kurt Kvant is killed in this book by the crazed killer on the roof.

Film adaptation

The book was adapted to film in 1976 and directed by

Bo Widerberg Bo Gunnar Widerberg (; 8 June 1930 – 1 May 1997) was a Sweden, Swedish film director, screenwriter, writer, film editing, editor and actor. Biography Early life Widerberg was born in Malmö, Malmöhus County, Sweden. Career Widerberg was th ...

. It was renamed ''

The Man on the Roof ''The Man on the Roof'' ( sv, Mannen på taket) is a 1976 Swedish police procedural- thriller film directed by Bo Widerberg. It is based on the 1971 novel ''The Abominable Man'' by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. The film stars Carl-Gustaf Lindste ...

'' ( sv, Mannen på Taket), and stars

Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt (24 February 1921 – 16 January 1992) was a Swedish comedian and actor. History He grew up in Kungsholmen in Stockholm, where there now is a street named after him. His father was a Social Democratic politician and Car ...

Sven Wollter Sven Justus Fredrik Wollter (11 January 1934 – 10 November 2020) was a Swedish actor, writer, and political activist. Wollter is one of the most renowned Swedish actors, he was awarded Best Swedish actor twice. In his native country, he becam ...

Thomas Hellberg Björn Thomas Hellberg (29 September 1941 – 22 January 2023) was a Swedish actor. Hellberg died on 22 January 2023, at the age of 81. Selected filmography *''Maria'' (1975) *''The Man on the Roof'' (1976) *'' Buddies'' (1976) *'' The Assign ...

and

Håkan Serner John Gunnar Håkan Serner (1 September 1933 in Malmö – 25 October 1984 in Stockholm) was a Swedish actor. Family He was nephew to Frank Heller, and stepfather to Malin Gjörup. Awards In 1977 Serner received the award for Best Actor at the ...

. It was awarded with two

Guldbagge Awards The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the nam ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abominable Man, The 1971 Swedish novels Novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö Swedish detective novels Pantheon Books books Norstedts förlag books Swedish novels adapted into films