''The Fire Engine That Disappeared'' (''Brandbilen som försvann'') is a

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

by Swedish writers

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 ...

, published in 1969. It is the fifth book in the ''

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 ...

'' detective series. In the novel a house fire, which kills three people, was about to be written off as the result of a tenant's gas suicide when a forensics officer discovers a firebomb in the rubble that would have certainly killed the tenant had he not killed himself. Beck and his team launch a manhunt for the tenant's partner-in-crime, but are perplexed when the partner-in-crime is found dead at the bottom of the sea.

Plot summary

Just as Gunvald Larsson arrives to replace a colleague, the apartment of a drug dealer in Stockholm, the house he is observing suddenly explodes into flames. Larsson tries to break into the house to rescue the residents, while an anonymous person calls the fire brigade from a payphone. The fire brigade arrives too late and some residents are killed. The investigation finds that the drug dealer under surveillance has committed suicide by gas poisoning and blocked all the openings of his room. Beck still has doubts about this happening: where did the spark for the explosion come from and why did the fire department take so long to arrive? The doubts are justified, as it turns out according to the findings of the Crime Lab: the gas was lit by a hidden incendiary bomb in the mattress of the deceased. The suspect, who had placed the incendiary, was, as it turns out, a Lebanese professional killer entering the country specifically to kill the drug dealer. He had himself called the firefighters as he wanted to avoid harming bystanders but accidentally due to lack of local knowledge he said the name of the wrong location.

Character development

Beck's daughter Ingrid announces that she will leave home and encourages her father in secret to do the same. Benny Skacke is introduced as the ambitious detective to replace Stenström. Regular police officer Zachrisson is introduced.

Film adaptation

The novel was adopted to film in 1993 with

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 ...

as 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 ...

as Gunvald Larsson. Novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö 1969 Swedish novels Swedish detective novels Pantheon Books books Norstedts förlag books {{1960s-thriller-novel-stub