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Murder At The Savoy (Martin Beck Mysteries) Audio CD – CD, August 15, 2013

by Maj Sjöwall (Author), Per Wahlöö (Author), Full Cast (Reader),

4.3 1,152 ratings

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The Martin Beck books are widely acknowledged as some of the most influential detective novels ever written. Written by Swedish husband and wife team Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö between 1965 and 1975, the ten-book series set a gold standard for all subsequent Scandinavian crime fiction. Long before Kurt Wallander or Harry Hole, Beck was the original flawed policeman, working with a motley collection of colleagues to uncover the cruelty and injustice lurking beneath the surface of Sweden’s seemingly liberal, democratic society. In Murder at the Savoy, adapted from the sixth book in the series, Martin Beck and Lennart Kollberg are called to Malmö in southern Sweden when an industrialist is shot whilst having dinner at the city’s best hotel. There are people in high places who want the case cleared up quietly and quickly, but Beck refuses to give way to pressure. Translated by Amy and Ken Knoespel and dramatized by Jennifer Howarth.

1 CD. 55 mins.

Print length

1 pages
Language

English
Publisher

BBC Books
Publication date

August 15, 2013
Dimensions

5 x 5 x 5 inches
ISBN-10

1471325857
ISBN-13

978-1471325854
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ BBC Books; Unabridged edition (August 15, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 1 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1471325857
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1471325854
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.14 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 5 x 5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #9,357,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #81,980 in Books on CD
- #174,136 in Crime Thrillers (Books)
- #3,007,393 in Literature & Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,152 ratings

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Per Wahlöö
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Maj Sjowall
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Blue in Washington (Barry Ballow)

Half murder mystery, half social commentary

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2010

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"Murder at the Savoy" is a 1971 crime story and the sixth in the excellent Martin Beck series by the Swedish writing team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. The Savoy of the title is a swank hotel in the southern Swedish city of Malmo, a port city that sits close across the Baltic from Denmark. A wealthy businessman is shot dead in Savoy's posh dining room as he is speaking to a group of family and colleagues. After strolling in and taking his killing shot, the gunman jumps through an open window and escapes. Who was he? Why did he commit the murder? The police investigation of the crime reveals that the businessman and his cronies have been involved in some very sleazy deals that have the potential to embarrass the Swedish political establishment. The intrepid Chief Inspector of the National Homicide Squad, Martin Beck, is dispatched to Malmo to quickly close the case and minimize the political fallout. Beck partners with Per Mansson, and Inspector with the Malmo police force. It turns out that the two are soul mates, in that they have both seen and heard just about every human foible and form of bad behavior in their years as cops and both are weary of incompetent political supervisors.

Authors Sjowall and Wahloo readily indulge their own dissatisfaction with abuse of privilege and perceived lack of social justice of the period and delivery a lively and sardonic story line that carries through to the novel's end. Their message here is the rich and powerful (and criminal) will always come out ahead of the poor and unconnected. Plenty of humor and wit in this story which skewers a variety of character types on the way to resolution of the hotel murder. There is a final literary shrug at the end that suggests that social injustice is something that will not be resolved in the then immediate future. Hard to argue with that, looking back over the past 40 years, though it could be argued that Sweden has done better in that area than many other societies.

I liked this story, perhaps more than many other reviewers. The witty cynicism and terrific character development carry the story and keep the reader interested. Although there's no mistaking that the story's setting is Sweden, there is feeling to it similar to one of Georges Simenon's Maigret stories. Not a bad thing, all things considered.

I've read only a few of the Martin Beck books, but "Murder at the Savoy" made me want to continue with the series. Intelligent, funny and engaging. Recommended.

2 people found this helpful

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Hal Zina Bennett

Read for Both Entertainment and Historical Interest

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2013

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Maj Sjowall is an important writer for any mystery addict. It's my understanding that his police procedurals helped to set the stage for the popularity of that form. Historically, the novels are set in Sweden in the 60s at a time when that country was beginning to undergo dramatic socioeconomic changes. As a reader whose grandparents came from that area of the world (Norway, actually) I found the historical references fascinating, particularly the socioeconomic impact of refugees moving into the country and the changes taking place as the country was slowly becoming what the author frequently refers to as a "welfare state." The author's reflections on change, particularly from the viewpoint of a cop with a jaded but still compassionate view of the problems of poverty, industrialization and capitalism tells us much about the global problems we face today. While there is this background "mirror" of reflections on society's challenges, the story is strong, moves well and is interesting, if not as compelling as some of his stories. This is probably not Sjowall's best plotted novel but still a good read, especially for anyone interested in crime literature from Sweden.

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2023

well done

No tears for this victim

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2010

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Victor Palmgren, a businessman worth millions, is making a speech to a few associates in the dining room of the Savoy in Malmö. Suddenly a man appears, shoots Palmgren in the back of the head and disappears out an open window.

Palmgren is a heartless money-making machine, and no one mourns him.

Dim-witted policemen in both Malmö and Stockholm get the investigation off to a bad start. Superintendent Martin Beck of the national homicide squad is sent to Malmö to take over. He forms a pleasant partnership with Månsson, the head cop in Malmö whose adventures in a previous book I found quite delightful.

The higher-ups want a quick solution because the killer may have a political agenda. Palmgren was selling weapons illegally to questionable countries.

Sjöwall and Wahlöö also have a political agenda. They portray a society that's breeding poverty, joblessness, crime, drug addiction - and supporting fat cat profiteers like Palmgren. It's interesting to see how Sjöwall and Wahlöö influenced future generations of Swedish crime writers, whose detectives are invariably depressed by the social ills all around them.

This is not my favorite Martin Beck mystery, but I'm glad I read it, if only to keep up with the characters. Now that I'm familiar with Beck and his associates, I always enjoy watching them work - and don't want to miss any happenings in their personal lives.

I learned in the introduction that Sjöwall and Wahlöö called their ten Martin Beck novels The Story of Crime. Reading the books in order, says Arne Dahl, is the best way to appreciate the grand design. I'd recommend reading this one only if you're reading them all, as I am.

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steven garvey

After decades this book holds up.

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2022

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The series, from which this title is a shining example, is worthy of a look by fans of police procedurals and crime thrillers. With this novel the authors have hit their stride and the action is realistic.

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Maxine Clarke

More joys from classic Swedish police procedural series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2011

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The sixth book in the Martin Beck series follows the same lean, sardonic and insightful formula as the previous volumes. It is summer, and most of the events take place in Malmo, the coastal town which is the home turf of DI Per Mansson, who has collaborated with Martin Beck in previous investigations. He's assisted by the young, ambitious Benny Skacke, newly transferred to the region after his disastrous intervention at the end of THE FIRE ENGINE THAT DISAPPEARED.
A business dinner at the Savoy Hotel ends in drama when the host, industrialist Viktor Palmgren, is shot by a man who walks in to the dining room, performs the deed, then calmly escapes through an open window and rides off on a bicycle. The case would have been open and shut but for the fact that the two policemen who are sent to intercept the most probable suspect are the disaster-prone Kvant and Kristiansson, the laziest men on the force. They fail to apprehend the suspect in true hilarious fashion (the fact that the Swedish title of the book is literally translated as "Police, Police, Potato Pig", according to the delightfully informative introduction by Michael Carson, gives a clue as to what intercepted them).
Martin Beck is told to drop his holiday plans and go to Malmo to help Mansson. Political elements are involved, causing Beck's superiors to send in the security services also, in an uncomfortable parallel investigation. Most of Beck's regular associates are on holiday, but there are some good set-pieces in Stockholm as the dead man's business dealings are untangled, involving the old-fashioned, heavy cop Gunvald Larsson, as well as an episode with Lennart Kollberg and Asa Torell, the woman who has joined the police after her boyfriend was killed in THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN.
Eventually, a lucky discovery breaks the case. The careful investigative work into Palmgren's sleazy associates allows Beck and colleagues to rapidly identify the culprit. During the book, however, we have come to despise Palmgren's circle and its role in the corruption and exploitation rife in "modern" Sweden (the book was written in 1970), and by the time the murderer is identified, we sympathise with him far more than with his victim. MURDER AT THE SAVOY is well up to the standards of this excellent series, and praise does not come much higher than that.

One person found this helpful

R de Bulat

A well wriiten good read detective story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2014

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Although this is 6th in the series it is the last of the ten books written that I have read: what a pity they didn't get to write more. All of the books are well written and are pleasantly addictive: this one is about a not altogether likable businessman who is murdered in front of his dinner guests in a high class hotel dining room and no-one present can help to identify the killer. Each of the diners have their own reasons to be glad and to profit from their bosses death, including the wife, but do not have any particular motive for being involved. The murder squad are all over the place and Martin Beck is at a loss as to where to look next until a bit of luck points him in the right direction. All of the books are formulaic but that is actually part of the appeal with familiarity being an essential ingredient that makes the slow procedures that inevitably lead to a solution seem rational and interesting when, in the end, murder has been committed by an ordinary person for the most mundane reason. In this case, motive, opportunity and means is driven almost on a whim, which makes it so hard to solve. This book is a bit of a slow burn, but well worth reading.

David J Marriott

Great story well written book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2023

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Unusual story line kept me engrossed right the way through good quality characters enjoyed immensely with a great end. Thanks for your prompt service

Eileen Shaw

Palmgren did very questionable business abroad...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2015

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A group of businessmen have met up in the Savoy Hotel, and as he is making a speech, Victor Palmgren is shot. He lives for a few minutes more, but he's dead before the ambulance arrives. The victim is a wealthy man involved in various businesses, including property deals and other business concerns, including international. "The bullet struck the speaker just behind the left ear and he fell forward onto the table, his left cheek in the crenellated mashed potatoes around an exquisite fish casserole a la Frans Suell. The shooter casually exited from a ground floor window.

Martin Beck, newly refreshed by a divorce from his wife, is in charge of the case. "So, he thinks, his sensitive stomach had begun to behave quite well since he had been separated from his wife. His suffering, which had gone on for so many years had been psycho-somatic, which was exactly what he had suspected all along."

The case proceeds via several interviews, but the denouement left me feeling depressed. I did enjoy the complex unravelling of this case, and Beck has a romantic interlude, in spite of the oppressive and claustrophobic heat, but you will probably be unlikely to come away from this book in a good mood. The crime is solved but for once with this series I felt disappointed.

HENDERSON Xavier

Excellent - un bon moment

Reviewed in France on April 25, 2023

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excellent

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