The Abominable Man
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First US edition
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| Author | Sjöwall and Wahlöö |
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| Original title | Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Series | Martin Beck series |
| Publisher | Norstedts Förlag (Sweden) Pantheon Books (US) |
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Publication date
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1971 |
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Published in English
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1972 |
| Pages | 194 pp |
| ISBN | 91-1-715611-4 |
| OCLC | 13383505 |
| LC Class | PT9876.29.J63 V4 |
| Preceded by | Murder at the Savoy |
| Followed by | The Locked Room |
The Abominable Man (Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle) is a Swedish crime novel by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö from 1971 in the series revolving around police detective Martin Beck. One of Donald Knuth's favourite novels, "one of Sjöwall and Wahlöö's brilliantly Swedish detective novels".[1]
Plot
A senior policeman known for brutality is violently knifed while in his hospital bed. 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-style attack on Stockholm.
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
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The book was adapted to film in 1976 and directed by Bo Widerberg. It was renamed The Man on the Roof (Mannen på taket) and Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt played the lead role as Martin Beck.
References
| Preceded by | "Martin Beck" timeline, part 7 of 10 | Succeeded by The Locked Room |
