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The Terrorists: A Martin Beck Police Mystery Audiobook
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(4.01) - 693 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The Terrorists is the last Martin Beck mystery, finished just a few weeks before Per Wahlöö’s death. The book is, in effect, a marvelous summing up of the series. The story centers on the visit of an American senator to Stockholm. Martin Beck tries to protect him from an international gang of terrorists, while they decide that Beck too should be removed from the scene. Interwoven with this basic story are two fascinating subplots. One, a classic mini-mystery, is the story of a millionaire pornographer bludgeoned to death in his own bathtub. The other is the story of a young girl, a Swedish hippie caught up unexpectedly in the maze of police bureaucracy. As in other Martin Beck books, the plot comes together in a totally unexpected climax.
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"I read all 10 books in this wonderful series, one after the other. What a joy to read. A police procedural set in 1960's Sweden, this has become the basis of modern police fiction. Martin Beck is not your typical 'cop'. He's miserable, has an ulcer, is unhappily married, with kids who don't understand him. The detective mysteries he's engaged in are varied and interesting - and (gasp) are not always solved with Beck in the lead -a real tribute to teamwork and the well-defined characters who are his colleagues. The authors also provide some incisive social commentary into Swedish society. Only 10 books in the series, and by the time its all read, one wishes there could have been many more."
— Marisa (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Of all the Sjöwall/Wahlöö books, The Terrorists may be the tightest in organization and the most suspenseful.”
— New York Times -
“Martin Beck’s last case is a clever mixture of the best elements of escape fiction—a two-way chase, a puzzling mystery and edge-of-the-seat suspense—along with some stinging social comments.”
— San Francisco Examiner -
“One of the most authentic, gripping, and profound collections of police procedurals ever accomplished…Beautifully structured, textured, and rendered.”
— Michael Connelly -
“Lively, stylistically taut…Sjöwall and Wahlöö changed the genre.”
— Henning Mankell -
“The Sjöwall-Wahlöö style and stories are dramas that expose fascinating truths about modern life.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“The series of detective stories by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, starring Martin Beck, has maintained such a degree of excellence that comparisons are near impossible.”
— Minneapolis Tribune -
“The whole series has an immediacy to it that is both honest and awesome. These are the kind of books you can’t help but read in one sitting.”
— Minnesota Daily -
“No one is more convincing than [Sjöwall and Wahlöö] in transmitting the actual shock of brutal murder.”
— Buffalo News
The Terrorists Listener Reviews
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" I like these writers. It was a good story, with interesting characters and pace. Besides being a detective story, they put in a good amount of humor, which I enjoy. I'm reading these out of sequence, but still enjoying them. "
— Joanray04, 2/11/2014 -
" Martin Beck is an early avatar of the more famous Wallander - that is, he's a gloomy Swedish policeman, solving murders and having a complicated personal life (but in the early 1970s). This is the last in the series, and, if typical, encourages me to read the others - it is very much of its time, with a liberal sprinkling of 1970s leftish politics and attitudinising about 'capitalism' and 'imperialism', and so on, but it has strong characterisations and good plot lines, with an unembellished prose style, a long way from the slightly romantic style of much of American noir. "
— Andrewh, 2/6/2014 -
" A great end to the ten-book series. Martin Beck and four of his colleagues take on an international terrorist ring, but terrorists are not their biggest worry. A fantastic critique of society and the sociological forces that lead to crime, these books should be required reading for anyone who thinks they know what mystery novels are all about. "
— Maria, 2/4/2014 -
" Very sad to finish off this series. My vote for the best start to finish series of the genre. Loved these books. "
— Chris, 2/3/2014 -
" So sad to read the final book in the series. I feel like I know all these characters intimately and I will never have a chance to be with them in the same way again. "
— Enid, 1/12/2014 -
" Enjoyed book alot. Not a challenging read, but an entertaining one. I like the character of Martin Beck. "
— Ntecla, 10/31/2013 -
" The final book in the Martin Beck series is fittingly grim. Worth pushing through if you've read the others. "
— Dave, 5/21/2013 -
" Sad to see Martin Beck go. "
— Kristin, 4/20/2013 -
" The best of the ten books. "
— Emu, 3/24/2013 -
" I'm sad there aren't any more in this series. "
— Lisbeth, 5/14/2012 -
" Another series, started and finished. Great. And the Vintage editions have really good introductions by other crime writers. "
— Deidre, 12/5/2011 -
" So sad that this is the last of the Martin Beck series...enjoy every one of the 10 novels. "
— Liz, 8/8/2011 -
" Perhaps the best of the series and I'm sad there are no more. Great characters and an engaging story line. "
— Ed, 3/27/2011 -
" i love these sjowall/wahloo policiers. gunvald larsson is a great character & there's a lot of dry humor here. "
— Kit, 3/11/2011 -
" I was so sorry to come to the end of this series of ten Swedish police procedurals. Although they were written in the 60s and 70s, they're quite contemporary. Very well done! "
— Camille, 3/5/2011 -
" Probably the tenth time I have read this. "
— Michael, 10/18/2010
About the Authors
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, wife and husband team, wrote ten Martin Beck mysteries, virtually creating the modern police procedural. In addition to the many short stories and novels he wrote, Mr. Wahlöö, who died in 1975, wrote numerous radio and television plays and was a reporter for several Swedish newspapers and magazines. Maj Sjöwall is also a journalist and poet. She lives in Sweden.
Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
About Tom Weiner
Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and is an Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.