---

THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN

---

by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (1968)

---

Two policemen sit inside their vehicle on a cold, dark, rainy night. Better inside the car than out on the street. But then a local informs the officers that a bus has crashed up ahead, just around the bend. So much for an easy night on the job. Upon arrival at the scene the officers find the bus parked across the footpath and with the door open. One officer takes a peek inside and observes nine passengers, all bleeding from gunshot wounds. Most of them appear to be dead. But something about this random slaughter seems planned and organised. As if there was a purpose behind the murder spree. Martin Beck and his team will need to solve a cold case to unravel this mystery and catch a cold-blooded killer. Fiction. 248 pages.

---

---

DETAILS:

Title: The laughing policeman

Year: 1968

Author: Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

Pages: 248

Series: Martin Beck 4 / 10

---

---

Book review by Keith Salter