The official Martin Beck power ranking

The purpose of this list is purely academic; the novels should, of course, be read in chronological order.

1. The Terrorists (Terroristerna, 1975)
2. Roseanna (Roseanna, 1965)
3. The Man on the Balcony (Mannen på balkongen, 1967)
4. Murder at the Savoy (Polis, polis, potatismos!, 1970)
5. The Locked Room (Det slutna rummet, 1972)
6. The Laughing Policeman (Den skrattande polisen, 1968)
7. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (Mannen som gick upp i rök, 1966)
8. The Abominable Man (Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle, 1971)
9. Cop Killer (Polismördaren, 1974)
10. The Fire Engine That Disappeared (Brandbilen som försvann, 1969)

The series as a whole is one of the great works of fiction about police and policing because, in addition to featuring brilliant plotting and characterization, it has an abiding suspicion not only of the police practices of its time, but of policing, and, indeed, state power more generally. The only works I’ve come across that achieve something similar are the television series Forbrydelsen and the film Sicario. (I’m sure there are others; let me know about them please.) The Martin Beck novels and Forbrydelsen are particularly effective in how they depict the police as a (violent) arm of the political state, as well as the harm to individuals left in its wake. Sicario and Forbrydelsen, in turn, together share an interest in how those with good intentions within the system are forced either to compromise themselves or leave.