The Man on the Balcony
First edition (Swedish) | |
Author | Sjöwall and Wahlöö |
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Original title | Mannen på balkongen |
Country | Sweden |
Language | Swedish |
Series | Martin Beck series |
Publisher |
Norstedts Förlag (Swedish) Pantheon Books (English) |
Publication date | 1967 |
Published in English | 1968 |
Pages | 199 pp |
Preceded by | The Man Who Went Up in Smoke |
Followed by | The Laughing Policeman |
The Man on the Balcony is the third novel in the detective series revolving around Swedish police detective Martin Beck, and was written by Sjöwall and Wahlöö and originally published as Mannen på balkongen in 1967.
Plot
Martin Beck and his team realize that a pedosexual murderer may have been seen by an unidentified serial robber who was watching for prey in the area, at the time. The pressure is turned up when more child murders begin to occur.
Characters and their development
The boorish detective Gunvald Larsson is introduced, as is Einar Rönn, who comes from a rural part of the country and likes his life quiet. Larsson was Sjöwall's favourite character, whereas Rönn was Wahlöö's. Also, two regular street cops are introduced, Kristiansson and Kvant, who will provide some of the comic relief throughout the rest of the series.
Film adaptation
On 26 November 1993 the film with the same name premiered in Sweden. The film starred Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck and Rolf Lassgård as Gunvald Larsson. It was a great success and won the Swedish Guldbagge Award for Best Actor (Gösta Ekman), Best Screenplay (Daniel Alfredson & Jonas Cornell) and Best Film (Hans Lönnerheden, producer).
Preceded by The Man Who Went Up in Smoke |
"Martin Beck" timeline, part 3 of 10 | Succeeded by The Laughing Policeman |
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