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Roseanna
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The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
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His holiday with his family has just begun, but a phone call sends Martin Beck packing off to Budapest, where a boorish journalist has vanished without a trace. With the aid of the coolly efficient local police, who do business while soaking at the public baths, Beck must troll about in the Eastern Europe underworld for a man nobody knows - while he is at the risk of vanishing along with his quarry.
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Can't stand the narrator
- By Rowe Patrick on 16-10-16
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The Man on the Balcony
- Martin Beck Series, Book 3
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
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Someone is killing young girls in the once-peaceful parks of Stockholm - killing them after having his way. The people of Stockholm are tense and fearful. Police Superintendent Martin Beck has two witnesses: a cold-blooded mugger who won't say much and a three-year-old boy who can't say much. The dedicated work of the police force seems to be leading nowhere, and with each passing day, the likelihood of another murder grows. But then Beck remembers someone - or something - he overheard.
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Brutal, simple and brilliant
- By Dr B. on 13-04-13
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The Laughing Policeman
- Martin Beck Series, Book 4
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On a cold and rainy Stockholm night, nine bus riders are gunned down by an unknown assassin. The press, anxious for an explanation for the seemingly random crime, quickly dubs him a madman. But Superintendent Martin Beck of the Stockholm Homicide Squad suspects otherwise. This apparently motiveless killer has managed to target one of Beck's best detectives - and he, surely, would not have been riding that lethal bus without a reason.
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Quality crime fiction
- By Julian P on 24-05-15
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The Fire Engine That Disappeared
- Martin Beck Series, Book 5
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
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The cunning incendiary device that blew the roof off a Stockholm apartment not only interrupted the small, peaceful orgy underway inside, it nearly took the lives of the building's 11 occupants. And if one of Martin Beck's colleagues hadn't been on the scene, the explosion would have led to a major catastrophe because, for reasons nobody could satisfactorily explain, a regulation fire truck has vanished. Was it terrorism, suicide, or simply a gas leak?
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Disappointing
- By Carol ann on 28-12-11
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Murder at the Savoy
- Martin Beck Series, Book 6
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
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When Viktor Palmgren, a powerful Swedish industrialist, is shot during his after-dinner speech in the luxurious Hotel Savoy, it sends a shiver down the spine of the international money markets and puts the tiny town of Malmö on edge. No one can identify the gunman when Martin Beck takes over the scene and finds a web so despicable that it's hard to imagine who wouldn't want Palmgren dead.
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The Martin Beck Stories
- 10 BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations
- By: Per Wahlöö, Maj Sjöwall
- Narrated by: Neil Pearson, full cast, Steven Mackintosh
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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The Martin Beck books are widely acknowledged as some of the most influential detective novels ever written. Written by Swedish husband and wife team Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö between 1965 and 1975, the 10-book series set a gold standard for all subsequent Scandinavian crime fiction. Long before Kurt Wallander or Harry Hole, Beck was the original flawed policeman, working with a motley collection of colleagues to uncover the cruelty and injustice lurking beneath the surface of Sweden's liberal society.
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Gripping Swedish crime stories 5-stars* - Superb!
- By Nigel on 20-08-17
-
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
- Martin Beck Series, Book 2
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His holiday with his family has just begun, but a phone call sends Martin Beck packing off to Budapest, where a boorish journalist has vanished without a trace. With the aid of the coolly efficient local police, who do business while soaking at the public baths, Beck must troll about in the Eastern Europe underworld for a man nobody knows - while he is at the risk of vanishing along with his quarry.
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Can't stand the narrator
- By Rowe Patrick on 16-10-16
-
The Man on the Balcony
- Martin Beck Series, Book 3
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Someone is killing young girls in the once-peaceful parks of Stockholm - killing them after having his way. The people of Stockholm are tense and fearful. Police Superintendent Martin Beck has two witnesses: a cold-blooded mugger who won't say much and a three-year-old boy who can't say much. The dedicated work of the police force seems to be leading nowhere, and with each passing day, the likelihood of another murder grows. But then Beck remembers someone - or something - he overheard.
-
-
Brutal, simple and brilliant
- By Dr B. on 13-04-13
-
The Laughing Policeman
- Martin Beck Series, Book 4
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a cold and rainy Stockholm night, nine bus riders are gunned down by an unknown assassin. The press, anxious for an explanation for the seemingly random crime, quickly dubs him a madman. But Superintendent Martin Beck of the Stockholm Homicide Squad suspects otherwise. This apparently motiveless killer has managed to target one of Beck's best detectives - and he, surely, would not have been riding that lethal bus without a reason.
-
-
Quality crime fiction
- By Julian P on 24-05-15
-
The Fire Engine That Disappeared
- Martin Beck Series, Book 5
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The cunning incendiary device that blew the roof off a Stockholm apartment not only interrupted the small, peaceful orgy underway inside, it nearly took the lives of the building's 11 occupants. And if one of Martin Beck's colleagues hadn't been on the scene, the explosion would have led to a major catastrophe because, for reasons nobody could satisfactorily explain, a regulation fire truck has vanished. Was it terrorism, suicide, or simply a gas leak?
-
-
Disappointing
- By Carol ann on 28-12-11
-
Murder at the Savoy
- Martin Beck Series, Book 6
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Viktor Palmgren, a powerful Swedish industrialist, is shot during his after-dinner speech in the luxurious Hotel Savoy, it sends a shiver down the spine of the international money markets and puts the tiny town of Malmö on edge. No one can identify the gunman when Martin Beck takes over the scene and finds a web so despicable that it's hard to imagine who wouldn't want Palmgren dead.
-
The Martin Beck Stories
- 10 BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations
- By: Per Wahlöö, Maj Sjöwall
- Narrated by: Neil Pearson, full cast, Steven Mackintosh
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Martin Beck books are widely acknowledged as some of the most influential detective novels ever written. Written by Swedish husband and wife team Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö between 1965 and 1975, the 10-book series set a gold standard for all subsequent Scandinavian crime fiction. Long before Kurt Wallander or Harry Hole, Beck was the original flawed policeman, working with a motley collection of colleagues to uncover the cruelty and injustice lurking beneath the surface of Sweden's liberal society.
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Gripping Swedish crime stories 5-stars* - Superb!
- By Nigel on 20-08-17
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Cop Killer
- Martin Beck Series, Book 9
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
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The thrilling ninth installment in the classic Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s - the novels that have inspired all crime fiction written ever since. In this penultimate instalment of the series, Beck is drawn into a case that turns up mysterious echoes of his past cases.
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The Abominable Man
- Martin Beck Series, Book 7
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The bloody murder of a police captain in his hospital room exposes the particularly unsavory history of a man who spent 40 years practicing a horrible blend of strong-arm police work and shear brutality. Nonetheless, Martin Beck and his colleagues scour Stockholm for the murderer, a demented and deadly rifleman.
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Not as good a story as books 1to 6.
- By victoria macdonalf on 08-06-15
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The Locked Room
- Martin Beck Series, Book 8
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
A young blonde in sunglasses robs a bank and kills a hapless citizen. Across town, a corpse with a bullet shot through its heart is found in a locked room - with no gun at the scene. The crimes seem disparate, but to Martin Beck, they are two pieces of the same puzzle, and solving it becomes the one way he can escape the pains of his failed marriage and the lingering effects of a near-fatal bullet wound.
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Is this a computer-generated narration??
- By Robert on 02-09-14
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The Terrorists
- Martin Beck Series, Book 10
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
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.
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Faceless Killers
- An Inspector Wallander Mystery
- By: Henning Mankell
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
One frozen January morning at 5am, Inspector Wallander responds to what he believes is a routine call out. When he reaches the isolated farmhouse he discovers a bloodbath. An old man has been tortured and beaten to death, his wife lies barely alive beside his shattered body, both victims of a violence beyond reason. Wallander's life is a shambles. His wife has left him, his daughter refuses to speak to him, and even his ageing father barely tolerates him.
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So simple, yet so captivating
- By NeverwinterMoon on 23-12-12
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The Dogs of Riga
- An Inspector Wallander Mystery
- By: Henning Mankell
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Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell, read by Sean Barrett. Sweden, winter, 1991. Inspector Kurt Wallander and his team receive an anonymous tip-off. A few days later a life raft is washed up on a beach. In it are two men, dressed in expensive suits, shot dead. The dead men were criminals, victims of what seems to have been a gangland hit. But what appears to be an open-and-shut case soon takes on a far more sinister aspect.
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Not a Good Story
- By Hoskins on 03-09-11
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The White Lioness
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Random House presents the audiobook edition of The White Lioness by Henning Mankell, read by Sean Barrett. In 1992, in peaceful Southern Sweden, Louise Akerblom, an estate agent, pillar of the Methodist church, wife and mother, disappears. There is no explanation and no motive. Inspector Wallander and his team are called in to investigate. As Wallander is introduced to this case, he has a gut feeling that the victim will never be found alive, but he has no idea how far he will have to go in search of the killer.
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Not the best Wallander but still worth reading
- By Nick on 24-01-18
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Cockroaches
- By: Jo Nesbo
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Harry is on a special mission. Detective Harry Hole arrives in a steaming hot Bangkok. The Norwegian ambassador has been found dead in a seedy motel room, and Harry has been sent to investigate. It’s clear that the Ambassador’s family are hiding some secrets of their own, but few people are willing to talk.He needs to solve a crime and avoid a scandal. When Harry lays hands on some incriminating CCTV footage, things only get more complicated.
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Why did they make us wait so long?
- By Toadkin on 05-12-13
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After the Fire
- By: Henning Mankell
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Fredrik Welin is a 70-year-old retired doctor. Years ago he retreated to the Swedish archipelago where he lives alone on an island. He swims in the sea every day, cutting a hole in the ice if necessary. He lives a quiet life. Until he wakes up one night to find his house on fire. Fredrik escapes just in time, wearing two left-footed wellies, as neighbouring islanders arrive to help douse the flames. All that remains in the morning is a stinking ruin and evidence of arson.
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Hmmmm!
- By mollyeyre on 17-11-17
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The Devil’s Star: A Harry Hole Thriller, Book 5
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- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
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- Unabridged
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young woman is murdered in her Oslo flat. One finger has been severed from her left hand, and behind her eyelid is secreted a tiny red diamond in the shape of a five-pointed star – a pentagram, the devil’s star. Detective Harry Hole is assigned to the case with his long-time adversary Tom Waaler and initially wants no part in it. But Harry is already on notice to quit the force and is left with little alternative but to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor and get to work. A wave of similar murders is on the horizon. An emerging pattern suggests that Oslo has a serial killer on its hands....
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Absorbing, gripping thriller.
- By Richard on 21-07-12
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Nightblind
- Dark Iceland, Book 2
- By: Ragnar Jonasson
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
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Ari Thor returns to investigate a chilling series of crimes that are rooted in tragic events from the past. Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village on the northernmost tip of Iceland, accessible only via a small mountain tunnel. Ari Thór Arason: a local policeman whose tumultuous past and uneasy relationships with the villagers continue to haunt him.
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Why change the narrator?
- By James Woods on 21-03-16
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The Man Who Smiled
- An Inspector Wallander Mystery
- By: Henning Mankell
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Crestfallen, dejected, and spiralling into an alcohol-fuelled depression after killing a man in the line of duty, Inspector Kurt Wallander has made up his mind to quit the police force for good. When an old acquaintance, a solicitor, seeks Wallander's help to investigate the suspicious circumstances in which his father has died, Kurt doesn't want to know. But when the solicitor also turns up dead, shot three times, Wallander realises that he was wrong not to listen.
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Classic Wallender
- By Jean on 11-06-10
Summary
On a July afternoon, the body of a young woman is dredged from Sweden's beautiful Lake Vättern. Three months later, all that Police Inspector Martin Beck knows is that her name is Roseanna, that she came from Lincoln, Nebraska, and that she could have been strangled by any one of 85 people.
As the melancholic Beck narrows down the list of likely suspects, he is drawn increasingly to the enigma of the victim, a free-spirited traveller with a penchant for the casual sexual encounter, and to the psychopathology of a murderer with a distinctive - indeed, terrifying - sense of propriety.
With its authentically rendered settings, vividly realized characters, and command over the intricately interwoven details of police detection, Roseanna is a masterpiece of suspense and sadness.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Dee
- 19-11-11
Always listen to the sample!
I really should have used the sample arrow: I found Tom Weiner's delivery irritating I'm afraid, which overcame any interest in the characters. or plot. I hit the delete button and am just grateful that I only bought the first Martin Beck novel, rather than the whole set.
This is the first disappointing Audible purchase but I did learn a lesson.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful
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- Marilyn
- Worcester, United Kingdom
- 07-02-12
may be a good book but................
The reader of this book makes it completely unnlistenable. Its an awful voice, much to fast and therefore very difficult to follow, and as the voice and accent prevent you wanting to. I struggled but couldn't cope for more than 10 minutes.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
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- Derek Holman
- uk
- 10-02-13
So wanted this to good wish I'd played the sample
A great book can be ruined by the wrong narrator and this is a perfect example. With ten books in the series all read by the same reader, the publishers have made quite an investment a narrator who seems unable to create any atmosphere or nuance rendering the end product dull and unlistenable. For this reason I'm afraid I can't comment on the content.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
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Overall
- Odilon
- Belgium
- 24-01-12
very mediocre
I think this is a book that would read better than when listening to it. I found the numerous interviews with just the interviewee's initials in front very boring due to the repetition. The narrator doesn't liven things up at all. It is true that the book hasn't really aged (apart from not having any mobile phones in it and everyone smoking inside offices) but it just didn't hold my interest all the way through which is rare, especially for a book so short.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
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Overall
- Petra
- HEATHFIELD, United Kingdom
- 06-05-12
Read the book
This is a great story which was spoiled for me by the monotonous, droning narration.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Overall
- Koshk
- Telford - UK
- 07-11-12
Not the best
I have to agree with the other reviewers. I found the rapid delivery very frustrating but battled on.
I enjoyed the book and you could definetly see the direct lines from Martin Beck to Kurt Wallander and Harry Hole.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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- Carôle
- London, United Kingdom
- 21-08-13
Shoot the Narrator but, Enjoy the Novel
Would you consider the audio edition of Roseanna to be better than the print version?
This is a great novel. I infinitely prefer audio books because I no longer have the time to 'read' books. From previous reviews one gets the impression that this may be a slow moving book because the emphasis is on how long it takes to solve a murder, that it is not all solved in an hour, or a week. But actually this is a great story, and the length of time it takes to solve does not detract from that!
What other book might you compare Roseanna to, and why?
If you like Peter James' 'Roy Grace' novels, then you may well enjoy this. It is almost a Swedish equivalent!
Did Tom Weiner do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?
I have also listened to audiobooks by other Scandinavian authors, including Jussi Adler-Olsen, which I highly recommend, both for the storylines themselves and also because the narrator - Steven Pacey - puts so much life and character into the characters which, unfortunately, Tom Weiner does not do.
I note that he narrates all of the novels in this series and therefore I may not listen to the others, I think I'd rather read them. This is a shame because I do not get the opportunity to read as often as I'd like, so I may never get around to these. Mr Weiner has an unfortunate tone of voice and it is hard to distinguish between his characters. He has a very limited inflection range and at the beginning of the story, one gets the impression that the narration is all monotonal! It isn't, but it feels that way to begin with.
My advice: Play the sample first to decide if you can put up with his tone. If you can, then you'll enjoy this novel immensely!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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- Crocker
- 14-02-14
Curious narration
Not one to be pernickety, but the speed of the narrator plus his endless characters voices makes this book almost impossible to listen, this is a shame as the content is of the highest quality, I shall just have to wait until Sean Barrett has a go at it.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall
- clara
- Brasil
- 07-03-13
Terrible narration
Still considering if I can survive this narration. Mankell praised the authors and the book, but I don't know if I can make it to the end.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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- JANET
- 31-10-16
Dire narration
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
A different narrator. I had to stop listening.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
The way he mispronounced names, among other things.
Any additional comments?
As others have said, listen to the sample.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Pocket Empire
- 06-06-12
A real find
Would you consider the audio edition of Roseanna to be better than the print version?
Detective fiction pared back to its simplest elements yet absolutely gripping plot. We have another depressed Scandinavian cop but this would be the original as it dates back to the mid 60s before mobile phones or any kind of modern technology. How refreshing!
What other book might you compare Roseanna to and why?
The girl with the dragon tattoo - similar methods used
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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- Anniebligh
- 25-07-13
A good Listen
A sincere 'thank you' to Audible for producing this series and to who ever suggested they do so.
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What I like most about European Crime Writers starts here.
Personally I may have prefered a more neutral voice to Tom Weiner as the story is European and the 'American' voice jars a little at times. To his great credit though he does capture the mood very well. There is the dry intensity and routine of Crime Investigation that Weiner does capture while still giving glimpses of the investigators' humanity.
This was written before the mobile phone and the pc. People are still sending letters and using phone boxes.. Published in 1965. For a few hours I was a happy couch potato as I became immersed in the unfolding of this story and had the 'close the windows. lock the doors' response to a good thriller. This was the 1960's.
There does not seem to be a wasted word anywhere.
Hennig Mankell gives an excellent introduction to the authors, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö and the relevance they have to the European Crime Writers who came after them.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- peter
- 24-07-19
EXCELLENT
Each novel is introduced by a current crime author who describes his own first impressions of this ten book series. The introductions are good but when I go searching for novels by these current masters of the genre I am inevitably disappointed that their works are so unoriginal, heavy handed, overly violent, politically correct, formulaic, etc etc.
This novel Roseanna is the first in the series and may not be the best but is so much better than anything on offer today as new that I can only wish the authors were still writing and producing such satisfying and cleanly narrated stories. Highly recommended.