The Laughing Policeman
A Martin Beck Police Mystery
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $15.56
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Tom Weiner
About this listen
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Roseanna
- A Martin Beck Mystery
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a July afternoon, the body of a young woman is dredged from Sweden's 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 Beck narrows down the list of likely suspects, he is drawn increasingly to the enigma of the victim, a free-spirited traveler with a penchant for the casual sexual encounter.
-
-
5 Times Now
- By Brad Simkulet on 09-10-16
By: Maj Sjöwall, and others
-
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- A Harry Potter Hogwarts Library Book
- By: J.K. Rowling, Newt Scamander
- Narrated by: Eddie Redmayne
- Length: 1 hr and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An approved textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since its first publication, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an indispensable guide to the magical beasts of the wizarding world. It showcases a menagerie of magical creatures, explained enchantingly by noted magizoologist, Newt Scamander, who you may remember from the film series of the same name.
-
-
whoops
- By A. Bunnell on 04-19-17
By: J.K. Rowling, and others
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
The Last Wish
- By: Andrzej Sapkowski
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin. And a cold-blooded killer. His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil, and not everything fair is good...and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
-
-
Better than the show, of course!
- By Cheryl Dias on 01-07-20
-
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- By: Douglas Adams
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last 15 years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
-
-
HHTGH - Lightly Fried
- By J. Medany on 05-08-05
By: Douglas Adams
-
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- A Lisbeth Salander Novel
- By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
-
-
A Classic Mystery with Wonderful Characters
- By Robert on 12-22-08
By: Stieg Larsson, and others
-
Roseanna
- A Martin Beck Mystery
- By: Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a July afternoon, the body of a young woman is dredged from Sweden's 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 Beck narrows down the list of likely suspects, he is drawn increasingly to the enigma of the victim, a free-spirited traveler with a penchant for the casual sexual encounter.
-
-
5 Times Now
- By Brad Simkulet on 09-10-16
By: Maj Sjöwall, and others
-
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- A Harry Potter Hogwarts Library Book
- By: J.K. Rowling, Newt Scamander
- Narrated by: Eddie Redmayne
- Length: 1 hr and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An approved textbook at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry since its first publication, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an indispensable guide to the magical beasts of the wizarding world. It showcases a menagerie of magical creatures, explained enchantingly by noted magizoologist, Newt Scamander, who you may remember from the film series of the same name.
-
-
whoops
- By A. Bunnell on 04-19-17
By: J.K. Rowling, and others
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
The Last Wish
- By: Andrzej Sapkowski
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin. And a cold-blooded killer. His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil, and not everything fair is good...and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
-
-
Better than the show, of course!
- By Cheryl Dias on 01-07-20
-
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- By: Douglas Adams
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last 15 years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
-
-
HHTGH - Lightly Fried
- By J. Medany on 05-08-05
By: Douglas Adams
-
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- A Lisbeth Salander Novel
- By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
-
-
A Classic Mystery with Wonderful Characters
- By Robert on 12-22-08
By: Stieg Larsson, and others
-
Redshirts
- A Novel with Three Codas
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
-
-
Not his Wheal-house
- By P. Stover on 09-16-13
By: John Scalzi
-
Cloud Atlas
- A Novel
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Kim Mai Guest, and others
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite.... Abruptly, the action jumps to Belgium in 1931, where Robert Frobisher, a disinherited bisexual composer, contrives his way into the household of an infirm maestro who has a beguiling wife and a nubile daughter....
-
-
thoroughly enjoyed
- By Elizabeth on 01-05-08
By: David Mitchell
-
The Racketeer
- By: John Grisham
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered. Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five.... Nothing is as it seems and everything’s fair game in this wickedly clever new novel from John Grisham, the undisputed master of the legal thriller.
-
-
Garbage
- By cristina on 11-29-12
By: John Grisham
-
Patriot Games
- By: Tom Clancy
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 22 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is fall. CIA analyst Jack Ryan, historian and former Marine, is vacationing in London with his wife and young daughter. Suddenly, right before his eyes, a terrorist group launches its deadly attack. Instinctively, he dives forward to break it up, and is shot. It is not until he wakes up in the hospital that he learns whose lives he has saved - the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
-
-
Oldie but Goodie!
- By K. Masheter Deal on 08-13-12
By: Tom Clancy
-
Needful Things
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King
- Length: 25 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leland Gaunt opens a new shop in Castle Rock called Needful Things. Anyone who enters his store finds the object of his or her lifelong dreams and desires: a prized baseball card, a healing amulet. In addition to a token payment, Gaunt requests that each person perform a little "deed", usually a seemingly innocent prank played on someone else from town. These practical jokes cascade out of control, and soon the entire town is doing battle with itself. Only Sheriff Alan Pangborn suspects that Gaunt is behind the population's increasingly violent behavior.
-
-
Please! No Distracting Keyboard Music
- By Andrea on 04-23-16
By: Stephen King
-
The Keeper of Lost Causes
- Department Q, Book 1
- By: Jussi Adler-Olsen
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carl Mørck used to be one of Denmark’s best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl - who didn’t draw his weapon - blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl’s got only a stack of cold cases for company. His colleagues snicker, but Carl may have the last laugh, because one file keeps nagging at him: A liberal politician vanished five years earlier and is presumed dead. But she isn’t dead...yet.
-
-
Dark, Cold, and Danish
- By Ted on 11-28-12
-
The Last Don
- By: Mario Puzo
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The last don is Domenico Clericuzio, a wise and ruthless man who is determined to see his heirs established in legitimate society but whose vision is threatened when secrets from the family's past spark a vicious war between two blood cousins. This is a mesmerizing tale that takes us inside the equally corrupt worlds of the mob, the movie industry and the casinos - where beautiful actresses and ruthless hit men are ruled by lust and violence.
-
-
Daunte has a Bloody Mouth
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-06-13
By: Mario Puzo
-
Lucky
- By: Marissa Stapley
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She’s ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity - when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she’s learned the art of the scam. When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: Cashing in the winning ticket means she’ll be arrested for her crimes.
-
-
Not Lucky for me
- By Gigi a. on 12-21-21
By: Marissa Stapley
-
Son of a Wanted Man (Dramatized)
- An Audio Dramatization
- By: Louis L'Amour
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 3 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a remote corner of Utah lies the secret outlaw kingdom of Ben Curry. For 15 years Curry has ruled supreme, as his men have pulled jobs from Canada to Mexico. But the king is getting old...he wants to turn his legacy over to someone younger, tougher. Mike Bastian is Ben's adopted son, a young man who can handle a knife, a gun, his fists, but a man who's never broken the law. Now, as treachery explodes among Ben's riders, and two honest lawmen - Tyrel Sackett and Borden Chantry - begin to zero in on the gang, Mike must choose....
-
-
Outstanding Production of a Powerful Story
- By Kappavpi on 01-12-05
By: Louis L'Amour
-
Faceless Killers
- A Kurt Wallander Mystery
- By: Henning Mankell, Steven T. Murray - translator
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was a crime of senseless violence. On a cold night in a remote Swedish farmhouse, an elderly farmer was bludgeoned to death, his wife left to die with a noose around her neck. As if this didn't present enough problems for Ystad police inspector Kurt Wallander, the dying woman's last word, his only tangible clue, were foreign. If publicized, they could be the match that would inflame Sweden's already smoldering anti-immigrant sentiments.
-
-
A new favorite detective series!
- By Joanna on 09-03-10
By: Henning Mankell, and others
-
Altar of Eden
- A Novel
- By: James Rollins
- Narrated by: Paula Christensen
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A master at combining heart-stopping suspense and scientific intrigue, New York Times best-selling author James Rollins returns with a thrilling adventure like no other--a shocking story of cruel genetic experiments done in the name of national security and, most disturbing of all, tied to a secret history of the Book of Genesis.
-
-
Very Enjoyable
- By Dawitski on 01-24-10
By: James Rollins
-
Meet the Tiger
- A Simon “The Saint” Templar Novel
- By: Leslie Charteris
- Narrated by: John Rayburn
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fiction world of today needs a “Saint” more than it ever did. For years now that scene has been dominated by the “anti-heroes"—those grim gray operators in a sunless sub-culture where global issues are worked out with totally unemotional pragmatism, those hapless uninspired puppets manipulated and expended by ruthlessly dedicated little brothers of Big Brother. It made morbidly fascinating narrative, but it never gave anyone a lift until it climaxed in the hyper-gadgeted parodies of 007 extravaganzas.
-
-
droning
- By Kindle Customer on 04-27-24
By: Leslie Charteris
Editorial reviews
Despite grim bones, The Laughing Policeman mostly tracks as an acidically funny, chewy tangle of suspense framed by moral decrees on nymphomania, corruption, Ritalina pep pills, and the Vietnam War. Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall are the husband and wife crime novelists behind the 10-volume Martin Beck series. The Laughing Policeman is audiobook four. No need to download sequentially though. These are sturdy enough to stand alone as individually realized thrillers.
in this installment, homicide detectives Beck and Lennart Kollberg puzzle out why nine strangers, including an ambitious rookie from their own squad, were gunned down on a red double-decker bus in Stockholm. Neither Beck nor cynical, plump Kollberg are reverential about the gumshoe grind, which lends The Laughing Policeman authentic hum as a police procedural. Wahlöö and Sjöwall reveal ingenuity in plotting both old and new murders. Their quirky gang is orderly and methodical in chasing leads; ruling out suspects; exposing long-buried secrets; and generally picking away at clues until, finally, a hunch pays off.
The Laughing Policeman is atmospheric and briny as narrated by Tom Weiner, who deftly shifts between regional Swedish dialects without plunging into farce. Beck's interior weariness can strain Weiner. At times he cakes on a ragged fatigue, transmitting Beck as Hamlet. Weiner also lumbers as Åsa Torell, the brittle fiancée of the murdered rookie. He waters down her moody rages of dialogue into a whispery purr, so when Åsa shrieks at Kollberg, "Go to the devil!", it's like he's sucking a caramel. The shadowy Kollberg is Weiner's sweet spot, and he teases out the newlywed detective's lust for his wife, Gun, with a pleading, gravelly tug in his throat. Välkommen to love, Aquavit, and moody vapors. Nita Rao
Critic reviews
- Edgar Award, Best Novel, 1971
"I've read The Laughing Policeman six or eight times. Each time I reach the final twist on the final page, I shiver afresh." (Jonathan Franzen)
"A tantalizing, intricate tale." (New York Times Book Review)
Related to this topic
-
Pietr the Latvian
- Inspector Maigret, Book 1
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
-
-
Long live Maigret
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-19-14
By: Georges Simenon, and others
-
Babylon Berlin
- Gereon Rath, Book 1
- By: Volker Kutscher
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Berlin, 1929. Detective Inspector Rath was a successful career officer in the Cologne Homicide Division before a shooting incident in which he inadvertently killed a man. He has been transferred to the vice squad in Berlin, a job he detests even though he finds a new friend in his boss, Chief Inspector Wolter. There is seething unrest in the city, and the Commissioner of Police has ordered the vice squad to ruthlessly enforce the ban on May Day demonstrations.
-
-
It's no Bernie Gunther Mystery ...
- By Brian English on 01-28-18
By: Volker Kutscher
-
Montalbano’s First Case and Other Stories
- The Inspector Montalbano, Book 0.5
- By: Andrea Camilleri
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories, Andrea Camilleri has selected 21 short stories, written with his trademark wit and humor, that follow Italy's famous detective through highlight cases of his career. From the title story, featuring a young Deputy Montalbano newly assigned to Vigàta, to "Montalbano Says No", in which the inspector makes a late-night call to Camilleri himself to refuse an outlandish case, this volume is an essential addition to any fan's collection and a wonderful way to introduce listeners to the internationally best-selling series.
-
-
THIS BOOK NEEDS TO BE LISTENED TO FIRST!!!
- By Reba on 12-31-16
By: Andrea Camilleri
-
Cop Hater
- 87th Precinct Series, Book 1
- By: Ed McBain
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a sniper begins gunning down cops from the 87th Precinct in cold blood, it’s up to Detective Steve Carella to solve the case. With three cops already dead, Carella delves into the city’s underworld to search for the killer.
-
-
Dang, it's about time for the 87th Precinct
- By Eric J. Toll on 05-17-14
By: Ed McBain
-
Dead Before Dying
- By: Deon Meyer
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three men who have nothing in common are found murdered in Cape Town, and the string of vicious killings pushes the city toward panic. Captain Mat Joubert is left scrambling for answers in a case that might be his last chance to prove that his life's slow spiral will not pull him under.
-
-
South African mystery, very good.
- By Kathleen on 09-29-12
By: Deon Meyer
-
A Grave Talent
- A Kate Martinelli Mystery, Book 1
- By: Laurie R. King
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The unthinkable has happened in a small community outside of San Francisco. A series of shocking murders has occurred, the victims far too innocent and defenseless. For Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to Homicide and paired with a seasoned cop who's less than thrilled to be handed a green partner, it's a difficult case that just keeps getting harder. Then the detectives receive what appears to be a case-breaking lead.
-
-
Another Fantastic Series by Laurie R. King
- By Anna on 03-29-15
By: Laurie R. King
-
Pietr the Latvian
- Inspector Maigret, Book 1
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
-
-
Long live Maigret
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-19-14
By: Georges Simenon, and others
-
Babylon Berlin
- Gereon Rath, Book 1
- By: Volker Kutscher
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Berlin, 1929. Detective Inspector Rath was a successful career officer in the Cologne Homicide Division before a shooting incident in which he inadvertently killed a man. He has been transferred to the vice squad in Berlin, a job he detests even though he finds a new friend in his boss, Chief Inspector Wolter. There is seething unrest in the city, and the Commissioner of Police has ordered the vice squad to ruthlessly enforce the ban on May Day demonstrations.
-
-
It's no Bernie Gunther Mystery ...
- By Brian English on 01-28-18
By: Volker Kutscher
-
Montalbano’s First Case and Other Stories
- The Inspector Montalbano, Book 0.5
- By: Andrea Camilleri
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories, Andrea Camilleri has selected 21 short stories, written with his trademark wit and humor, that follow Italy's famous detective through highlight cases of his career. From the title story, featuring a young Deputy Montalbano newly assigned to Vigàta, to "Montalbano Says No", in which the inspector makes a late-night call to Camilleri himself to refuse an outlandish case, this volume is an essential addition to any fan's collection and a wonderful way to introduce listeners to the internationally best-selling series.
-
-
THIS BOOK NEEDS TO BE LISTENED TO FIRST!!!
- By Reba on 12-31-16
By: Andrea Camilleri
-
Cop Hater
- 87th Precinct Series, Book 1
- By: Ed McBain
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a sniper begins gunning down cops from the 87th Precinct in cold blood, it’s up to Detective Steve Carella to solve the case. With three cops already dead, Carella delves into the city’s underworld to search for the killer.
-
-
Dang, it's about time for the 87th Precinct
- By Eric J. Toll on 05-17-14
By: Ed McBain
-
Dead Before Dying
- By: Deon Meyer
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three men who have nothing in common are found murdered in Cape Town, and the string of vicious killings pushes the city toward panic. Captain Mat Joubert is left scrambling for answers in a case that might be his last chance to prove that his life's slow spiral will not pull him under.
-
-
South African mystery, very good.
- By Kathleen on 09-29-12
By: Deon Meyer
-
A Grave Talent
- A Kate Martinelli Mystery, Book 1
- By: Laurie R. King
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The unthinkable has happened in a small community outside of San Francisco. A series of shocking murders has occurred, the victims far too innocent and defenseless. For Detective Kate Martinelli, just promoted to Homicide and paired with a seasoned cop who's less than thrilled to be handed a green partner, it's a difficult case that just keeps getting harder. Then the detectives receive what appears to be a case-breaking lead.
-
-
Another Fantastic Series by Laurie R. King
- By Anna on 03-29-15
By: Laurie R. King
-
Blind Goddess
- A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel, Book 1
- By: Tom Geddes - translator, Anne Holt
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A small-time drug dealer is found battered to death on the outskirts of the Norwegian capital, Oslo. A young Dutchman, walking aimlessly in central Oslo covered in blood, is taken into custody but refuses to talk. When he is informed that the woman who discovered the body, Karen Borg, is a lawyer, he demands her as his defender, although her specialty is civil, not criminal, law. The young man is adamant: he will speak to Karen Borg, and to her alone.
-
-
Not Sure Why I Didn't Like It
- By Tracey Rains on 05-28-13
By: Tom Geddes - translator, and others
-
Until Proven Guilty
- J. P. Beaumont Series, Book 1
- By: J. A. Jance
- Narrated by: Gene Engene
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lurking in the dark corners of J. P. Beaumont's bizarre case was not just a demented mind obsessed with murder, but secrets so deadly that even a street-tough cop could die guessing.
-
-
Until proven guilty
- By Jean on 04-21-11
By: J. A. Jance
-
Snow White Must Die
- By: Nele Neuhaus
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a rainy November day, police detectives Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein are summoned to a mysterious traffic accident: a woman has fallen from a pedestrian bridge onto a car driving underneath. According to a witness, the woman may have been pushed. The investigation leads Pia and Oliver to a small village, and the home of the victim, Rita Cramer. On a September evening eleven years earlier, two seventeen-year-old girls vanished from the village without a trace.
-
-
Snow White and the Seven Red Herrings
- By Mel on 01-17-13
By: Nele Neuhaus
-
God Save the Mark
- A Novel of Crime and Confusion
- By: Donald E. Westlake
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What, you ask, is a Fred Fitch? Well, for one thing, Fred Fitch is the man with the most extensive collection of fake receipts, phony bills of sale, and counterfeit sweepstakes tickets in the Western hemisphere, and possibly in the entire world. For another thing, Fred Fitch may be the only New York City resident in the twentieth century to buy a money machine.
-
-
American Gods for the Grifter set!
- By William R. on 09-06-11
-
The Case of the Velvet Claws
- Perry Mason Series, Book 1
- By: Erle Stanley Gardner
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Married Eva Griffin has been caught with a prominent congressman, and is ready to pay the editor of a sleazy tabloid hush money to protect the politician. But first Perry Mason tracks down the publisher of the blackmailing tabloid and discovers a shocking secret, which eventually leads to Mason being accused of murder. This is the first Perry Mason mystery and our introduction to secretary Della Street, detective Paul Drake, and the great lawyer himself.
-
-
Enter Perry Mason
- By David S. Mathew on 04-10-17
-
Knots and Crosses
- Inspector Rebus, Book 1
- By: Ian Rankin
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Detective John Rebus' city is being terrorized by a baffling series of murders…and he's tied to a maniac by an invisible knot of blood. As the ghoulish killings mount and the tabloid headlines scream, Rebus cannot stop the feverish shrieks from within his own mind. Because he isn't just one cop trying to catch a killer - he's the man who's got all the pieces to the puzzle…
-
-
I've Read Mixed Reviews and Can Marry Them
- By Steve Mac on 02-13-16
By: Ian Rankin
-
The Big Over Easy
- A Nursery Crime
- By: Jasper Fforde
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's Easter in Reading, a bad time for eggs, and no one can remember the last sunny day. Ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III, minor baronet, ex-convict, and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. All the evidence points to his ex-wife, who has conveniently shot herself.
-
-
Total Whimsy
- By Bruce Sabin on 08-10-05
By: Jasper Fforde
-
The Last Policeman
- The Last Policeman, Book 1
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway? Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.
-
-
Not your regular mystery
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 09-20-16
By: Ben H. Winters
-
Jar City
- By: Arnaldur Indridason
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gold Dagger Award winner Arnaldur Indridason’s novels featuring Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson became international sensations on their way to selling millions of copies worldwide. The debut of morose detective Sveinsson finds the inspector and his team delving into the murder of a retiree with horrifying secrets.
-
-
Cerebral Police Procedural
- By Aaron on 09-14-13
-
Night Soldiers
- By: Alan Furst
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 18 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author Alan Furst is widely recognized as master of the historical spy novel. Furst’s works are vivid evocations of long-forgotten heroes and feature plots that unfold to the inexorable cadence of history. Night Soldiers is a simultaneously thrilling and illuminating tale of espionage set in 1934.
-
-
Best Alan Furst novel!
- By Placeholder on 04-27-11
By: Alan Furst
-
New York Dead
- Stone Barrington, Book 1
- By: Stuart Woods
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone is always telling Stone Barrington that he’s too smart to be a cop, but it’s pure luck that places him on the streets in the dead of night, just in time to witness the horrifying incident that turns his life inside out. Suddenly he is on the front page of every New York newspaper and his life is hopelessly entwined in the increasingly shocking life (and perhaps death) of Sasha Nijinsky, the country’s hottest and most beautiful television anchorwoman.
-
-
Ridiculous
- By laall on 11-11-13
By: Stuart Woods
-
The Eighth Commandment
- By: Lawrence Sanders
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Damaretion, the prized Greek coin from Archibald Havistock's collection, disappears and appraiser Mary Lou "Dunk" Bateson comes under suspicion, Bateson, a cop, and an insurance investigator set out to solve the crime.
-
-
It was a nice listen
- By John on 10-01-12
By: Lawrence Sanders
What listeners say about The Laughing Policeman
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Regina
- 05-19-10
Review - Laughing Policeman
It's a classic, but a little too much pausing the action to denounce the real criminals - capitalists. Very late 1960s. Dreary too, and sexist. But hey, it moves right along. I don't regret buying it. Narrator ok.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AlexD
- 05-12-21
Good book, awful narrator
I really wanted to like it, but it's impossible. No idea of what the narrator was trying to do, slurring word endings an mispronouncing in a monotonous annoying voice. Skip it and read the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nancy
- 01-12-22
Surprise me
I really didn’t expect this to be as good as it was lots of twist interns a bit of humor and a good story great decoration I enjoyed it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sara
- 05-17-23
Another good Martin Beck
Excellent performance of a very good follow-up to the previous Martin Beck procedurals. Great series.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SM
- 02-07-19
hard-boiled genre, not nordic noir narrator
Wrong pronunciation of Swedish names and places, slurring words and even whole sentences when imitating either Humphrey-Bogart-hard-boiled-detective-style accents or British accents. Only God knows how he even made the match between accents and characters (neither hard-boiled nor British accent have anything to do with Swedish characters). In order to understand his staccato narration + the slurred words I had to listen to this audiobook at 0.85 speed and only sometime near the end of the book I managed to figure out the names of some (not all) of the detectives (except for Martin Beck, who, luckily enough, has a very simple name). You can actually hear when he stumbled over Swedish names and had to do the recording over again. This is something I might expect from a mediocre volunteer on Librivox, not from a professional narrator working on a commercial production.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Meg
- 07-12-09
Enjoyable
An absorbing fast paced story; well written. The implied social commentary is a little depressing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- BTRart
- 10-06-23
The Laughing Policeman
A fine tuned spy caper by Maj & Per, Every character has unique edges & nuances of style. 😎
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kenzo
- 12-05-23
one of the great Martin Beck stories
This is a wonderful novel, one of the best in a great series. Unfortunately the narration leaves a lot to be desired - in particular the voicing of the various characters is forced and unnatural. Pity.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Sue Church
- 09-30-21
Boring
Don't waste your time. The narrator warns you in the prologue that the authors were Marxists, and cautions that we now consider the hippy era free love to be normal behavior, blah, blah. sorry, I don't need anyone to tell me how to listen to a book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Knowing What Matters
- 03-06-23
I found this almost impossible to follow, and do not recommend it to anyone unless you’re Swedish
1- the names of the characters all sound alike, and they did not do a good job of explaining who was who, and making sure we understood the different characters.
2-the voices for the different characters were horrendous and too many sound alike, so it made it hard to distinguish, who was saying what when.
3- as an American you needed to either be reading the book so you see the names in print over and over again with the spelling or you need to see it as a movie to visualize the characters.
4- I stuck with this until the last 45 minutes. I will play parts over and over again, trying to discern who was who, and what was actually happening. Eventually, I got tired of putting in so much effort and just decided to let the end play. I never exactly understood who did it or why.
5-evidently, the movie starred Walter Matthau as Detective Beck. I thought this was interesting, considering that detective Martin back has the smallest part.
I absolutely do not recommend spending your time listening to this. Watch the movie instead.
Oh, and by the way, I have never ever recommended watching a movie over reading the book. That is how poor a production I feel this was,
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!