Lunchtime read: The Man on the Balcony

The idea of a comfort break on the reading front has always included a well written thriller. Along with dipping into Tintin the next best thing to relax with is a literary puzzle. Some of the best are written by husband and wife team Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo.

They produced ten books charting the career of Martin Beck and having read the first couple the third was a birthday present from last year. Now seemed like a good point to drag it out.

The start does not start to fall into place until around the 7th chapter with the discovery of a murdered child in the park. Up to that point there has been a mysterious man watching children from his balcony and a mugger preying on middle aged and old people in the park. Martin Beck has disappeared to get away from it all after being recently promoted and there seems to be friction in the police station after the staff were moved around.

But the discovery of a body should crystallise the narrative and drag Beck back into the centre of the action.

More tomorrow…