While it’s never been a favorite genre of mine, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö have permanently spoiled me on the police procedural. It simply cannot be done better than this series. In the hands of lesser writers, The Laughing Policeman is an uninspired, formulaic mystery-thriller that would likely come with a heavy dose of toxic masculinity if it were written stateside. A person shoots up a bus full of people and then disappears. Cops work hours on ends, scouring the city’s underbelly. Discussions about women’s sexuality, mental […]