Order of Book Series
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Per Wahloo Books in Order

Per Wahloo has written 15 books, published between 1960 and 1975. The first book is A Necessary Action / The Lorry (1960) and the newest is The Terrorists (1975). Publication order is the reading order below. 10 of the 15 books listed here are in the Martin Beck series, which has its own page: Martin Beck books in order.

Books
15
Published
1960–1975
Pages on record
3,048 in 13 of 15 books
Reading time
51–76 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,048 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 13 of 15 titles with a page count on record.

See all 15 books in order Printable Per Wahloo checklist
Photo of Per Wahloo, author

Per Wahlöö (5 August 1926 to 22 June 1975), also credited in English as Peter Wahloo, was a Swedish author born in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland. Wahlöö and partner Maj Sjöwall wrote ten novels about Martin Beck, a Stockholm police detective, published from 1965 to 1975. The Laughing Policeman, the fourth Beck novel, won the 1971 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel. Wahlöö and Sjöwall also wrote novels separately. The catalogue lists 15 books from A Necessary Action / The Lorry (1960) to The Terrorists (1975), plus an Inspector Jensen series.

How many Per Wahloo books are there?

Per Wahloo has 15 books, released between 1960 and 1975. They include 2 series and 3 titles listed outside any series.

Per Wahloo Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 15 Per Wahloo books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of A Necessary Action / The Lorry by Per Wahloo (1960)
  2. Cover of The Assignment by Per Wahloo (1963)
  3. Cover of Murder on the Thirty-First Floor by Per Wahloo, book 1 of the Inspector Jensen series (1964)
  4. Cover of Roseanna by Per Wahloo, book 1 of the Martin Beck series (1965)
  5. Cover of The Generals by Per Wahloo (1965)
  6. Cover of The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Per Wahloo, book 2 of the Martin Beck series (1966)
  7. Cover of The Man on the Balcony by Per Wahloo, book 3 of the Martin Beck series (1967)
  8. Cover of The Laughing Policeman / Investigation of Murder by Per Wahloo, book 4 of the Martin Beck series (1968)
  9. Cover of The Fire Engine that Disappeared by Per Wahloo, book 5 of the Martin Beck series (1969)
  10. Cover of The Abominable Man by Per Wahloo, book 7 of the Martin Beck series (1971)
  11. Cover of The Locked Room by Per Wahloo, book 8 of the Martin Beck series (1972)
  12. Cover of Cop Killer by Per Wahloo, book 9 of the Martin Beck series (1974)
  13. Cover of The Terrorists by Per Wahloo, book 10 of the Martin Beck series (1975)
  1. 1
    A Necessary Action / The Lorry1960 · 275 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1960275
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Assignment1963 · confirmed 2/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Murder on the Thirty-First FloorInspector Jensen #11964 · 207 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964207
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    RoseannaMartin Beck #11965 · 212 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1965212
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Generals1965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Man Who Went Up in SmokeMartin Beck #21966 · 183 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1966183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Man on the BalconyMartin Beck #31967 · 180 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1967180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Steel SpringInspector Jensen #21968 · 188 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1968188
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Laughing Policeman / Investigation of MurderMartin Beck #41968 · 211 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1968211
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Fire Engine that DisappearedMartin Beck #51969 · 213 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969213
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Murder at the SavoyMartin Beck #61970 · 204 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1970204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Abominable ManMartin Beck #71971 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Locked RoomMartin Beck #81972 · 311 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972311
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Cop KillerMartin Beck #91974 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1974288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The TerroristsMartin Beck #101975 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1975288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Per Wahloo series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Per Wahloo books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Inspector Jensen in order

2 books
  1. 1. Murder on the Thirty-First Floor
  2. 2. The Steel Spring

Standalone books

3 books

3 Per Wahloo titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Per Wahloo books in order?

You only need to read Per Wahloo books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Per Wahloo

Start with Roseanna (1965), the first Martin Beck book. The earliest catalogued title overall is A Necessary Action / The Lorry (1960).

What is the newest Per Wahloo book?

The Terrorists (1975) is the newest Per Wahloo book released so far.

Is there a new Per Wahloo book coming?

No next Per Wahloo book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Per Wahloo has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Per Wahloo. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Edgar Awards1971Won

Per Wahloo at a glance

Died
Per Wahloo died in 1975, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Per Wahloo on record dates from 1975.
Release pace
Per Wahloo books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
3,048 pages across the 13 of 15 books with a recorded length, a median of 212 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Per Wahloo books, 10 of 15, were published in the 1960s.

What the Per Wahloo books are about

All 15 Per Wahloo books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: police is tagged on 11 of 15. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.