Order of Book Series
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Martin Beck Books in Order

Martin Beck by Per Wahloo contains 10 books, published between 1965 and 1975. The first book is Roseanna (1965) and the newest is The Terrorists (1975). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
10
Published
1965–1975
Total pages
2,378 across 10 books
Reading time
40–59 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,378 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute.

See all 10 books in order Printable Martin Beck checklist

Martin Beck is a Swedish police procedural series, credited here to Per Wahloo, running to exactly 10 books published between 1965 and 1975. Martin Beck is a Stockholm police detective, and the novels follow murder investigations through the machinery of the force. Roseanna (1965) opens the sequence and The Terrorists (1975) closes it; The Laughing Policeman (1968), also published as Investigation of Murder, sits in the middle. The books run short, at a median of 212 pages, and the series is complete.

How many Martin Beck books are there?

Martin Beck has 10 books, released between 1965 and 1975.

Martin Beck Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 10 Martin Beck 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 Roseanna by Per Wahloo, book 1 of the Martin Beck series (1965)
  2. Cover of The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Per Wahloo, book 2 of the Martin Beck series (1966)
  3. Cover of The Man on the Balcony by Per Wahloo, book 3 of the Martin Beck series (1967)
  4. Cover of The Laughing Policeman / Investigation of Murder by Per Wahloo, book 4 of the Martin Beck series (1968)
  5. Cover of The Fire Engine that Disappeared by Per Wahloo, book 5 of the Martin Beck series (1969)
  6. Cover of The Abominable Man by Per Wahloo, book 7 of the Martin Beck series (1971)
  7. Cover of The Locked Room by Per Wahloo, book 8 of the Martin Beck series (1972)
  8. Cover of Cop Killer by Per Wahloo, book 9 of the Martin Beck series (1974)
  9. Cover of The Terrorists by Per Wahloo, book 10 of the Martin Beck series (1975)
  1. 1
    Roseanna1965 · 212 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1965212
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Man Who Went Up in Smoke1966 · 183 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1966183
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Man on the Balcony1967 · 180 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1967180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Laughing Policeman / Investigation of Murder1968 · 211 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1968211
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Fire Engine that Disappeared1969 · 213 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1969213
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Murder at the Savoy1970 · 204 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1970204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Abominable Man1971 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Locked Room1972 · 311 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1972311
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Cop Killer1974 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1974288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Terrorists1975 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1975288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Martin Beck Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Martin Beck books run from Roseanna (1965) to The Terrorists (1975), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Martin Beck in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Martin Beck books in order?

You should read the Martin Beck books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Martin Beck book also stands alone.

Where to start with Martin Beck

Start with Roseanna (1965), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Martin Beck book?

The Terrorists (1975) is the newest Martin Beck book released so far.

Is there a new Martin Beck book coming?

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

Martin Beck at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Martin Beck title on record dates from 1975, 51 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Martin Beck books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
2,378 pages across all 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 212 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Martin Beck books, 5 of 10, were published in the 1970s.

What the Martin Beck books are about

All 10 Martin Beck books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: beck, martin (fictitious character) is tagged on 9 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Per Wahloo

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.