Word: gunvald
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...himself, chief (since The Abominable Man) of Sweden's National Homicide Squad. A laconic fellow with bad digestion and a fear of flying, he has only two diversions: building model boats and working jigsaw puzzles. In The Man on the Balcony, Beck considers his close associates: "He disliked Gunvald Larsson and had no high opinion of Rönn. He had no high opinion of himself either, for that matter." That is one of Beck's few mistakes in judgment. The dyspeptic, broody official is that rarest creation, an ideal policeman...
...garrulous perfectionist. Like Holmes and Hercule Poirot, he deeply believes that "chance has no part in police work"-but his hunches tend to be inspired. These two are supported by a sturdy cast: Fredrik Melander, who has a prodigious memory and spends much of his day in the bathroom; Gunvald Larsson, an impetuous dropout from what he calls "upper-class riffraff;" Einar Rönn, who writes execrable official reports; Per Mänsonn, who is chief in Malmö, where trouble often occurs (and where the Wahlöös lived). Finally, there are the Keystone Klutzes, Kvant...
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