The shocking sixth novel in the Martin Beck mystery series by the internationally renowned crime writing duo by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, finds Beck investigating a brutal assassination. When Viktor Palmgren, a powerful Swedish industrialist is shot during his after-dinner speech in the luxurious Hotel Savoy, it sends a shiver down the spine of the international money markets and terrifies the tiny town of Malmo. No one in the restaurant can identify the gunman, and local police are sheepishly baffled. Thats when Beck takes over the scene and quickly picks through Palmgrens background. What he finds is a web of vice so despicable that its hard for him to imagine who wouldnt want Palmgren dead, but that doesnt stop him and his team of dedicated detectives from tackling one of their most intriguing cases yet.