The Terrorists

Infobox Book
name = The Terrorists
title_orig = Terroristerna
translator =


image_caption =
author = Sjöwall and Wahlöö
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = Sweden
language = Swedish
series = "Martin Beck" series
subject =
genre =
publisher = Norstedts Förlag
release_date = 1975
english_release_date =
media_type =
pages =
isbn =
oclc =
preceded_by = Cop Killer
followed_by =

"The Terrorists" (1975) is a novel by Sjöwall and Wahlöö in their detective series revolving around Martin Beck and his team. (Original Swedish title: "Terroristerna".)

Plot summary

The story opens with a trial where an eighteen-year old woman is accused of a bank robbery she never intended to commit. Later, a pornographic film producer is found murdered at the home of his mistress. The main plot of the book involves Martin Beck leading a team of policemen to prevent a presumed terrorist attack on an highly unpopular American senator who is paying an official visit to Sweden.

Characters and their development

Lennart Kollberg has resigned from the force and plays only a minor role in this book. His absence is mostly compensated by a more important role for Gunvald Larsson; likewise, Einar Rönn is also more prominently featured. In this last Sjöwall and Wahlöö book, Martin Beck finally admits to himself that he actually likes working with Larsson, although he misses Kollberg.

Theobald Braxén, a defense attorney, is introduced as a rather comical and sympathetic character who loves taking up apparently hopeless cases. His antagonist in court is Sten "Bulldozer" Olsson, first introduced in The Locked Room.

Trivia

When "The Terrorists" was filmed in 1994, its plot was much altered. In the novel, the Swedish prime minister is murdered; that was deemed too-politically-sensitive, because, the Olof Palme assassination, in 1986, remained unsolved. When the novel was written, in 1974, Olof Palme was the prime minister of Sweden. "The Terrorists" was unfinished when Per Wahlöö died in June of 1975, so Maj Sjöwall finished writing it.