Roseanna (1967)

A body recovered from a Swedish lake gives Martin Beck and his colleagues very little to begin with, including no secure identification. Sjöwall and Wahlöö build the case through enquiries, records, photographs and cooperation across borders over months. The attraction is seeing small, unglamorous contributions become usable evidence. A restrained starting point for readers who enjoy persistence more than spectacle; the victim's treatment and the eventual surveillance operation remain disturbing.