The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (Martin Beck #2)

by Maj Sjöwall

(Martin Beck, the born detective and famous observer, constantly occupied making useless observations and storing them away for future use. Doesn’t even have bats in his belfry—they couldn’t get in for all the crap in the way.)

“Being a policeman,” said Szluka, “is not a profession. And it’s certainly not a vocation either. It’s a curse.”