The Terrorists

Steven Mackintosh stars as Martin Beck, with Neil Pearson as Lennart Kollberg, in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of The Terrorists. The Martin Beck books are widely acknowledged as some of the most influential detective novels ever written. Written by Swedish husband and wife team Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö between 1965-1975, the 10-book series set a gold standard for all subsequent Scandanavian crime fiction. Beck was the original flawed policeman, working with a motley collection of colleagues to uncover the cruelty and injustice lurking beneath the surface of Sweden's seemingly liberal, democratic society. In The Terrorists, adapted from the final book in the series, Martin Beck leads a team trying to prevent a terrorist attack on a controversial American Senator paying an official visit to Sweden. Meanwhile, an 18-year-old is accused of a bank robbery she never meant to commit. Translated by Joan Tate and dramatised by Katie Hims.