To construct their plots and make their points, Sjowal and Wahloo use a chronological narrative with frequent alternations between one place and another. In the early chapters of The Terrorists, the narration jumps from Stockholm's police headquarters where preparations are being made for an unpopular state visit, to an unnamed South American country where Gunwald Larsson is observing antiterrorist precautions, to the farcical trial of Rebecka Lind for bank robbery.

In each setting, and in each of the other novels, the themes are developed through the thoughts of Martin Beck and through conversations between him and his colleagues. The plot, on the other hand, depends on the thorough plodding of dedicated detectives following every clue. Every effort is made to show successful police work as the product of long hours with few immediate rewards. Perhaps the most typical situations the authors use to develop these ideas — and...