Agaton Sax and the Scotland Yard Mystery
by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1969)
from Agaton Sax och det gamla pipskägget (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 1961)
![Book cover: “Agaton Sax and the Scotland Yard Mystery” by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1969) [from Agaton Sax och det gamla pipskägget (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 1961)]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Franzen_Agaton-Sax-Scotland-Yard-Mystery.jpg)
Agaton Sax is at his masterful best in this MG detective/action romp. The crime is sensational and the Boss makes for a worthy criminal adversary (with suitably inept gang). The scramble-talk, however, becomes a little tiresome when not used for comic effect.
Agaton Sax and the Cashless Billionaires
by Nils-Olof Franzén; trans. Kenton Hall; ill. Mike Bryson (Oak Tree Books, 2022)
Good, lively fun to begin with, though degenerating into a tangled mess that Agaton Sax plays no real part in unravelling (save an explanation in retrospect). It’s easy to see why Franzén wasn’t entirely satisfied with this instalment, and left it untranslated.
Agaton Sax and the Max Brothers
by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1970) [also published as “Agaton Sax and the Bank Robbers”]
![Book cover: “Agaton Sax and the Max Brothers” by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1970) [also published as “Agaton Sax and the Bank Robbers”]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Franzen_Agaton-Sax-Max-Brothers.jpg)
Assured and often droll (especially the conversations) but lacking the madcap joie de vivre of other Agaton Sax capers. The great detective’s secretive master-plan lacks the usual proactiveness—he and Lispington mostly trail after the crooks, indulging them until an unlikely denouement.
Agaton Sax and the Colossus of Rhodes
by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (André Deutsch, 1972) [From the Swedish Agaton Sax och den bortkomne mr Lispington, 1966]
There’s plenty of fun to be had following Swedish super sleuth Agaton Sax in his masterly pursuit of the world’s most dastardly criminals. The focus on bureaucratic filibuster and a sequence of muddles and misunderstandings, however, renders the plot a little scattershot.
Agaton Sax and the Diamond Thieves
by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake; trans. Evelyn Ramsden (Andre Deutsch, 1965)
The fourth book in Franzén’s detective series but the first in English translation. Agaton Sax retains his customary self-assurance, yet the story in this instance seems a little extemporised and so he ends up in pursuit rather than mastery of the plot.
Agaton Sax and Lispington’s Grandfather Clock
by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1978)
The last of Franzén’s Agaton Sax books sees the great detective once again triumphant in the face of nefarious criminal undertakings, the harried mishaps of his good friend Inspector Lispington, and even the unfortunate magnetism of Andreas Kark. A fittingly ebullient finale.
Agaton Sax and the Haunted House
by Nils-Olof Franzén; illustrated by Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1975)
Bolstered by Blake’s zesty drawings, Franzén gives YA readers the perfect introduction to crime fiction. His irrepressibly competent Swedish detective Agaton Sax, along with the harried, hapless Inspector Lispington, form a memorable duo fighting the bumbling wiles of the international criminal fraternity.