Hautalehto: Kylmä syli

I just finished Season Two having seen the first season soon after it came out. I loved the fact that it was set in Porvoo a city I don't know well but passed through on the coach dozens of times on the way to Kotka.

The stories were positively Renaissance in their complexity and plot twists. Unfortunately though, it was pretty easy to guess who the baddie was in Season Two. And as I'm useless at whodunnits I'm surprised Detective Chief Inspector Hautalehto didn't realise who it was either.

Nonetheless, we had a team that wasn't clichéd and of varying competences who all served to get to the bottom of things.

This wasn't the best police procedural I've ever seen, not by a long way, but I enjoyed it.

This Finnish crime drama is in Porvoo, a city on the Gulf of Finland. As it starts the police, led by Antti Hautalehto while his boss is on sick leave, is waiting for the arrival of new recruit Tero to arrive. He makes an impression by tackling a knife wielding criminal into the river before he gets to the office! At a work party Taro bumps into somebody he knew as a child. Outside he sees his man arguing with others. The next morning his wife reports him missing. The search finds a body in the river but it has been their too long. Later the missing man's body is found... surely just an accident. A third incident, which leaves a man in a coma, leads police to ponder if it could be something more sinister. The viewer is in no doubt as we see him pulled into the water. As the investigation progresses a prime suspect emerges; will he prove to be guilty or is being set up.

I have just finished watching the first season of this series and rather enjoyed it. The case is interesting and the characters are good; most obviously protagonist Antti, but also the rest of his team and those close to them. The identity of the chief suspect will keep viewers guessing as to his guilt. The location is great, especially as it takes place at Christmas when the city is covered in snow. While the story is fairly gritty there are some humorous moments such as Antti being awakened by his neighbour's festive musical garden gnomes! Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of European crime drama.

These comments are based on watching the first season in Finnish with English subtitles.