Arne Dahl: Upp till toppen av berget

Good Swedish cop drama with some twists along the way. The only thing that jars is the character relationships which just don't seem cogent and get in the way of the main storylines. No romance, just sex!

This Swedish special crime unit drama just gets better and better. With the expected high- standard acting, directing and particularly writing, this series is now a must-watch in our household. I like the way the back-story focus on individual members is shifted from episode to episode, with us only awaiting backgrounds on the team's female leader and the tall, quiet bespectacled one.

This time the spotlight was on Norlander and his belated fatherhood and Chavez falling hard for a forensics specialist that big Gunnar had his eye on. I was pleased though that their doings were relegated to the background of a cunningly plotted tale which started off with a cop-killing, took in gangland thuggery and an opportunist theft before the major strand of a paedophile ring took centre stage.

Yes, the long arm of coincidence came into play more than once, especially when the boss uncovers a major clue in a five year old magazine she happens to browse whilst getting her hair done, but otherwise the story gets you where you need to be efficiently but stylishly, with the chase scenes and climactic moments handled especially well.

I strongly recommend this series, it's less bleak and quirky than either 'The Bridge" or "The Killing" and probably more mundane in many respects than its two more celebrated predecessors but I find I'm possibly enjoying it even more than them and just hope the high standard continues.