Der Usedom-Krimi

These comments are based on watching the first five episodes, the only ones to date to be available in the UK. They were watched in German with English subtitles.

This German crime series is set on the island of Usedom, just off the coast, in the Baltic. The island is mostly German but the eastern tip is over the border in Poland.

As the series starts former prosecutor, Karin Lossow, is released from prison having served her time for the killing of her husband. Her daughter, Julia Thiel, is a senior police officer on the island and she isn't keen to re-establish a relationship with her mother. Each episode features a self-contained mystery which inevitably requires Julia to work with Polish colleagues... including one she is having an affair with. In the various cases Julia's family often seem to be tangential involved; if it isn't her mother it is her teenage daughter.

I rather enjoyed this series. Its new title here is clearly aiming to get on the 'Nordic Noir' bandwagon; this is a bit unfortunate as it doesn't have that feel. It might not be as light hearted as the likes of 'Midsomer Murders' but it certainly isn't as dark in tone as 'The Killing' or 'The Bridge'. The murder mysteries are interesting and provide enough suspects to keep the viewer guessing and the main characters are interesting; their relationships adding to the story rather than detracting from it. The setting added to the series; it is part of the world I knew nothing about and the fact that it was on the German/Polish border added to the interest. I hope further episodes are made available here as the final episode shown leaves many questions unanswered. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of murder mysteries looking for a new location.

Der Usedom-krimi was filmed over 6 years, and had 13 episodes, which may explain why I felt as though I had 'missed something', whilst watching the first instalment channel 4 aired, continuity, was at times, confusing; the Thiels moving, Karin's hair, and the season changes all started to niggle away, until season 2, ep2 iced the cake. With no reference to the events from s2, ep1, I may as well have not seen a single episode prior. All were going about their business as if nothing had happened, and this, sadly, meant the end of the show for me, if the writers didn't care, why should I?

I enjoyed this series, the settings, the back story and how the family of the main character unfolds alongside a different murder each episode. The characters are engaging and played well. The storyline is a very adult one without being smutty like others which I appreciated. It is set on the German and Poland border and contains mainly German language but also some polish.

I've seen four episodes so far on Amazon Prime and I love it! Reminds me of Murder She Wrote but with a more melancholic score. The setting is beautiful and I enjoyed the longer nearly movie-length pacing for each self-contained mystery. On Amazon Prime they call it The Nordic Murders, but Baltic Crimes makes more sense since it takes place on an island in the Baltic Sea in Germany near the Polish border. And because each episode doesn't necessarily contain a killing ... it is a small town after all, and it wouldn't seem realistic otherwise. I love how realistic this is; not overly dramatic like American productions like to be.

I watched the first season. They must have not hired a police advisor. Seldom have I seen complete ignorance of proper procedure, blatant lying, and criminals allowed to go free because of connections to the prosecutors and police officers. I won't bother with the gaps in continuity. The only two likable characters were the lead's husband that she cheated on and a homeless woman whose attackers went free to protect the guilty.