Meurtres à Sandhamn

I enjoyed this series. I was tired of heavy and dark murder mystery programs. There is good chemistry between all the characters. Enjoy the scenery and plan your next vacation to this beautiful part of Sweden.

Great characters, cast, scenery, plots. We are about to run out of epidodes and would love more. We even learned some Swedish. Beautiful detective series set in the Stockholm archipelago. Spans several years of the characters' lives as they go through many changes. Ranges from serious and thought provoking to lighthearted and humorous. Great performances by a wonderful cast set in the idyllic village and harbor setting of Sandhamn island. Based on the Viveca Sten novels. Comprises individual mysteries of varying length within an overarching story of several intertwined family stories. A pleasure to watch. Recommend. Great vibe.

The story wasn't as compelling as the acting and the casual tour of the islands and coast. The acting was quite good and I was a little shocked to see how easily these Swedes feigned being natural. In fact I would say this production is the most impressive I've ever seen in terms of pure unaffected acting. It was truly inspiring to watch though it made me wonder why they're so much better at it than we are.

The two principal roles are vividly rendered by Cedergren and Rapaport who play a policeman and a married woman in a troubled marriage, respectively. The murder mystery is entangled with their being attracted to each other and that too felt realistic. I'm sure women will enjoy that part of it if nothing else.

Swedish summer murders on an idyllic island sounds familiar, doesn't it? The everyday mysteries in this series are well plotted and believable. Like Midsomer, Sandhamn has an amazingly high murder rate per head of population but there's something else at work in this Swedish series, a life lesson playing out from seasons 1 to 9.

A prosecutor with a house on the island, Nora is an attractive, sympathetic and likeable lead. The always reliable Par, with his sartorial individualism, is also very likeable as her assistant in her work life. But her love life! That's another story. Perhaps the real story. The Norwegian police detective is a breath of fresh air after the rather dull Swede, Thomas. For each love story, there's the will they or won't they game as events manage to interrupt their interludes together.

Cruellest of all is how the message - to take risks, be true to your feelings and seize the day - is finally driven home to us. With the presence of death in each story, we are reminded to live life.

If you're looking for gripping Scandi Noir this isn't it ... it's lightweight but easy on the eye and once you accept that it's thoroughly enjoyable. Island hopping in your speed boat, standing at the wheel with your hair streaming out behind you (if you have it) seems to be one of the favoured ways to get around ... or maybe a bicycle in Nora's case as you head off for a clandestine meeting over a coffee in the village to discuss the latest crime, suspected crime ... whatever! It's all rather good fun and each hour and a half episode drifts by you in no time at all.

Nicolai Cleve Broch has been a worthy addition to the series and like Nora is quite vapid much of the time but very at home in their roles as are all the cast. :)