Sommerdahl

The locations are beautiful right by the sea and the houses the main characters live in look like upper middle-class homes. Everything is just perfect except for the murders and the breakdown of a marriage.

The plots are pretty mundane. I guessed the motivations and murderers in 2 of the 4 plots and I'm pretty useless at whodunnits - I'd rather get a surprise at the end when we find out who the miscreant is. Running through everything is the marriage breakdown. I really can't understand why it was focused on so heavily. If it had impinged on the investigations and had led to someone getting away with another murder or crime, this would have been an acceptable use of the time spent on this theme. But it didn't. It just made the series frothier and more superficial than it needed to have been. It didn't help that the eponymous detective was so unlikable - stalking. telling his daughter tales, being nasty and unprofessional.

As usual, I watched till the end. I didn't hate it but there are far better things to have seen, I think. It was just a nicely numbing few episodes of escapism.

This was my first Danish mystery. I loved every last second of the two seasons. I will agree that Dan was not very likable in the beginning, but his character evolved into being more sympathetic. As for the marriage drama, I wasn't expecting it and the outcome added to mystery. I'm looking forward to seeing the third season.

The Sommerdahl Murders is not like any typical Scandinavian TV series. It is more a romantic drama with some murders in the episodes. It's quite predictable, yet I still enjoy watching it. I recommend it if you want an easy to watch series with beautiful Scandinavian scenery.

The mystery and investigation portions are entertaining. However, the soapy marriage squabbles drag the whole thing down.

/about Season 1/

This locality-based Series (in and around Elsinore) is no flop, but not more than mediocre, no Scandi Noir, with several predictable cases (if I did not guess the wrongdoer, I could guess the run of scenes and problem-solving approaches) and unrealistic living atmosphere of the policemen in Denmark (mid-level officers all having private houses with a sea-view, really?). The cast is also just above average, no memorable performances (Babikian, Drasbæk, Mygind are not A-grade actors in Denmark).

As for level, it is more close to e.g. Anna Pihl or Morden i Sandhamn than to Bron/Broen or Innan vi dör, for instance. And last but not least - Danish weather is seldom so pleasant as in this Series :)

PS Season 2 has somewhat meatier cases, but the personal relations, this triangle, is still not smooth and sometimes annoying. And again - no rainy days around Elsinore at all! :)