The Sandhamn Murders

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. :)

A very unusual policeman never shooting even in the most dangerous situations. A wonderful place where peace is menaced by a series of murders. Love relationships intertwined with door to door investigations. Quite different from tough cops and screaming sirens! Enjoyable!

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.

Everyone in the series seems to be nice and pleasant. Even the murderers don't seem to be truly evil. There's nothing in Viveca Sten's universe that offends. People we know barely nothing about are the ones who die and subsequent crimes are always attempted murders of characters we've got to know a bit about and are generally saved from death in the nick of time.

There are back stories to the main characters whose lives mesh seamlessly with each other although true romance is always an on/off affair. They have their problems, of course, but these don't generally interfere with the denouement of the plots.

The setting in the archipelago is stunning. I've only been there a couple of times and the series makes me want to go back again one day. It's all so perfect just as Sweden is portrayed abroad.

I've seen all seven seasons and am eagerly awaiting an eighth. It's absolutely not Scandi Noir, more Rosemary and Thyme, but that's not a reason to be critical - the genres are different, that's all. I like them both and this series is a great example of an easy watch that holds the attention.

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.