The Åre Murders

As Episode 1 of "The Are Murders' (2025 release from Swe3den; 5 episodes ranging from 35 to 57 min) opens, 17 yo Amanda is at a house party in the remote town of Are, Sweden, and then leaves the party. In a parallel story that same evening, we are introduced to Hanna, of the Stockholm PD. Hanna has taken a two months' leave of absence and is driving towards the cabin of her sister's, in Are. Next morning, Amanda is missing... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this TV mini-series is based on the Swedish book series "Hidden in Snow" (which covers the first 3 episodes) and "Hidden in Shadows" (which covers the last 2 episodes) by Viveva Sten. The connection between the two separate stories is Hanna, the Stockholm cop who shows up in Are looking to get away of whatever troubled her in the Swedish capital. The two stories are plot-heavy, so the less said of that, the better. I will simply say that I quite liked the first story "Hidden in Snow", and rate it 7/10. It does not prepare you for the second story "Hidden in Shadows", which absolutely blew me away, and which I rate 9/10, hence my overall rating of this mini-series of 8/10. The (for me no-names) cast is terrific throughout. "The Are Murders" is no-nonsense and gritty, and quite dark (in particular in the second story). I was hooked from start to finish. Now we hopefully await the further adventures of Hanna in the next book(s) from Ms. Sten...

"The Are Murders" started streaming on Netflix about a week ago, and I watched the 5 episodes over 2 evenings. The is currently rated 81% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and there is ample reason for that. If you love a top-notch crime series set in Sweden, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This was a very watchable series. It's a much darker scenario than many others of Viveca Sten's novels or screenplays but still frothy enough not to be depressing.

Yes, there are cliches such as the maverick, suspended, female detective, a male cop whose home life is breaking down and a closeted gay guy but these are woven into the fabric of the story to make a coherent and easy-to-watch narrative.

The plots were fantastical at times with characters doing unexpected or downright dangerous things. A little too much intuition was used in the solving of the cases too. However, in the main, this was worth watching. I saw the lot over a couple of days and it filled in some time very enjoyably. I'd recommend it but don't expect "The Bridge" or "Forbrydelsen".

Åremorden (The Åre Murders) is a TV series based on Viveca Sten's books. The series' leading character is a police officer Hanna Ahlander (Carla Sehn), who has been suspended from her job in Stockholm and dumped by her partner when she moves to her sister's vacation home in Åre. The first, second, and third episodes are based on the "Offermakaren -Hidden in Snow" book. The fourth and fifth episodes are based on the "Dalskuggan - Hidden in Shadows" book. I really liked the fourth and fifth episodes because they were filmed according to the book. I believe that there should be a second season which consists of the other three books. I give seven over ten for the first season because of the episodes four and five.

Abusive husband busting through a hotel door with an axe to assault his wife and child? Sounds familiar. But it's just a throwaway scene in this rather odd procedural/Scandinoirish series. It's supposed to be a 5-episode season but it's more like two seasons of 3 and 2 episodes respectively, as they pertain to the investigations of unrelated cases. Brevity is the soul of wit or something, and kudos to the show for being efficient and economical. I admit I'm the first to gripe when shows pad the runtime with extraneous twists and goofy red-herrings. Here, however, the show goes to the inverse extreme since the investigations are so truncated and straightforward that their resolutions are banal; plus the characters don't get quite enough development to make an impression.

Cinematography and scenery is beautiful and lifts the crime series. We want to see more of this, maybe some episodes from the Norwegian border ? I live in Trondheim, Norway, and Åre is close to this city. Åre is the major alpine sports ski resort in Sweden and also popular place to visit by Norwegians. Åre is close to Norwegian border.

Now, about the series.

It is a more like a Crime Drama. The swedes are good at making "Dark Crime" TV series. The "Beck" crime series should serve as a benchmark for quality in the genre of crime series from Sweden. Despite financial backing from Netflix to create the series, it comes a bit short. Maybe I would expect it to be more scary and exciting. Instead, it feels a bit boring and drama oriented. Don't expect that much excitement in the series. There are some car chasing, but the overall script for possible future episodes of the series should focus more on less drama and more action.