The Åre Murders, a perfect slice of Nordic noir, is very surprisingly sitting in Netflix’s No.2 spot on the most-watched TV shows chart in America.
Why is it such a shock? Well, it's a relatively small-budget drama series from Sweden based on two books most people have probably never heard of, "Hidden in Snow" and "Hidden in Shadows" by Viveca Sten. Plus, the cast, led superbly by Swedish actor Carla Sehn, is largely unknown outside of Sweden. So, clearly, this is a word-of-mouth success with more and more Netflix viewers tipping each other off about what a great watch it is.
Having just read the opening book, "Hidden in Snow", I was excited to see what the makers did with the story. And they haven't disappointed. Ever since The Killing I've always been a fan of the Nordic noir genre and The Åre Murders is the best example in a long time. I did enjoy another recent Netflix hit, The Breakthrough, which was also set in Sweden, but the characters are more engaging in The Åre Murders and the mystery is deeper. The setting is also just stunning with every snowy scene making you want to head to Sweden. While largely keeping to the book, the TV version does make some changes especially the relationship between the two leads, Hanna and Daniel.
After a disastrous break-up, newly homeless Hanna heads to her sister's beautiful mountain retreat in Åre to recover. But when a young woman, Amanda, goes missing she can’t help but get involved in the case. Now, in the book Hanna and Daniel immediately hit it off, but in the Netflix version, there's a frostiness between them. Icy Daniel doesn't trust Hanna and starts digging into why she's suddenly left Stockholm. This gives the relationship a nice tension that the book lacks.
The TV version can't quite capture the despair of Amanda’s worried parents in the same way as the moving book, which I highly recommend reading, but it does at least explore their emotions.
Like most crime dramas, we're also introduced to an array of potential suspects including Amanda’s teacher and the husband of the woman Amanda's father was having an affair with.
Hanna and Daniel make a great cop pairing. From Holmes and Watson to Starsky and Hutch, TV works so well when you get this kind of relationship. Obviously, over time Daniel starts to see what a great detective Hanna is.
The way The Åre Murders is going we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s soon proudly sitting on top of the Netflix chat in America and it would be well deserved. It’s also No. 5 in the UK.
Viveca Sten has written more stories about Hanna and Daniel in Åre so we wouldn't be surprised if it gets a second series.
The Åre Murders is on Netflix now.
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