Ah, the safe pair of hands that is ‘The Nordic Murders'. I think this is probably Walter Present’s longest running series and with some justification. It’s always watchable and whilst it offers nothing startling or new to the genre, it’s always well written and acted.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading this article now.
The closest UK comparison would have to be Vera, particularly as the lead is a strong female character who doesn’t tolerate fools. In the case of ‘The Nordic Murders' that is Karin Lossow (Katrin Sass), a former prosecutor on the small German island of Usedom (the German title of the show is Der Usedom Krimi).
Usedom is a real place, incidentally – a small island in the Baltic Sea that is divided between Germany to the west and Poland to the east. It has fabulous beaches and some gorgeous natural scenery, but often – such as in this opening episode of S5 – it’s cold and bleak. And it appears, rather like Midsomer, to have more than its fair share of murderers and ne’er do wells!
Season five kicks off with Karin walking her dog in the woods, when he goes AWOL. She discovers him digging up a grave of German Shepherd puppies that had been partially buried in the earth.
At the same time, Karin’s nephew and local detective, Rainer Witt (Till Firit), is summoned to a curious scene where a local woman has gone missing, and there’s a large pool of blood on the patio. Suspicion falls on her neighbour – a former prisoner with whom she had had some angry exchanges in the past. But he appears to be alibied, strangely enough, by the woman’s daughter – who has an odd bond with the man.
Coincidentally, both the case of the dead dogs and the missing woman end up being linked, and Detective Witt and his team are left to try and link the various threads and avoid the inevitable red herrings.
If you’ve seen any of the previous seasons, you’ll know what to expect. But you certainly don’t need to have seen any of the past episodes to enjoy what’s on show here. Each 90 minutes episode is stand-alone story and can be enjoyed individually, without knowing all the backstories.
There’s lots to enjoy about ‘The Nordic Murders'. It’s like a cozy crime novel – you have a mystery, and slowly the puzzle is solved as the pieces fall into place. If that sort of mild-mannered drama is your bag, then I suggest you give this a go – there’s plenty of episodes to enjoy, so fill your boots.
Walter Presents: ‘The Nordic Murders' Season 5 is available to stream on C4 Streaming now.
