I generally like Scandi crime series, but this one's a little lacking. Castings, characterisations and the premise of a cop relocating from the city to the Swedish countryside are fine. Where this production falls down is in the storytelling department. For example, an intelligent girl planning to study law gets into a car with a man she knows is a human trafficker and then proceeds to tell him whilst they sit in his car, down a secluded lane, at night, how she plans to report him to the police. You and I can guess what happens next, but somehow she can't? It's this kind of ridiculous plot line that kills this series' credibility faster than a Swedish winter.

In summary, "The Are Murders" has all the trappings of a sophisticated Swedish crime drama, but its simplistic, often unconvincing plotlines limit its appeal. A mediocre watch.