The Åre Murders – Series Review | Netflix

THE ÅRE MURDERS on Netflix is a new crime series based on a popular book series. The five episodes cover the books “Hidden in Snow” and “Hidden in the Shadow”. The series is very bingeable, so do not miss out on this one. Read our full The Åre Murder series review here!

THE ÅRE MURDERS is a new Netflix crime series from Sweden (org. title: Åremorden). It’s based on a popular book series by Swedish author Viveca Sten, which has been translated into English as well. This series adaptation works much better than I anticipated and the result is a dark and very bingeable Netflix series.

Once again, we’re getting a story that takes place during Christmas but is released at the beginning of the new year. This only goes for the first three episodes, as it covers the book that plays out over the Holidays.

I have no idea why they didn’t just release those episodes back in December and get people excited for more episodes to be released in February. Oh well, it takes nothing away from the series which is great, so make sure you check it out. I watched all five episodes for this review.

Continue reading our The Åre Murder season 1 review below. Find it on Netflix from February 6, 2025.

Meet police officer Hanna Ahlander

In The Åre Murders, we’re following police officer Hanna Ahlander (Carla Sehn) as she heads to Åre to relax. Also, she’s just been suspended from her job in Stockholm Police and dumped by her partner, so being able to move into her sister’s vacation home in the small town of Åre was a welcome escape.

Of course, Hanna Ahlander can’t really stop being a police officer, so when a young woman goes missing in Åre, she gets involved. As a civilian at first, but then she contacts the local police and offers to transfer to this department for the season. Åre is a skiing area, so they’re the most busy during the dead of winter.

The girl who went missing did so on the icy night of Lucia, a Christian holiday celebrated in the middle of December mostly in Scandinavia (and other Nordic countries, plus Italy). In English, it’s “Saint Lucy’s Day,” which just seems wrong when it’s about a girl named Lucia, but there you go.

In any case, with an understaffed police station and a new baby at home, local police officer Daniel Lindskog (Kardo Razzazi) reluctantly accepts Hanna’s help. The two just do not trust each other yet. Also, they work in different ways, which makes for a difficult beginning.

Season 1 based on the first two books

This new Netflix series is based on two books by Swedish author Viveca Sten. Both are from “The Åre Murders” series, and we begin with “Hidden in Snow” before moving on to “Hidden in the Shadows”.

As already mentioned, season 1 of The Åre Murders has five episodes. The three first cover the book “Hidden in Snow” and the final two episodes are based on “Hidden in the Shadow”.

However, the adaptation of each book has virtually the same runtime. This is due to the first three episodes being shorter and those final two episodes being quite a bit longer. Both cases (each book covers one case) are intriguing and worked really well.

Admittedly, I would have preferred that each book had five episodes.

I loved the series, but it does become quite rushed. It feels like everything needs to be wrapped up so fast that we’re missing out on many details. Sure, the cases are solved, but you’re left with lots of questions. On the other hand, I suppose that’s also what true crime cases often result in; A few solid answers, but many more questions.

The cast of The Åre Murders is led by Carla Sehn and Kardo Razzazi, who you may already recognize from other Scandinavian productions. Alongside them are other familiar faces from big Scandinavian productions.

Carla Sehn was in the two Netflix series Love & Anarchy and Anxious People. Also, she’ll soon be in the highly anticipated Swedish Netflix book adaptation Diary of a Ditched Girl (2025). Kardo Razzazi was in the thriller The Abyss (2023) and the HBO series The Head.

Watch The Åre Murders on Netflix

The directors of this new Swedish Netflix series are Joakim Eliasson and Alain Darborg. You may know Alain Darborg’s work from the intense Netflix horror thriller Red Dot (2021). Joakim Eliasson previously directed the Swedish crime thriller series Honour.

The scriptwriters are Karin Gidfors (Red Dot) and Jimmy Lindgren (Black Widows), but the entire series is based on The Åre Murders book series by Viveca Sten. And yes, there are more books in the series, so hopefully, this is just the first season.

Alongside the previously mentioned two stars of the series, we’re getting stellar supporting and guest actors in The Åre Murders. From Charlie Gustafsson (A Taste of Hunger) and Moa Gammel (Breaking Surface, A Nearly Normal Family) to Frida Argento (Young Royals).

Plus Jon Øigarden (Lords of Chaos), Diana Gardner (You Shouldn’t Have Let Me In), and Amalie Holm (Motherland: Fort Salem). So many great performances and two brutal crimes to solve. Be sure to check out this new series.

The Åre Murders season 1 is on Netflix from February 6, 2025.

Details

Directors: Joakim Eliasson and Alain Darborg
Scriptwriters: Karin Gidfors and Jimmy Lindgren
Cast: Carla Sehn, Kardo Razzazi, Charlie Gustafsson, Francisco Sobrado, Amalia Holm, Frida Argento, Agnes Kittelsen, Jon Øigarden, Robin Stegmar, Olle Sarri, Samuel Astor, Moa Gammel