Lone Theil’s debut crime novel Fatal Crossing transferred to the TV screen in Denmark in 2023 and the UK in 2025. Now the same production team jumps to book six, The Pushover (Troskyldigheden selv), which, like its predecessor, is hitting UK screens via Walter Presents.

For The Pushover, police are called to an affluent area of Denmark’s North Zealand, where a wealthy heiress is found dead in her pool. Police soon suspect foul play, and when her boyfriend, Tom, hands himself in, it seems a cut-and-dried case. Tom claims the death was an accident, but his past soon catches up with him. Some digging proves the outwardly charming Tom has a long history as a con artist, using dating apps to swindle a raft of women. He admits to the fraud but denies any wrongdoing in relation to the death. The police are faced with a conundrum – give Tom enough space to incriminate himself or rely on paper-thin circumstantial evidence to secure a conviction.

As in Fatal Crossing, it is investigative journalist Nora Sand, central protagonist of Theil’s book series, who ends up carrying much of the weight of the investigation. Sand and her press colleagues dig deep into Tom’s past, finding a web of women who have been used by the conman. Among them is a former colleague who has assembled an extensive dossier of his misdemeanours.

The device of a journalist racing police to solve a crime is nothing new and a staple of many a Nordic Noir series, yet here it’s a bit of a one-sided race. There seems to be only a scant attempt by the police to investigate, with Sand taking the lead and gaining access to crime scenes, witnesses and evidence in a way that somewhat stretches credibility.

The Pushover is a sequel but, bizarrely, also not a sequel. Characters and actors remain the same, but both series are treated as stand-alone stories. Again, that’s an oft-trodden trope in Nordic Noir, but here it’s as if Fatal Crossing never happened. Relationships, character backgrounds and interrelationships bear little or no correlation to the first instalment. While that may be good for a first-time viewer, it proves something of a frustration for viewers wanting to delve deeper.

That frustration also extends to issues that plagued series one. Fatal Crossing was nearly derailed by leaden direction, pacing issues and scripts that stretched credibility. It was redeemed by a strong central performance from Marie Sandø Jondal as Nora Sand.

Jondal returns to the same role here and again gives a compelling performance, yet her efforts are hampered by similar faults that plagued the first series. She’s given little to work with, however, Jondal’s portrayal of Nora Sand anchors the series with intensity and depth, even when the script falters.

Magnus Berggren returns to direct, and yet the same issues remain from season one. Pacing is slow – this isn’t a slow burn, more a glacial drip. Long pauses, leaving the cast to do little but stare into the distance, rob any sense of tension, and Josefine Skov’s score – all brooding menace – overplays even the quietest of scenes.

Despite its pacing flaws, The Pushover stands out for its unflinching look at exploitation and power in the modern age. Its unusual approach is to make clear from the opening that this isn’t just a murder investigation but a deep dive into exploitation, power and the morals of the digital dating world. This is Nordic Noir for the #MeToo age.

Theil’s books revel in their strong characters. Perhaps it’s time for directors to trust the source material, abandon the handheld camera trickery, pick up the pace and keep viewers engrossed with gripping storytelling.

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“The Pushover stands out for its unflinching look at exploitation and power in the modern age. This is Nordic Noir for the #MeToo age”.

The Pushover airs on Channel 4 from the 2nd February with the Boxset available on Walter Presents since the 30th January