Nordic Watchlist reviews The Asset – Netflix’s slick Danish crime thriller Danish crime thriller The Asset centres around a new intelligence service agent, Tea, who goes undercover to infiltrate the inner circle of prolific drug smuggler, Miran, who has eluded … Continue reading The Asset – Netflix’s slick Danish crime thriller
Nordic Watchlist reviews A Life’s Worth, Viaplay’s new six-part drama which stars Edvin Ryding and Erik Enge. Continue reading A Life’s Worth – Edvin Ryding stars in Viaplay’s emotional new war drama
Read our review of Antti Tuomainen’s The Winter Job – a darkly comic road trip through frozen Finland, where a desperate dad, a mysterious sofa, and a cast of bizarre characters collide in a whirlwind of mayhem. This unconventional adventure will keep you glued to your seat. Continue reading The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen – Book Review
Fresh from its premiere at London Film Festival Nordic Watchlist reviews Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgård and directed by Harry Lighton. Continue reading Pillion Review: A Raw Love Story That Redefines Queer Narratives
Intense is very much the go-to word for Nordic Noir, the entire genre known for its deep, brooding storylines, but in Bordertown Season 3 (its final series), intensity is taken to a whole new level. Those who have followed the … Continue reading Bordertown Season 3: Intense Finale Review
Winner of the 2021 Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel, Mikael Niemi’s To Cook a Bear (Koka Björn) has been adapted into a stunning six-part series for Disney+. It’s a fascinating amalgamation of the classic detective story, historical drama, … Continue reading To Cook A Bear Disney+ Series Review: Must-Watch Dark Thriller
Emilie Thalund’s poignant film “Weightless” makes its UK premiere at the London Film Festival, and we’ve got the full review for you. Continue reading Danish Cinema Shines: ‘Weightless’ at London Film Festival
In Ultras, director Ragnhild Ekner transforms what could easily be a cacophony of shouting men into a visually intoxicating spectacle of collective passion. The documentary embarks on a journey that subverts expectations, moving beyond mere football obsession to explore the more beautiful, dedicated, and often spiritual prospect of the global Ultras subculture. Continue reading Ultras Review: A Journey to the Beating Heart of Football Fandom
In The Wake, the gripping second novel in Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s Black Ice series, five old university friends reunite on Iceland’s Westman Islands for a funeral — but a chilling note and a rising body count suggest their past is far from dead. With masterful twists, dual timelines, and a creeping sense of dread, Sigurðardóttir delivers a slow-burning thriller that chills to the bone. Continue reading The Wake by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir – Book Review
John Skoog’s debut feature Redoubt has its UK premiere at this year’s London Film Festival. Inspired by the true story of Karl-Göran Persson, a farm worker in southern Sweden who, at the height of the Cold War, began fortifying his … Continue reading Redoubt Review: John Skoog’s Monochrome Ode to a Cold War Dreamer
Gustaf Skarsgård on mud make up, life lessons and the perils of polarism as he discusses his role in Disney+ series To Cook A Bear with Nordic Watchlist Continue reading Gustaf Skarsgård on mud make up, life lessons and the perils of polarism in his new series To Cook A Bear
Ever wondered what secrets are hiding in a quiet Icelandic farmhouse? In Guđrún Guđlaugsdóttir’s A Lethal Legacy, journalist Alma Jónsdóttir dives into a family mystery after an elderly farmer’s death. Forget fast-paced action, this story is all about slow-burning drama, sibling rivalry, and secrets that refuse to stay buried. Continue reading A Lethal Legacy by Guđrún Guđlaugsdóttir – Book Review
A decade ago, English readers got to read Snowblind, the first of Ragnar Jónasson’s six-book Dark Iceland series. Now finally we also get to read Fadeout, the prequel that started it all back in Iceland in 2009 with a tenth anniversary special edition of both Fadeout and Snowblind. What set Ari Thór Arason on his path as a police officer? Fadeout reveals all! Continue reading Snowblind/Fadeout by Ragnar Jónasson – Book Review
Nordic Watchlist reviews Netflix’s The New Force. This six-part series follows Carin, Siv and Ingrid as Sweden’s first female police officers who have to navigate the sexual politics of their time, as well as a dangerous new case. Continue reading The New Force – Netflix’s retro new crime drama
It says much about geopolitical tensions in the world that many Nordic TV shows, films, and books now include a Russian-threat subplot. So, it is with the eight-part Finnish TV series Isolated, now showing as part of the Walter Presents strand on Channel 4. Continue reading Unravel the Mystery of ‘Isolated’ on Walter Presents
With the upcoming adaptation of Miakel Niemi’s book To Cook A Bear coming to Disney+ in October Nordic Watchlist revisit the famous Swedish novel. Continue reading To Cook A Bear by Mikael Niemi – Book Review
The Hebrides International Film Festival is in full swing now and Nordic Watchlist got the opportunity to have a quick catch-up with the festival’s director Murial Ann about its connections to all things Nordic and some of the films selections she has at the festival. Continue reading Exploring Nordic Cinema at Hebrides International Film Festival
In Black As Death, the much-anticipated final instalment of Lilja Sigurđardóttir’s Áróra Investigates series, we finally get answers to the disappearance of Áróra’s sister. Sigurđardóttir though never takes the obvious route and this gripping tale takes a contemporary tale of financial crime and interweaves it with flashbacks that finally solve this five-book long mystery. Continue reading Black As Death by Lilja Sigurđardóttir – Book Review
With a top director, well known cast and an international best seller as source material, the screen adaptation of Ragnar Jónasson’s The Darkness was always going to be highly anticipated. It’s a surprise, therefore, to find that the end result is something less than its constituent parts promise. Continue reading The Darkness – TV Series Review
If you were to think of Nordic Netflix, you’d think of grisly noir thrillers, police procedurals, series based on a true story or Christmassy stories straight out of a postcard. But its latest Scandi offering, Diary of a Ditched Girl, has absolutely nothing in common with these genre favourites. It’s vibrant; it’s unapologetic; it’s bold. Continue reading Netflix Must Watch: Diary of a Ditched Girl Review
A famous crime writer vanishes, her friends at a loss to know where she is. Her books are an international sensation, but secrets in her personal life haunt the author – could these have driven her to do something reckless? … Continue reading The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jónasson – Book Review
A good thriller is often described as ‘the stuff of nightmares’ but in Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker that is literally the case. For seventeen-year-old Hugo, sleep is a troubled thing. He suffers from severe somnambulism, or sleepwalking. When undergoing an … Continue reading The Sleepwalker by Lars Kepler – Book Review
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was an international phenomenon on both page and screen. Stieg Larsson’s original trilogy of novels has continued to grow after his death, with Karen Smirnoff now adding the eighth installment = The Girl With Ice In Her Veins. The question is though is it now time to call time on Lisabeth Salander? Continue reading The Girl With Ice In Her Veins by Karin Smirnoff – Book Review
Former Icelandic First Lady Eliza Reid’s debut novel, Death Of A Diplomat, draws heavily on her knowledge of ambassadorial receptions, but this modern take on Agatha Christie is no pastiche. A debut that proves Reid can stand proudly alongside the masters of the genre while bringing something distinctly her own to the table. Continue reading Death Of A Diplomat by Eliza Reid – Book Review
Walter Presents has been spoiling Scandinavian TV lovers this summer, and this continues with their latest release, Omerta 6/12. You can forget the cosy jumpers and hygge decor, however, as this political thriller aims to showcase something altogether more explosive. Continue reading Omerta 6/12 – New Finnish political thriller comes to Walter Presents
Nordic Watchlist reviews Murder Tide, the third English translation penned by Stella -a pseudonym whose true identity still remains the biggest unsolved case, Continue reading Murder Tide by Stella Blómkvist – Book Review
There’s a challenge for any author of a successful long-running series to try and break free and write a standalone work. For Jo Nesbø, his Harry Hole series continues to sell millions of copies worldwide, a trend that looks only … Continue reading Wolf Hour by Jo Nesbø – Book Review
Broken – a word with many different connotations. For the two central protagonists in Jón Atli Jónasson’s debut English novel, Broken, what could be seen as a derogatory description of them actually turns into their greatest strength. Iceland is not exactly known as … Continue reading Broken by Jón Atli Jónasson – Book Review
“What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive” – so said Sir Walter Scott, but it could all too easily be the subtitle for Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s Home Before Dark. A standalone novel, separate from Ægisdóttir’s Forbidden Iceland series, Home Before … Continue reading Home Before Dark by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir – Book Review
In our final review before taking a summer break, Nordic Watchlist reviews The Congregation Season 2, which arrives on Viaplay in both the USA and UK this month Continue reading The Congregation Season 2: Release Date and What to Expect
