(released September 2013)

”Fjällbacka morden – Strandridaren” is one in a Swedish film series filmed in Fjällbacka, Västra Götalands län, Sweden. It was produced by Tre Vänner produktion AB and is taken after the books by Camilla Läckberg. It is directed by Rikard Petrelius and stars a talented cast including Claudia Galli, Richard Ulfsäter, Johanna Lazcano and Eva Fritjofson. Camilla Läckberg has written a very good murder mystery.

http://www.trevanner.se/se/film/fjallbackamorden-2/

The story takes place in the present with the reference to a story that took place 200 years in the past. Two French divers are found dead under water and what is initially ruled an accident turns into a murder investigation with another murder committed later on land. The two dead bodies are found by Jessica (played by Johanna Lazcano) who is in the coast guard. In spite of what her boss Mellberg (played  by Lennart Jähkel) thinks Jessica believes the two divers were murdered and convinces her friend Patrik to help her investigate it. The investigating duo turns into a trio as Patrik´s girlfriend Erica (played by Claudia Falck) joins the investigation. Erica proves invaluable to the investigation and eventually solves the case.

We discover that the object of attention for several people is a treasure map. Two hundred years earlier an innocent man was hanged and falsely accused smuggling. The man´s wife sides with the real smuggler to convict her innocent husband and then marries him to live the good life.

However questions remain, such as what is the treasure? And who killed the three people? The treasure does not turn out to be gold, silver or gems and the delightful twist in the story is that everybody wants the map for different reasons. Greed isn´t the only reason behind the search for the map.

This is an unpredictable murder mystery with characters that are flawed and likeable. I liked the way Camilla Läckberg avoided the exaggerated Hollywood  murder mystery where everybody is looking to get rich and you have gratuitous shoot-outs and car crashes . I really enjoyed this movie and look forward to the sequels.

This is a very good movie and a must see and own.

(commentary by  www.ink2quill.com )

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