Adopted from the book of the same name written by Søren Sveistrup, The Chestnut Man is a layered story connecting various murders in modern day Denmark. On the outset, it feels like a typical murder investigation story led by a controversial detective pair who are battling their own personal complicated lives. But as the drama unfolds, we can see that it goes much beyond the backstories of the lead pair.

The series begins in 1987 in a remote village which is horrified by the murder of an entire family. All members of this family are dead except their youngest children. Viewers trying to decipher the reasons behind these gruesome murders and keep on wondering what happened to those children who have witnessed such horrific murders. However, they are kept guessing and wondering about the connection of these events to the stories unfolding in the present day Copenhagen.

In present day Copenhagen, there is a gruesome murder of a woman. There is no particular reason behind this deadly attack on her. This is followed by more murders in the span of next few days and the only thing common which is linking these murders are the figures of the Chestnut Men placed near bodies.

Apparently, these figures of Chestnut Men carry fingerprints of Rosa Hartung’s daughter who is presumed dead over a year ago. There step in the protagonists of the series- Naia Thulin and Mark Hess who are trying to decipher the reasoning behind these sensational murders and the mystery of these strategically placed Chestnut Men.

Although it looks like any typical crime drama focusing on solving serial murders, but as we delve deeper on the plot, we can notice the nuances which sets it apart from the contemporaries. This series talks about parental love, family dynamics, adoption and the systems surrounding it, assimilation within families, familial bonding and childhood abuse. It touches so many important and controversial topics but without being too preachy or loosing focus from the core subject and that’s what becomes its strength to carry out such a complicated plot line throughout this superbly paced first season.

Highly recommended and definitely binge watch worthy, this Nordic noir is certainly unmissable.