This was a really good series, enhanced by its setting in the fictional town of Melberg. I wish I knew where it had been shot as the location looked absolutely stunning and the town beautiful. All I know is that it must be in the Leningrad Oblast in an area populated partly by Ingrian Finns seized from Finland after the second world war. I found it fascinating that some of the characters were referred to as Finns even though they had Russian citizenship and still spoke their version of Finnish despite nearly eighty years having passed.
The plot centres on a toxic deal made by the town's notables in the opening days of the Winter War. The present-day murders reflect the consequences of this and the organisation that was swindled. Or do they? That's what knock-kneed but pretty PI Natalya Serebryanskaya and police chief Gennady Geraschenko have to work out with the help of vodka galore and the local cops.
The Inquisitor anticipates every move against him and others get in on the act leaving a trail of bodies whose deaths are related to Latin passages from the Bible.
As I said in the title, there are twists and turns aplenty and right up to just before the end we don't know the full truth.
There's one difficulty for a western audience, the patronymics. This is very confusing for a non-Slavic audience at first. But by the end of episode two, most of the names have gelled.
I'm glad I watched this, but I still wish I knew where it had been filmed!
