It took a while to get to the point of the investigation, as the episode meandered between Hartung’s first day back at work and Naia’s and Mark’s wildly contrasting home lives instead of focusing on the case. It was all the better for it, though, with every scene building suspense or adding rich context to what promises to be a gruesome and engrossing series.

The Chestnut Man has an intriguing mystery and strong lead characters. It’s a prime example of why Scandi noir is such a popular genre.