Brokenwood Mysteries: Series 4

"The bucolic town of Brokenwood is picturesque on the surface, but its idyllic façade harbors simmering passions that often erupt into grisly crimes. A transplant from the big city, Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) employs unconventional methods to solve the small town’s most gruesome murders with his partner, Detective Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland), and eager young DC Sam Breen (Nic Sampson). In these four feature-length mysteries, Shepherd and his team contend with the death of a skydiver whose parachute was tampered with, the killing of the eccentric owner of a Victorian reenactment village, farmers feuding over the rights to honey bees, and a nursing home full of suspects with dementia. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of the New Zealand countryside, The Brokenwood Mysteries has been hailed as “a droll New Zealand crime show with…a perfect pairing” of lead detectives (The New York Times)."


My Thoughts

The Brokenwood Mysteries is a fast-paced series set in New Zealand. It revolves around Mike Shepard, a homicide detective. He sets out to solve some grisly murders along with his partner Kriston Sims. This season includes four exciting feature length episodes including:

Fall from Grace - A sky diver dies in front of the team while they are on a picnic. Things get worse when they discover it's Sim's ex-boyfriend. It looks like one of his family members might have tampered with the parachute.Stone Cold Dead - The owners of a Victorian village gets shot with an arrow. Her whole world revolved around living according to Victorian rules. Did she push someone too far with her strict rules?  Sims takes over the case after Shepard gets hurt. 

The Scarecrow - A farmer is murdered and set up a like a scarecrow in his fields. His neighbors and his twin brother are the prime suspects. 

As If Nothing Had Happened - A rich man  is stabbed with a samurai sword and left in his pool. The police dog follows the trail to an old folks home.
I really enjoyed this season, just as much as the last two. The stories were all exciting, though definitely gruesome at times. The New Zealand scenery was lovely and all the actors did a great job. Each show has a little backstory, but can still be watched stand-alone.  If you'd like to grab this awesome box set for yourself, you can find it online at Acorn Media or on Amazon.