UNDER THE RADAR: SECRETS OF A SWEDISH SERIAL KILLER Review: Murder Comes to America

A cold case warms up under the Florida sun.

Under the Radar: Secrets of a Swedish Serial Killer (Original: Peter Mangs - en seriemördares hemlighet)
The three-part miniseries makes its North American debut Tuesday, July 30, on the Viaplay streaming service. I've seen all three parts.

Did a Swedish musician start killing people in Florida?

In 2009 and 2010, Peter Mangs began shooting people with dark skin who appeared to be non-Swedish in Malmö, Sweden, whipping up widespread fear and panic. He claimed that he began a 'second career' of killing people after his fledgling musical career stalled; he manifested strong anti-immigrant, white supremacist beliefs.

Mangs' reign of terror came to an end when he was convicted of killing two people and attempting to murder eight more in less than a year. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 2018, Swedish documentary filmmaker John Mork became intrigued by Mangs' case. Mork came into possession of sheet music for an unpublished song composed by Mangs. The killer claimed the song contained clues for a double homicide he committed in Florida before he began his killing spree in Sweden. Mork began a correspondence with the killer.

Becoming increasingly compelled by the case, and driven by a desire to find answers and possibly bring closure to family members of any possible victims, Mork began a deep investigation to see if he could solve a perplexing cold case that appeared to have its roots in Mangs' time in Florida, where his father Rudolph had moved in the 1990s.

As a filmmaker, Mork skillfully weaves together standard documentary elements -- interviews, archival materials, voiceover-narration from the killer's letters and book -- and balances that with his own presence as the lead character, in effect, a dogged amateur investigator who is, frankly, obsessed with finding ever more evidence and linking it to the killer.

Skillfully edited, the series becomes more about Mork's connection with various experts in various aspects of former law enforcement and various types of cold cases. The message that keeps sounding may seem obvious: cold cases are not easily solved, and any investigation requires years to make any real progress, which may never eventuate in anything resembling true justice.

Still, the search for clues and evidence continues throughout the series, with many surprising twists and turns, making for a very absorbing miniseries.

Watch Viaplay on their Viaplay Prime Video Channel or via their various partners. Their list of partners in Canada is available here.