DANGEROUS DREAMS is perhaps the best of the CRIMES OF PASSION series so far, chiefly because it places Puck, the central character (Tuva Novotny) in a position of real danger. She takes the job as the secretary of Nobel Prize-winning author Gregor (Peter Carlberg) and becomes involved in a complicated family drama of jealousy and revenge. Gregor has spent his life being sadistic to his children Yiva (Vera Vitali) and Kåre (Simon J. Berger) that he becomes a prime candidate for murder. Puck tries to leave, but Gregor insists that she should honor her contract. She finds it difficult to sleep at nights, and ends up having weird dreams, one of which involves her making love to Christer (Ola Rapace).Molly Hartleb's production takes place in an isolated mansion, where no visitors are ever allowed. Christer invites himself in, on the pretext of investigating a murder, but finds Gregor's family unwilling to say anything. DANGEROUS DREAMS makes some trenchant points about upper-class bourgeois life: Gregor's family seem to believe as of right that they are superior to anyone else, and have no reason to communicate with the police if they don't want to. As the paterfamilias with a considerable literary reputation, Gregor rides roughshod over everyone; one word from him and everyone is traumatized into silence. The only way towards reform is to burn down the mansion altogether (in a plot-device borrowed from REBECCA) and for everyone living there to begin a new life.As Puck, Novotny is as inquisitive as usual, as she steals into other people's bedrooms and rummages through their belongings in the hope of discovering vital clues. Yet she does this at her peril; there is one sequence where it seems as if she has finally met her match. Through a series of close-ups, director Hartleb focuses on her genuine fear, as Puck realizes that she might have gone too far. Detective-work might be fun, but not when your life is in danger.

This, the fifth instalment in the series, opens with a woman opening a package; it contains a book signed by the author, Andreas Hallman, she searches through it as though she expects to find something between the pages then goes out and drowns herself in a lake. After the credits we see Puck getting a job with the same Andreas Hallman. It quickly becomes apparent that he is a bit tyrannical, expecting everything to be done exactly as he wants it. After his daughter in laws birthday party his sickly eldest son is found dying buy Puck; his last word is 'murder'! Puck tells the family doctor but he is sure he must have said 'mother', not satisfied with this explanation she phones her husband and soon Christer is on the scene asking questions. With nobody wanting to exhume the body it looks as if there won't be much of a case; that is until there is another death!This is the first instalment not to feature Puck, Eje and Christer for most of the story; in fact Eje barely features at all and Christer doesn't turn up for quite a while. This leaves Puck alone with the somewhat creepy Hallman family. This adds to the sense of danger; more than once it looks as though Puck might come to some harm. Once the two murders have been committed everybody in the house except Puck is a suspect; they all have motives and all seem unhinged enough to do it; not surprising given how they were treated by the 'great' author. In classic whodunit style the suspects are gathered; the crime explained and suspects taken away by the police; that doesn't mean the story is over though as is case is even more complicated than it first appeared. As in previous episodes the cast, both regular and guest, do a fine job and the isolated, wintry setting creates a great atmosphere... to my mind this is the best story in the series so far.