SHETLAND
BBC1, 9pm/BBC Wales, 10.40pm
PERHAPS it’s the choppy waters or the endlessly bleak, stormy weather, but this murder-mystery series is tense viewing even without the death.
As series five kicks off, a runner on the beach spots a severed hand partwrapped in a plastic bag. She’s pretty relaxed about this discovery, although we’re not sure that’s part of the plot.
It’s a grisly start to the thriller starring Douglas Henshall as detective Jimmy Perez, who turns up at the crime scene with sidekick Tosh (Alison O’Donnell). But before they can begin to draw conclusions, further body parts are found.
They all belong to a Nigerian man who had come to the island for an unknown reason. The team uses CCTV and checks his emails to trace his last movements. Then the investigation takes a sinister turn.
Watch out for a shoal of red herrings as locals all appear suspicious and the usual dogged work ethic of Perez, who is surely bound to crack the case.