Too close to home
IN THE DARK
BBC1, 9pm YOU know it’s a good crime drama when it starts with a cop chase and someone pointlessly shouting “Police, stop!” until the suspect is cornered down an alleyway.
Ripper Street’s MyAnna Buring is Detective Helen Weeks who, puffing and panting, moans: “How many times do I have to tell you I hate giving chase. I’ve got sweat dripping off me now.”
Her banter doesn’t go down well, though, and the woman punches her in the stomach leaving her keeled over and calling for help.
Of course, this is TV drama’s way of telling us Helen is pregnant, although she hasn’t told anyone yet. Stoic detectives never do.
This is the new four-parter from Ordinary Lies writer Danny Brocklehurst, adapted from the books by bestselling novelist Mark Billingham – who has a cameo as a court usher.
And it’s got everything you could hope for – a maverick female cop with a dark past, a gripping mystery, red herrings, weird flashbacks and a lot of bad weather.
The main case is that of two missing schoolgirls.
Helen is following it closely, because they are from her home town in Derbyshire.
She is stunned to discover the main suspect is the husband of her childhood pal Linda. So, of course, she decides to return home to help Linda (Emma Fryer) against all advice from her partner and fellow cop Paul (Ben Batt). But once there, Helen’s behaviour becomes a bit odd. We’re sensing there are a number of skeletons in that closet. The mystery ramps up and, by the end of the episode, you’ll realise you’ve been clenching your teeth all the way through.