Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Miller, Celine Buckens, Dominic Cooper, Eddie Marsan, Vinette Robinson, Gina McKee, Nicholas Pinnock, Tamsin Grieg, Sharon Verdegem, Patrick Jeffries, Ricky Champ, Moora Vander Veken, Liam Smith.
The story of deception and investigation never ends, kick over one stone where the grubs and dirty insects lay their eggs and you will see them scurry away from the light that suddenly showed their activities and head to another rock further away, their behaviour, their innate actions driven by instinct making them continue digging in the dirt.
The dirt, for many of us we don’t look beyond the first stone, the repugnance of the action causes us stare in a different direction, fearing perhaps of what else might be unearthed, just how far the darkness in the creepy crawlies has actually spread; for the dirt is the hiding place for those that prey and eat away at civilisation’s foundation.
What might be considered a surprise continuance of 2022’s impressive drama Suspect, the eight-part series returns from out of the blue to press home the truth of further inspection, that the crime committed against Danny Frater and his family, the despicable murder of his daughter, is but the tip of the iceberg and that a greater conspiracy is at hand; that the rocks kicked were not enough.
The focus of the investigation is now seen through the eyes of Danny’s ex-wife, and each episode follows the same pinpoint procedure, the interview, the talk with those that might just hold a nugget of information for which Susannah, portrayed once again by the superb Anne-Marie Duff, and as the evil actions of one person become clear, so do the issues with others that have found themselves within the web, within the course of investigation they are shown for their true, and disturbing colours.
It is to the near double hander in each episode that makes the series so effective, and as actors such as Dominic Cooper, Eddie Marsan, Gina McKee, Tasmin Grieg, and Vinette Robinson perform with delicate precision in their respective roles, the human flies in the web of the spider luring Susannah in.
A remarkable addition to what was an enthralling first series, an unanticipated sequel which extends the tale in a way that is alarming and with proof that the narrative of the good detective is never over, that the case never stops when the killer is caught.
Ian D. Hall