This six part ITV crime drama takes place in a town on the shores of Loch Ness and the surrounding countryside. When the local piano teacher's body is found at the bottom of a cliff policewoman DS Annie Redford starts investigating; it soon becomes clear that it was no accident
the man's brain has been removed. Soon afterwards a human heart is discovered amongst animal remains that a group of school children had used as part of a Loch Ness Monster hoax. The heart doesn't belong to the piano teacher so it would appear that there might be a serial killer in the area. At this point DCI Lauren Quigley is brought in to take over the inquiry. Psychological profiler Blake Albrighton also turns up offering his services; some think he is just after material for his next book.
As the series progresses plenty of suspects emerge; most notably a teacher, the doctor and a man who committed a double murder as a teenager twenty years previously, something the locals didn't know about. Each of these has secrets and it is far from obvious which, if any of them is the killer. If that weren't enough we get a mass shooting during a school trip that is unrelated to the previous murders.
This is a decent enough murder mystery although after series like 'Broadchurch', 'The Fall' and the whole Scandi-noir invasion it does feel a little old fashioned. There are lots of clichés, some acceptable some mildly irritating. The main problem is that many of the characters are more TV standards rather than a real community. There are also some very unlikely moments notably when, during a school trip to hydroelectric dam it appears that there are no workers and people can go where they please! On the plus side the scenery is great and the cast do a solid enough job; most notably Laura Fraser as DS Redford. When the killer is finally revealed things get even more far-fetched. The ending does leave things open for a second series but to be honest I wouldn't really expect one. Overall I was a little disappointed but it was a pleasant enough way to pass an hour on a Sunday night.
As the series progresses plenty of suspects emerge; most notably a teacher, the doctor and a man who committed a double murder as a teenager twenty years previously, something the locals didn't know about. Each of these has secrets and it is far from obvious which, if any of them is the killer. If that weren't enough we get a mass shooting during a school trip that is unrelated to the previous murders.
This is a decent enough murder mystery although after series like 'Broadchurch', 'The Fall' and the whole Scandi-noir invasion it does feel a little old fashioned. There are lots of clichés, some acceptable some mildly irritating. The main problem is that many of the characters are more TV standards rather than a real community. There are also some very unlikely moments notably when, during a school trip to hydroelectric dam it appears that there are no workers and people can go where they please! On the plus side the scenery is great and the cast do a solid enough job; most notably Laura Fraser as DS Redford. When the killer is finally revealed things get even more far-fetched. The ending does leave things open for a second series but to be honest I wouldn't really expect one. Overall I was a little disappointed but it was a pleasant enough way to pass an hour on a Sunday night.