The series started a little slowly and I worried it was going to be a bit by the numbers but it definitely got better. The best writing and performances were around the families. Jeff Pope took us into their worlds and in truth I wanted more of it and less of the cops!
ITV have a tenancy to make all their crime dramas about the same thing - middle aged, white male cop fights for the truth, to catch the killer even if it means he has to swim against the tide. And this was no exception - the same story again.
But the cutaways to the families and the sensitive story telling in these areas made this one a cut above.
Also Joe Absolom was outstanding as the killer trying to evade detection. Watch it for the family stories which I won't spoiler her, the nuanced writing around their very different battles and for a stand out award worthy perfomance from Absolom.
