These four new episodes are grittier, with a little more concentration on developing the supporting characters, especially partners and team clowns, DS Shap and DS Butchers.
The Spartacus Thing: A former cop is murdered just after his release from prison after serving a too-short sentence for killing his wife. Janine must determine which of the dead wife’s 15 relatives, all of whom have confessed, is guilty of the crime. DS Shap penchant for breaking the rules lands him in a dangerous situation.
Make Believe: A three-year-old child goes missing from a playground. A child’s body is found in a drainage culvert. Is it the same child? Janine must deal with some disturbing news from her estranged husband. DS Butchers tries to take the easy way out and ends up cocking up the investigation.
In Deep: The body of a petty criminal is found at the bottom of a lake. The investigation leads Janine to a group of old college buddies who suddenly begin dying in a strikingly similar manner. The partnership of Butchers and Shap begins to show some cracks.
Steady Eddie: Janine is on the phone with her teenaged daughter when, yards away, a fellow officer is slain along with the prisoner he is escorting. Janine must find the killer while also helping her family deal with the reality of her dangerous job. The investigation unearths evidence that the dead officer may not have been what he seemed.
The two-disk set contains no extras.
Order Blue Murder from Amazon.
Naomi Krueger
For more reviews from Naomi, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
