Based on Danish author Jussi Adler Olson’s novel, Department Q premeried on Netflix on May 29. The show was adapted by screenwriter Scott Frank, who is most famous for Logan, Out of Sight and The Queens Gambit.

The show takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, with Detective Carl Mork, played by Matthew Goode, as the main charcter. Mork is despised by the Edinburgh police department and carries a deep superiority complex. After a failed investigation that resulted in one officer dead, another paralyzed and Mork shot in the face, Mork returnes to the police force, emotionally hardened and devoid of empathy.

Now confined to a dingy basement office, Mork is tasked to lead the cold case unit, Department Q. His only support comes from Akram (Alexej Manvelov), a Syrian refugee and former police officer, and eventually Rose (Leah Byrne), a previous cadet with PTSD who seeks validation from her collegues.

The series revolves around the reopening of a disturbing four year old case involving the disappearance of Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), a case that has been long disregarded by the police. Although the audience knows that Merritt is alive and is being held captive, Mork and Akram must rebuild the case from the ground up.

The series takes around two episodes to fully open up, but by the third episode, the show follows a captivating pace. Mork and his assistants conduct countless interviews and pore through several case files until the truth is gradually revealed.

I greatly appreciated the fact that the case was solved properly, not through shortcuts or exceptional genius, but through persistence and grit. The storyline was reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel: captivating, enthralling and utterly brilliant.

Overall, I would rate department Q a 4.8/5 due to the riveting storyline, nuanced character development and the unexpected moments of softness woven throughout.