Review of 'London Kills'

My wife and I binge-watched another two-season U.K. offering from Acorn TV: London Kills. It's been billed as akin to Criminal Minds and Castle, but, episode for episode (five per-season for this mini-series), I liked it better than either of those fine shows. How's that for praise?

Like Striking Out, another Acorn gem with two seasons that I just reviewed, London Kills combines individual murder investigations in an episodic format, with a continuing story that spans the two seasons: DI David Bradford's wife Sarah has gone missing. He commands a four-person unit consisting of DS Vivienne Cole (don't call her Viv!), DC Rob Brady, and TDC Billie Fitzgerald (I just love those U.K. police detective ranks: Detective Inspector, Detective Sergeant, Detective Constable, Trainee Detective Constable), who must decide if Sarah is dead or missing, and, ultimately in logical analysis, if she is dead, did Bradford kill her?

The characters are well-drawn and distinctive. They all have minds of their own. But Cole is by-the-book, Brady's strong suit is loyalty, and Fitzgerald is the most empathetic. Bradford has all of those elements in his persona, all of which are filtered through the torment he feels about his missing wife, amplified by a troubled step-daughter who thinks he murdered her mother Sarah and a psycho who knew too much about what happened to Sarah.

The cast is more than up for the narrative and roles, and put in memorable performances across the board (Hugo Speer as Bradford, Sharon Small as Cole, Bailey Patrick, who was good in The Nest, too, as Brady, and Tori Allen-Martin as Fitzgerald). Unlike Striking Out, it looks like there's every chance there will be a third season, and I'll stop watching whatever else I may be viewing and switch to the third season of London Kills.