Above Suspicion, Set 1

Lynda La Plante, who created the original British version of Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren, works police procedural magic again, but with a twist. Here, the woman at the center isn't a seasoned commander but rather a rookie detective named Anna Travis (Kelly Reilly), who is just starting out on the homicide squad headed by gruff, demanding DCI James Langton (Ciaran Hinds). This set includes the first two series from 2009 (two episodes) and 2010 (three episodes). The initial case involves a serial killer of women, with suspicion eventually falling on a handsome movie actor whose own mother was murdered years earlier. In the second series, the squad is in pursuit of someone who killed a young woman in imitation of the infamous Los Angeles Black Dahlia murder of 1947. Both series are adapted by La Plante with customary finesse from her own novels, and the excellent Hinds and Reilly are backed by a supporting cast of Britain's finest—including the redoubtable Sylvia Syms as a housekeeper. The only drawback to the plotting involves Travis's inclination to become involved with handsome men in the investigations—the suspect in the first case, a journalist in the second—a narrative trick that becomes a crutch when repeated. But otherwise these are fine English police dramas that should appeal to fans of both La Plante and Brit procedurals. DVD extras include a pair of “making-of” featurettes, photo galleries, and a text bio of La Plante. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)