TV Pick of the Week: The Gone - review by Yvette Huddleston

Dublin detective Theo Richter (Richard Blood), who has just told his superiors that he is planning to quit after more than 20 years on the job for reasons he won’t share, is dispatched to help the local police with the search operation. Sinead is the daughter of Hannah Martin (Michelle Fairley), the judge who sent down the head of Irish crime family the Fallons, and who was recently the victim of a revenge attack. It is possible that Sinead and Ronan’s disappearance is somehow connected.

Richter teams up with detective Diana Huai (Acushla-Tara Kupe) who grew up in the town and is returning there for the first time after a long absence. She has useful local knowledge but doesn’t seem to be happy to be back – and appears to be somewhat estranged from her aunt and uncle Wiki (Vanessa Rare) and Buster Huai (Wayne Hapi) who raised her after her mother died. The couple, who have been together for 30 years, have no children of their own but run a safe house for troubled young people. Wiki is also a tireless campaigner on behalf of, and respected elder of, the local Maori community. They have come into conflict with a new, supposedly ‘green’ business in town, a recycling and fertiliser plant, which is seeking to acquire land.

The intriguing narrative sets up plenty of compelling threads. They include the fact that the young couple’s disappearance is reminiscent of two murders some years ago which have never been solved but are suspected to have been committed by a serial killer. As Richter and Huai begin their investigation, new information comes to light – Ronan was apparently dealing in drugs at the gym where he was a trainer and they find CCTV footage of Sinead, who worked at the new plant, having a heated argument with her boss.

Added into the mix is Irish journalist Aileen Ryan (Carolyn Bracken) who has been writing about the Fallon family for years and follows Richter to New Zealand to cover the story. It turns out that she and Richter have history. What makes this stand out from many other crime thrillers is its confidently leisurely pace, well-rounded characterisation and nicely developed relationships.