Radio Times: Review by:; Jane Rackham

A young soldier in Afghanistan is blown up by an IED in Helmand Province. His devastated comrades come home, but after a drunken night out, one of them is found with a gun in his hand and his brains splattered over the wall. It looks like suicide, but pathologist Billy Cartwright (reining in the darker side of his humour, for once) says not. So who would want to murder
a respected war hero?

While still watchable, this is the weakest episode of the series. Maybe Vera’s habit of calling an interviewee “pet” before delivering the killer blow is starting to grate, or perhaps it’s just that our expectations have been raised by top Scandi-dramas such as The Bridge.

About this programme

4/4. The detective investigates a suspicious death in an army barracks, aided by Joe and an enthusiastic member of the military police. Although the demise of commanding officer Dev initially looks like suicide, a case for murder is quickly established and the team's first task is to find a motive. Sensing a connection to Ollie, a soldier killed in Afghanistan, Vera interviews the victim's loyal comrades and Ollie's grieving family, discovering a traumatic event that nobody wants to talk about. John Duttine (Heartbeat) guest stars alongside Brenda Blethyn, David Leon, Jon Morrison and Paul Ritter. Last in the series. Postponed from May 13.