Radio Times: Review by:; Emma Sturgess

Patrick Jane has always been sold to us as the ultimate master of mental manipulation. The tastiest bit of the ongoing Red John drama is the psychological battle, not the blood-daubed walls. So it’s alarming whenever someone (or something) starts messing with the mind of the Mentalist. In this case it’s Jane’s ridiculous penchant for tea – he really will drink it out of any old cup, which is the sign of a rank tea-drinking amateur – which plays havoc with his perception. Stepping away from the crime scene (a dead diamond craftsman, gutted by his own rotary blade) to make a brew, he starts to hallucinate.

In his altered state, he meets a teenage girl who, despite her extreme self-satisfaction, is perceptive, clever and charming and knows all about Red John. She engages Jane in a bout of linguistic and psychological sparring before she’ll talk to him properly. Remind you of anyone?

About this programme

2/22. The CBI investigates the murder of a diamond cutter who was disembowelled with his own tools. After drinking a cup of tea at the victim's house, Jane finds a rabbit that was locked in a cabinet and chases the animal into a neighbour's yard. There, he meets a precocious young girl who claims to be his daughter Charlotte - the same one who was killed along with his wife by Red John. Crime drama, starring Simon Baker.