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Introducing this major new detective franchise Vera starring Academy Award nominee and BAFTA winner Brenda Blethyn (Secrets and Lies; Atonement) as Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. Middle-aged Vera is an experienced, not to mention brilliant, murder detective. Kind-hearted but a loner, she freely admits she can become obsessed with her job.

Two-time Oscar® nominee Brenda Blethyn (Little Voice, Secrets & Lies) stars in a new British detective series based on the bestselling mysteries by Ann Cleeves. DCI Vera Stanhope is a solitary, obsessed, caustic, brilliant investigator, and a bit disheveled; think female Columbo. Filmed in the Northumberland villages of the original books, the set includes four feature-length, character-driven crime dramas. With David Leon, Wunmi Mosaku, and Paul Ritter. SDH. Mature audiences.

Disc 1 Episode 1: Hidden Depths A handsome young man, a coquettish student teacher, and nothing in common between them—except that both were murdered and left with their bodies meticulously posed. As the killer begins to zero in on a third victim, DCI Stanhope finds suspects and motives mounting. Disc 2 Episode 2: Telling Tales Eleven years ago, Jeanie Long was found guilty of murder, despite unwaveringly maintaining her innocence. On the strength of new evidence, DCI Stanhope must put together the pieces of a decade-old murder—and stop a ruthless killer before he or she strikes again. Disc 3 Episode 3: The Crow Trap As groundbreaking begins on a rock quarry in the moorlands, a local woman who had opposed the construction is found murdered. She had been pressured to sell her land to the developers but refused. When two other women with connections to the project find their own lives in danger, Vera questions what makes this quarry worth killing for. Disc 4 Episode 4: Little Lazarus Generally indifferent towards children, DCI Stanhope finds herself acting as caretaker for a boy whose mother was murdered before his eyes. As she unravels the deadly secrets that led to the woman’s demise, Vera finds a kindred spirit in the boy—and the key to her case lying deep in his disturbed memory.

Vera Vera Vera.... this series is excellent and her young partner is such a cutesy. I know- y can't America make series for ADULTS like those masterpiecing Brits?!... she's real, grumpy, frumpy, human, funny, smart and flawed. Love her character and the story lines don't insult ur intelligence and there's no overmade, fake boobed, hair extensioned , female detectives thrown in. Beware- they might smoke(