Grace is one of those dramas in which you shouldn’t think too hard about plot points. Such as: would two ruthless killers really leave their main victim alive? And it’s one in which the lead detective works things out inordinately quickly, and immediately tells the suspects that he suspects them. But these aren’t major problems. If ITV can find room in the schedules, another Grace instalment would go down nicely.

Grace grows into something a cut above the average detective drama. That’s mainly thanks to its pacing, which plaits two time frames towards a tight, only intermittently preposterous climax.

Grace and Branson’s race to find Michael made for truly nail-biting TV and there were great performances, with Simm as watchable as ever as the shrewd yet vulnerable Grace.

The plot becomes rapidly and pleasingly complicated without losing any sense of narrative.

John Simm is the main reason why Grace is such a watchable show. The mysteries are sufficiently engaging to keep the show from dragging, but Simm is the real attraction here.

The plot of the BritBox version is truly insane, apparently much like the book, and it’s only thanks to the solid, empathetic performance of John Simm (“Trauma,” “Dr. Who”) as Grace that things don’t go totally off the rails.