After the series opener that came across as unusually direct in tone, "Tuesday's Child" was something of a disappointment.
Set against the backdrop of a traveling fairground, this episode had our trust DCI (Brenda Blethyn) investigating the death of a young boy found battered to death in a lonely spot colloquially named "Lovers' Lane." Her investigations uncover a complicated plot involving another dead young man, a suspect vicar (Joe Dixon) and his errant daughter (Nisa Cole), a cowardly young man (Ben-Ryan Davies), and an over-aggressive fairground owner (Sean Gilder).
The case itself - written by Glen Laker - involved the usual crop of red herrings and possible suspects, and kept audiences guessing until the end as to the real murderer's identity. Yet Vera did not actually do much investigating; it was left to the suspects to confess their guilt in a series of interrogation sequences right at the end, as they could not endure Vera's persistent questioning. This was not especially dramatic in tone: many of the details were communicated through dialogue, which rendered the plot difficult to follow.
Nor did we learn much more about Vera's character, apart from the fact that, like many police officers before her, she frequently took solace in whiskey while sat alone in her office. The maverick never really gets the chance to socialize with their fellow-officers; they might be outstanding at their jobs, but they are perpetually condemned to life on the outside.
"Tuesday's Child" was watchable, but not especially interesting.