In the first series, a young detective sergeant, Karen Pirie, is put in charge of what appears to be a twenty-five year-old cold case.
An influential podcast series focuses on the case, the unsolved murder of a barmaid, and Pirie is tasked with rexamining it.
The site's critical consensus reads, "Clever and twisty, Karen Pirie refreshingly revamps the traditional grizzled detective procedural by putting a young woman on the case.
"[6] Writing in The Guardian, Lucy Mangan praised the show for its humour, confidence, and charm, as well as its suspenseful plot that keeps the viewer guessing until the very end.
[7] Sean O'Grady also gave the show 4 out of 5 stars in The Independent, writing that the "tartan noir drama lifts itself above the usual run of these cold case thrillers because the story is told in a refreshingly cohesive way."