THE MAJOR CRIMES TEAM

A squad of Scottish detectives probes diverse cases while working under a cloud of well-earned suspicion for their maverick methods.

DCI Harry Evans and his team are called in when someone puts a knife in the back of thug Jimmy Watson, who's been intimidating people out of their homes on behalf of the larcenous Leighton family. Though quick to solve cases like this one, Evans and his detectives are not in the good graces of DI John Campbell, who, constantly frustrated by Evans and his team’s renegade ways, plans to replace him. Case in point: Lauren Phillips, unbeknownst even to her partners, goes undercover as a stripper at a sleazy club called Shakers to break up a high-stakes crime ring. But she can’t long keep this effort from Evans, who supports her without her knowledge before confronting her about her dangerous endeavor. When personal tragedy strikes Evans, work becomes his lifeline. The other members of the team, Neil Chisholm and Amir Bhaki, probe an odd case in which someone with a grudge against a celebrity chef sabotages the opening of his new restaurant with, of all things, downed trees. Smith’s closing episode finds Campbell in an old-school cop drama featuring a car chase and busting down a door, all of which just might give him greater insight into (and empathy for) Evans. Stay tuned.

This neo-pulp series debut from Smith reads like a cycle of short stories, a brisk, gritty, entirely apt way to introduce his cop squad.