With the nights drawing in ever-faster, there’s no better time to get stuck into a new psychological thriller. 

Enter: Dublin Murders. 

Based on Tana French’s best-selling Dublin Murder Squad novels, the eight-part BBC series is already being hailed as one to watch with its complex and dark exploration into an almost-gothic mystery. 

Here’s everything you need to know…

What is Dublin Murders about?

Dublin Murders combines the first two books in Tana’s series, In The Woods and The Likeness. 

Set against the Celtic Tiger financial boom of the mid 00s, it explores the murders of a local teenage girl, Katy Devlin, whose body is found in the middle of an archeological site, and a woman who is found stabbed in a roofless famine cottage. 

Police begin to believe the cases are linked in someway, with the action also seemingly connected to an event 21 years prior, which saw three children go missing in the woods, with only one ever coming back alive – albeit with no memory of the incident. 

Detectives Rob Reilly and Cassie Maddox are charged with investigating the murders, but it appears neither wants to be on the case, for reasons that are not immediately clear. 

According to writer, Sarah Phelps, there is “something deep and dark about them that they share”.

She teases: “It is something tragic and highly personal that has dogged them all of their adult lives. This story is about how they are going to be able to get on with the serious, difficult dirty business of just living with it.”

Who is in the Dublin Murders cast?

Killian Scott as Detective Robert Reilly 

Rob is described as being a bit of a lone wolf, who is entirely focussed on his work to the detriment of everything else in his life. 

“You get no real suggestion of someone with an active social life or personal interests,” Killian says. “However, Rob seems to be relatively content in that universe.”

However, his professional mask is hiding a very troubled past that will soon come spilling out…

Where have I seen Killian before? Killian may be familiar to fans of J.K. Rowling drama Strike, where he played DI Eric Wardle. He also appeared as Assistant Commissioner Augustus Dove in BBC drama Ripper Street, as well as having a guest role int he third series of Call The Midwife. 

Most recently, he had a lead role in US period drama Damnation, as well as appearing in 2018 Liam Neeson film The Commuter. 

Sarah Greene as Detective Cassandra Maddox 

Cassie is the partner of Detective Reilly, and the pair are very close – although their relationship is strictly platonic.

Cassie has risen through the police ranks because of a stint undercover and is described as “determined, headstrong and also very manipulative”.

Like Rob, she has also suffered a huge trauma in her past, with Sarah explaining: “She is fighting with her darker side as the story evolves.”

Where have I seen Sarah before? Sarah is (obviously) not the Going Live! presenter of the same name. 

The actor’s career has mainly seen her appear on screen in the US and Ireland, playing a lead role in CBS show Ransom, as well as starring in mini-series Rebellion. 

She also had a recurring role in the second and third series of the British-US co-production of Penny Dreadful, as well as appearing alongside Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller in 2015 film Burnt. 

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Detective Frank Mackey 

Frank is Cassie’s former boss, who hand-picked her to work as an undercover officer. The pair remain close and their relationship is a strange mix of paternal and sexual. 

“Frank can be manipulative but he’s not a villain, but not quite a goodie, he is in the middle in a grey area,” Tom says of his character. 

Where have I seen Tom before? Tom had a lead role in Irish drama Love/Hate from 2010-2014 and also had a guest role in the first series of Peaky Blinders. 

In 2016, he appeared in BBC mini series The Secret Agent, alongside Line Of Duty stars Stephen Graham and Vicky McClure. 

And if you don’t recall seeing Tom before, you might just recognise his voice, as he voiced super villain Ebony Maw in the last two Avengers films. 

When is Dublin Murders on?

Dublin Murders begins on Monday 14 October at 9pm on BBC One, airing each Monday and Tuesday night for the next four weeks.