Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Perez in “Shetland”. Photo courtesy: ITV Studios

When we last crossed paths with Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, the fourth season of the gripping detective drama Shetland had come to a close with the release of Tommy Malone, a local man imprisoned 23 years ago for the murder of local teenager Lizzie Kilmuir. When his conviction was overturned, a ripple effect was felt throughout the tight-knit local community as the case was re-opened – and a second murder took place.

The island community of Shetland is, once again, rocked as season 5 returned to BBC One last night, this time with a brand-new case involving a severed hand and a bag of body parts found by a lone jogger on the beach.

The investigation quickly uncovers a complex and unsettling network of organized crime as the Shetland police team of DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall), DS Alison “Tosh” Macintosh (Alison O’Donnell) and DC Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson) work quickly to identify the victim and scrutinize his emails and social media accounts.

Based on the award-winning novels by writer Ann Cleeves, whose Vera Stanhope novels are also the basis for Vera, season 5 of Shetland will also see the return of Erin Armstrong as Jimmy’s stepdaughter Cassie Perez, Julie Graham (Bletchley Circle, Bletchley Circle: San Francisco) as Rhona Kelly, and Mark Bonnar (Line of Duty, Catastrophe, Undercover) as Cassie’s birth father, Duncan Hunter.

Shetland S5 continues Tuesdays on BBC One with an American premiere on public television later in 2019.