The story begins in North Devon. DI Matthew Venn (Ben Aldridge) drinking a beverage in front of a large picture window that provides a clear view of the ocean. His husband, Jonathan Roberts (Declan Bennett) asks him the time as he retrieves something from a nightstand. He asks him if there is any news. He says “no” and gives him a kiss before going out for a swim.

He is at home making coffee when a knock comes at the front door. It is his mother, Dorothy Venn (Juliet Stevenson), and Ruth Shapland (Nia Gwynne), the mother of missing teen, Rosa Shapland (Iona Anderson). Ruth gives Matthew a pendant necklace found in Rosa’s room and asks him if there is any progress. House-to-house inquiries were initiated the night before. They are unclear with Rosa’s 999 call come from. Dorothy catches a glimpse of Jonathan in his underwear, Matthew notices her reaction.

 

At the police department, a photo of Rosa is pinned up on the investigation board. She was a volunteer at the Woodyard. Matthew goes over the investigation. Rosa made a 999 call the night before from an unknown location. The detectives believe Rosa called for help. He shows the group Rosa’s necklace, which is given to DC Jen Rafferty (Pearl Mackie) for a forensics assessment. Rosa and Simon Walden (Luke Ireland) made contact, leading up to his death. He was a guest at her church. Matthew orders DC Ross Pritchard (Dylan Edwards) to go house-to-house in the Saunton Sands area to determine if anyone knows anything about Rosa’s disappearance. Simon received a message from chef William “Will” Strensham (Kevin Johnson) at the Woodyard before he died.

DI Matthew and DC Jen visit Will at work to talk about Simon. Matthew remembers Will was popular with the girls at school. He knew Matthew and Jonathan had moved back. He says Simon agreed to help him get out of debt, but something happened to change his mind. Simon never mentioned Rosa to Will, but he saw him talking to other girls at the day center, which he describes as “weird”.

WPC Becky (Susannah Edgley) tells DC Dylan, a resident at Harbell Lane saw lights on at a rental property last night and maybe Rosa. They head over to the property to investigate further. He orders Becky to call the property in.

DI Matthew and DC Jen visit with Lucy Craddle (Sarah Gordy) to ask her about Rosa. She denies knowing anything about Rosa and Simon’s relationship. They believe she is not telling them everything because she is scared. They head to the rental property, where they discover a puddle of blood on the floor. A DNA test is ordered. No signs of a break-in are noted. A locked laptop and Simon’s Bible are discovered in the loft.

DI Matthew visits the church. Dennis Stepheson (Martin Shaw) says Ruth is distraught over Rosa. He asks if Rosa’s missing is linked to Simon’s murder. Simon had been drinking alcohol the night he visited the church. Dennis admits to giving Simon the Bible and invites him back to the church. Dorothy and other church members are preparing food boxes for the community. Matthew says he remembers participating as a child. Grace Stephenson (Anita Dobson) says the homeless and families need help during the holidays. Dorothy says they also need God. She believes Matthew thinks their religious beliefs are “hellfire and damnation.” He disagrees, saying he remembers kindness and judgement. He knew she saw Jonathan earlier and pretended he never existed after he left the church. She is shocked.

At the police department, they discuss the evidence found at the rental property. Simon’s and Rosa’s fingerprints were discovered at the property. The postman believes he saw Simon and another girl, not fitting Rosa’s description, at the rental property. Matthew says they will continue treating the case like Rosa is still alive.

Simon’s roommates, Caroline Reasley (Siobhan Cullen) and Gaby Chadwell (Aoife Hinds) are at their apartment. Gaby hurriedly covers her painting when Caroline walks in. She alerts Gaby about her boyfriend, Ed Ravely (Amit Shah) moving in.

Lucy’s father, Maurice Craddle (Alan Williams) is watching a man pull up at the center to pick up Lucy. They kiss and get in his car.

Caroline and Ed put his clothes away. She hesitantly breaks up their kissing. She receives a text from her day, wanting to meet for a drink. She doesn’t want to deal with him right now because of Simon’s murder investigation. He tells her it is not necessary to hide her scars, calling her “lucky” because her dad wants to meet with her. He encourages her to return his call.

DC Jen meets with her daughter, Ella Rafferty (Melissaandrew St Hilaire). It has been about five days since they last talked. Ella says a guy asked her out at school. She receives a call from DC Dylan about the rental property owners. A local pub has another set of keys for the property. The pub staff cleans the home during the holidays. They visit the pub, where they meet with the guy Jen recently had sexual relations with. He admits to texting her with no response. She warns him to never talk about the night they spent together. He and two staff members, including Gaby, clean the rental property.

Gaby is sketching down by the water when DC Jen Matthew speaks with her about Simon. They were in a relationship about two months before he broke up with her after visiting Rosa’s church. She got a copy of the key to the rental property and gave it to Simon. They regularly met there. She has a history of petty fraud and shoplifting. She contributes their breakup to the church. They question if Gaby murdered Simon and abducted Rosa because she knew they were in a relationship.

DC Dylan teases DC Jen about her bartender lover being a suspect in the case.

Mathew tells Ruby they believe it is Rosa’s blood in the chalet. He doesn’t know if she is still alive, but he promises to find her. Dorothy asks him inside her home, where she shows him a scrapbook of his cases. He has flashbacks of being a child in the home. She says they knew he would be a detective. He was an observant child who listened more than talked. He was no longer welcome in their home after he left the church. Her grief made her sour. She admitted to being wrong about not letting him visit his father before he died. He tells Ruby his husband’s name is “Jonathan.”

Caroline meets with her father, Christopher Reasley (Neil Morrissey). He offers her a free trip to Barcelona. She tells him about Ed moving in. He believes it should have waited until she comes back from Barcelona. She wants to know why he is so keen to get rid of her. DC Jen interrupts their conversation. She has it out with Gaby upon arriving home. She refuses to forgive Gaby for lying and impeding a murder investigation. She wasn’t aware, Gaby and Simon were together. She calls him a “good person,” Gaby calls him an “alcoholic.”

Lucy arrives home to her angry father. They argue and he tells her she will always be a child. He immediately regrets saying it. She stomps upstairs and slams a door behind her.

Matthew arrives home and hugs Jonathan. He tells him about Dorothy’s scrapbook. He says it is okay for your mum to be proud of you. He agrees to drink vodka and go skinny dipping with Jonathan. He receives a call, alerting him a witness saw Rosa in the woods near Lovacott. They head out to the woods to look for Rosa. When they arrive, DC Jen and other police officers are preparing to search the woods.

Caroline visits her dad’s home while he is away. She accesses his computer and finds a non-disclosure agreement for Simon. Gaby is painting a picture of Simon. Gaby smears the paint on Simon’s face.

In the woods near Lovacott, the detectives and law enforcement officers search for Rosa. They find her lying up against a fallen tree. She is treated at the hospital for a head injury. The expensive necklace did not have DNA on it. Matthew orders Jen to pull CCTV footage from stores within a hundred-mile radius. He wants to know if Simon purchased the necklace. Dorothy asks Matthew to join them later for a meal.

Gaby visits the church, where she meets with Dennis and Grace. She tells him about Simon breaking up with her because of the church. She says rumors have it the church is a “cult.” She wants to know if Simon spoke of him at the church meetings. Dennis says “no” and apologizes for Simon’s death. She is pregnant with Simon’s baby.

Caroline exposes her scar to ed. Her father was driving drunk when he veered off the road. Ed says he would have been tested. She says he manipulates people, which is how he got away with killing her mother and injuring her. He covered it up. She believes he is connected to Simon’s death. She shows him a copy of the non-disclosure agreement. He doesn’t believe her, she hurries out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Maurice visits the man he saw Lucy with. He accuses him of taking advantage of her and threatens him with the police. He slams him up against the wall and says, “You don’t know what I’m capable of, you don’t know what I’d do for that girl.”

Back at the police station, Dylan tells Matthew the report for Simon’s laptop is back. An unknown person threatened Simon to stay away from Rosa. Simon sent a message back, “You’re going to prison for what you did to her.” The message was sent to an unregistered burner. Messages to his solicitor, requesting $200K to be deposited into a trust account in the Woodyard’s name were also sent. Matthew says Rosa was being hurt by someone other than Simon.

Caroline receives a text from her father, telling her to think of the Barcelona trip. Lucky sends a text “Don’t worry I didn’t say anything” to an unknown person. Matthew visits the church, where he has flashbacks of his childhood. His mother wants to meet Jonathan.

CCTV footage showed Christopher Reasley visiting the jewelry store. Christopher is on his laptop in his home as the episode comes to an end.

The Long Call Review

For a small-town crime drama, North Devon has a lot going on. They do a great job keeping viewers in suspense about the killer. The cast is a bit oversaturated, as some of the characters do not seem to have a purpose. If you are looking to connect to DI Matthew, you may not be able to. His attitude is at times unlikeable, almost as if he is looking down his nose at his mother who is trying to improve her stance on homosexuality. If you are expecting a fast-paced crime drama, you will be sorely disappointed. We will have to see if the story lives up to the Ann Cleaves hype. The episode deserves a 6.

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