The Deer Hunters

S4 E3: Teenagers Sassi and Louis Barnes stumble across Shane Thurgood, dead from a single gunshot wound on the moors of the Northumberland countryside. An abandoned truck is found burnt out a mile away, containing the remains of a deer. D.S. Joe Ashworth is convinced this is a poacher’s war gone wrong but for D.C.I. Vera Stanhope, the truth is never that straightforward. Delving into Shane’s life, Vera unearths a sad childhood in the country and a troubled existence in the city, scraping by as a failing novelist. After the recent death of his grandfather, Shane returned to sell his inheritance to wealthy landowner Will Peyton and his wife Clara, but inexplicably pulled out at the last minute. Could his death be linked to a dispute over land? And why did he decide to stay in a place with so many painful memories? The burnt truck is traced to Linus Campion, the teenager’s father and a known poacher with a history of violence. He denies any knowledge of Shane Thurgood and points the finger at his former father-in-law, Allen Barnes, head gamekeeper at the local Peyton Estate and protector of the deer who roam it’s land. Barnes knew Thurgood as a boy and boasts of giving him his first kill, but his daughters Clara and Ness seem less eager to admit a connection. Aided by her loyal team, D.C. Rebecca „Shep“ Shepherd and D.C. Kenny Lockhart, Vera delves into Shane’s chequered history with the Barnes and Peyton family. She must draw on all her trademark guile and intuition to unearth the truth behind Shane’s sudden departure fifteen years ago and understand what really drew him back to the land where he ultimately met his end.