Richard Harris, who wrote the first episodes of A Touch Of Frost, came up with a completely different, original and gripping psychological thriller in The Business Of Murder.

Set in the 1980s, it intrigued West End audiences for nine years, and this Middle Ground Theatre Company production is also compelling.

We are kept guessing throughout and it takes ages to work out the real reasons why the mysterious Mr Stone (Robert Gwilym) has reported his son to Detective Superintendent Hallett (Paul Opacic) and invited TV writer Dee (Joanna Higson) to his flat to discuss a script supposedly written by his wife.

The plot thickens when it transpires that Hallett and Dee are having an affair, and have been tricked by the manic Stone.

Gwilym (Casualty), Opacic (Emmerdale and Hollyoaks) and Higson (Shameless and WPC56) give fine performances as the three strong characters, though find it hard to gel as they try to bring credibility to the sometimes quirky and long-winded dialogue.

Michael Lunney’s direction is engaging, but it takes too long to set the scene and a quicker pace is needed, particularly in the first half.

Fortunately, there are plenty of twists and turns as the suspense mounts.

Four stars