In our introduction to the series, we find that Nocturne is built from the key parts of any crime-thriller: a haunted detective, a missing child, and a serial killer. What sets Apple TV’s adaptation of Lars Kepler’s novels apart is its acting performances, especially Stephen Graham’s.

Liev Schreiber plays Jonah Lynn, a former soldier turned homicide detective who leaves Philadelphia for a quiet life in rural Pennsylvania. That ends when Michael Frost, a boy missing for three years, turns up alive while his sister remains missing.

The case pulls Jonah back toward Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham), the serial killer he helped put away, now held at Riverside Psychiatric Hospital.

FBI agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), whom Jonah considers a surrogate daughter, volunteers to go undercover as a patient and get close to him.

Graham is the main draw. Jurek could have been a one-note villain, but Graham plays him as a man whose weapon is not his malice, but his voice. The series makes this clear early, when Jurek talks the man in the next cell into taking his own life.

His growing hold over Karl Anders, a newly assigned nurse played by Rory Culkin, shows how far his reach extends. Beetz is a steady counterweight, giving Saga a quiet determination that makes her dangerous assignment believable.

Schreiber is dependable, but Jonah’s torment is the most conventional part of the show.

The atmosphere is oppressive. The rural setting, deliberate pacing, and restrained style create constant unease. Tim Van Patten, who directed the first two episodes, understands the tone.

The early going is crowded. The premiere juggles Michael’s return, his missing sister, Jurek’s apparent accomplice, and Saga’s undercover plan before the characters have room to breathe. Genre fans will also spot some twists coming.

Still, Nocturne offers enough intrigue to keep watching. It has the resources to deepen.

Review: 9/10