Down Cemetery Road: (S1/Review) Thrilling?

Published by C Reema on December 10, 2025December 10, 2025

Down Cemetery Road (Season 1, UK, 2025) is an eight-part mystery drama series. This thriller takes us deep into a massive cover-up operation done by someone powerful in the Ministry of Defence.

Notably, this British TV series is based on the first fiction novel about the *P.I. Zoë Boehm, in the Oxford Investigations book series. The book is written by Mick Herron and adapted for TV by Morwenna Banks.

*P.I. stands for Private Investigator

This new suspenseful mystery to solve comes from the creative team behind the engrossing spy drama, Slow Horses (2022-onwards) series, which we have reviewed in our Focus Magazine, too.

Spoiler-Free Review in Brief of DOWN CEMETERY ROAD (Season 1, UK, 2025) Series

Focuses on P.I. Zoë & Sarah, as they uncover a secret conspiracy and a major cover-up operation

Synopsis

An explosion, a conspiracy, and an unlikely duo on a mission to expose the truth.

When a house explodes in a quiet Oxford suburb, and a girl disappears in the aftermath, neighbour Sarah Tucker (Ruth Wilson) becomes obsessed with finding her and enlists the help of private investigator Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson). Zoë and Sarah suddenly find themselves in a complex conspiracy that reveals people long believed dead are still among the living, while the living are fast joining the dead.

Brief Storyline

In the first episode of the series, we watch in horror as in a tranquil Oxford suburb, a house explosion leads to the disappearance of a young girl. And, soon after, a young married woman, Sarah Tucker (Ruth Wilson), becomes obsessively involved with an idea of finding the kid girl. Perhaps, she was feeling bored and dissatisfied with her domestic life. Or maybe she was actually concerned about the child.

Anyways, Sarah Tucker (Ruth Wilson) hires ‘Oxford Investigation’ (P.I.s) to assist her in her frantic search for the missing girl. Sarah unexpectedly starts to question all she thought she knew, as her investigation uncovers that people once believed to be dead are still alive, while the living are quickly becoming part of the deceased. And, herein, her relentless pursuit of the kidnapped girl makes her and her P.I. duo [Joe Silverman (Adam Godley), & Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson)] an active target of trained assassins.

It appears that Sarah and the P.I.s might have stumbled onto a complex conspiracy and massive cover-up operation. So, what unfolds in a quiet neighbourhood escalates to a climax on a remote, unfriendly Scottish island, as the pursuit brings Sarah together with a man who is being hunted by lethal official forces. And this engaging cat-and-mouse continues, as no one wishes to back down.

So, against all odds, will Zoë and Sarah survive and win in the end?

Poster

Positives

➕ Firstly, the bombing takes place. And then a child goes missing. Besides, murders just keep happening. This suspenseful story has enough twists and turns to keep viewers like us invested.

➕ For instance, why did they bomb a peaceful neighbourhood? Who was behind the bombing? What happened to the young girl? What about the conspiracy tale? All of these act like a hook.

➕Thankfully, the protagonist, Zoë Boehm, has a bold and colourful P.I. persona. Not only is she a much smarter investigator than her husband, who is also a P.I. Moreover, she is a brave survivor.

➕ And Emma Thompson, the female actor, has portrayed Zoë’s dogged and intelligent character in her own indomitable style. And we liked her chill act and her cooler hairstyle in it.

➕ Meanwhile, the deuteragonist, Sarah Tucker’s personality is like a lost child herself. Perhaps, by searching for the missing girl, whom she barely knows, Sarah is trying to find a purpose in her own life.

➕ Ruth Wilson, the supporting actress, who plays Sarah Tucker, does so with a lot of conviction. Unlike some of her past roles (e.g. Luther), here Ruth plays a do-gooder Sarah, quite convincingly.

➕ Moreover, we also appreciate the performances of Darren Boyd (C.), Adeel Akhtar (Hamza), Fehinti Balogun (Amos Crane), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Downey), etc.

Negatives

➖ Maybe this female-driven story could have been tighter and shorter. Because, at times, we felt as if the series was slowing down and moving at a meandering pace.

➖ Also, the season finale ending was a little bit disappointing for us. The ‘karma’ did not catch up with the powerful people. Maybe that is the harsh reality of the real (unequal) world.

FM Rating

Conclusion

We have a feeling that there are more seasons to come, as crafty P.I. Zoë Boehm has many more cases to solve. Especially, the author Mick Herron has written these 4 books featuring P.I. Zoë Boehm.

1. Down Cemetery Road (2003)
2. The Last Voice You Hear (2004)
3.  Why We Die (2006)
4. Smokes & Whispers (2009)

At the beginning of this series, its makers dropped the first two episodes on 29th October 2025. Followed by the airing of one episode in the middle of every week. Now that all the episodes are readily available, it has become a bingeable option for the viewers. Despite the agonising week-long wait, we enjoyed watching this suspenseful and thrilling mystery drama.

And most definitely, we would like to see more of Emma Thompson (Zoë Boehm), Ruth Wilson (Sarah Trafford) in the near future. Toes and fingers crossed.

Key Details

Trailer

Also, check out the YouTube video clip link to - The doctor is out, but Zoë is in. | Down Cemetery Road | Apple TV

Poster & Featured Image of Down Cemetery Road (S1, UK, 2025) Series | Pictures Credit: Apple TV.