Dept. Q, now creating a buzz on Netflix, is based upon the books by Jussi Adler-Olsen, but while the original novels – and the Danish series which followed them – are set in Copenhagen, this iteration roots itself firmly in Edinburgh and uses the location to great effect.

Over nine episodes, based on the novel Mercy, we will get to know the deeply flawed DCI Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), a man haunted by past cases – and by what happens in the shocking opening minutes of this adaptation by writer and director Scott Frank. In the aftermath, Morck is assigned a psychiatrist, Dr Rachel Irving (Kelly Macdonald) but is reluctant to open up or even turn up for appointments. He finds himself the boss’s office, where harried DCS Moira Jacobson (Kate Dickie) seizes the chance to get him out of her hair and into the basement to run a new cold case team.

Did we say ‘team’? In fact, Morck is on his own, not averse to catching 40 winks on the grubby floor amid the outdated riot gear, rickety office chairs… and urinals. Soon he’s sharing the dingy space with a huge pile of cold case files and ordered to pick one or get out. Which is where Syrian refugee Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), now working in IT but a man with consummate detective skills and a somewhat shady past, comes in.

Akram wants out of his current dead-end job and into the work he was so good at in Syria. Granted, his methods may be a little unorthodox, but then so are Morck’s. In a series is dark and almost Gothic, this fledgling pairing offers memorable moments of light-heartedness amid the gloom and violence. As the team expands with further misfit recruits, including the wonderful, damaged, sharp as a tack DC Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne), the humour grows exponentially too.

Akram is tasked with picking a cold case that will satisfy the higher ups, and after trawling through the files he plumps for the disappearance four years ago of high-flying advocate Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie). The general opinion is that she fell off a ferry and her body never resurfaced, but Akram has his doubts and soon Morck is on board too. Merritt is probably dead, but was she killed, and where is her body? Ah, that’d be telling – and there’s no way we want to spoil the fun!

Episodes one and two of Dept. Q are a slow burn as characters are introduced and established, but keep the faith and you’ll be amply rewarded. The story may be set against a backdrop of a police force battling budget cuts and politics, but it is original, addictive and hugely entertaining. It is in the global top three most-watched Netflix shows right now, and deservedly so. Make a date with Morck and his crew immediately – and don’t be surprised if you can’t resist binge watching to the very end.

In 2017 we wrote a guide to Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series as was. There are now 10 books in total and three were made into feature length productions in Danish – The Keeper of Lost Causes, The Absent One and A Conspiracy of Faith. With Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Mørck and Fares Fares playing Assad, they’re worth tracking down.