The reviews are unanimously favourable, and the spread is narrow: nobody is rapturous and nobody is unimpressed. Most critics welcome the series as a break from the stale run of police procedurals, and the praise clusters in two places. The first is Tamara Lawrance, whose lead performance is singled out again and again, usually alongside Chyna McQueen, with the relationship between the two siblings named as the thing that stays with you. The second is Kingston itself: critics find the city drawn with care and a sharp eye for Jamaica’s social divisions, and several pick out the dialogue and production design.
The reservations gather around the plot. The Guardian thinks the central conspiracy loses its grip later on; The Hollywood Reporter calls the case perfunctory; Collider finds the investigation hard to follow; The AV Club, the coolest voice here, thinks the mystery lukewarm and predictable. Nobody dismisses the series for it. Variety is the most enthusiastic, calling it gripping throughout.