USA's 'The Sinner' returns with new mystery, satisfying plot

USA's "The Sinner" looks simple enough. It's a psychological crime anthology series, and if you watch much TV, then you've seen plenty of those drift past in your scroll of choices.

But "The Sinner," which returned for a second, all-new, eight-episode tale Wednesday night, deserves more than a passing glance, if for no other reason than to admire its balance: The core mystery is complicated but not overly so; the gore is politely measured out in necessary doses; the twists are plausible enough to pass muster; and, above all else, "The Sinner's" pace and writing lure you in and resist the urge to drift, promising a conclusive wrap-up.

Season 1, still a worthwhile binge, starred Jessica Biel as Cora Tannetti, a troubled wife and mother who impulsively stabbed a stranger to death during a lake outing - a horrific act witnessed by dozens of people on the beach, including her husband.

Had it not been for the empathetic and unorthodox sleuthing of Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman), Cora might have gone straight to prison. Harry's instinctive investigation, conducted in the midst of his own personal problems, took "The Sinner" down an unexpected path to a solid and more meaningful conclusion. Biel is up for an Emmy for her performance and Pullman really ought to be.

Season 2 moves on to a new, equally baffling crime. On what appears to be a family road trip en route to Niagara Falls, a couple is murdered by their creepy son, Julian (Elisha Henig), who brings them poisoned mugs of tea from a motel's breakfast bar.

A local rookie detective, Heather Novack (Natalie Paul), reaches out to Harry to ask for his help in the case. As before, he quickly begins to doubt the open-and-shut nature of the evidence. The young suspect is being held in foster care while police look for any next of kin; before long, a woman named Vera shows up, claiming to be the boy's mother.

That Vera is played by Carrie Coon turns out to be the only endorsement this season needs - it's just one of those "I'd watch her read from the phone book" opportunities to heap praise.

And it's a good part for Coon: Vera is an influential member of a cultlike commune that occupies a farm 20 miles away, a subplot that stirs vague memories of Hulu's religious cult drama "The Path," only this cult feels more sinister. As the circumstances of Julian's relationship to the murder victims grows darker, "The Sinner" becomes an irresistibly compelling show, very much a late-summer treat.