Shetland series 9 threw a huge curveball at us this week, when episode 2 revealed that Annie Bett had been a spy - but does that help us establish who killed her and why?

The detective drama continued this week (Wednesday, November 13, 2024) and the shocks just kept on coming. DI Tosh and Ruth Calder finally found Ian Bett - but he didn't stay prime suspect for long...

Here's the five compelling theories on who killed Annie Bett, and our top suspects.

***Warning: spoilers from Shetland series 9 episode 2 ahead***

Shetland series 9 episode 2 recap

In the rather tense episode 2 of Shetland series 9, we finally found out that Annie Bett and Anton Bergen were not lovers. In fact, Anton was having a relationship with a young man in Shetland called Nathan. Of course, that doesn't mean his relationship with Nathan was exclusive - especially as he ended their dalliance on the night he died...

We don't know who called Anton on the night he died, but we do know the call prompted him to end it with Nathan...

However, he DID discover that Ian Bett and Joni Connal were having an affair. She provided his alibi after Tosh arrested him on suspicion of involvement in the murders of Annie Bett and French national Anton Bergen.

Of course, at the end of the episode, we saw Ian Bett being ploughed down by John Harris in his car. But why?

Most shocking of all, though, was the knowledge that Annie Bett was a spy, along with her 'Cambridge tutor' Euan Rossi... Now THAT opens up the suspect list somewhat!

Who killed Annie Bett? Our top suspects...

Number one suspect throughout episode 2 was Ian Bett. Annie had ended her marriage to Ian just months before she was murdered. Of course, she was also found dead in a property owned by her husband. There's motive, for sure!

On top of his feelings of rejection, the other evidence against Ian is the nasty text messages he sent her before her death. He called her a "slut" and wrote: "When I find him, I'll kill him." Although we don't know who he was talking about, we know he was found with his own blood on him - not Annie's or Anton's.

And then Joni Connal (Karen Pirie actress Gemma McElhinney) revealed she was having an affair with him, and provided him with an alibi. So is he now in the clear? To be honest, Shetland fans know it's never the most obvious suspect, so Ian is probably innocent of the crime.

Shetland suspects: Euan Rossi

Professor Euan Rossi arrived in Shetland the day after Annie was killed. Or so we think. We know now that Euan is a spy, and so was Annie.

He certainly acts quite dodgy, although that means nothing in Shetland! And there's no apparent motive as yet. But did anybody else notice how concerned he seemed to be about Annie's son Noah? Is there more to their relationship?

Of course, Noah possibly witnessed his mum's death. However, he is so traumatised, he is unable to remember it.

How is Lisa Friel involved?

Homeless Lisa Friel was seen having an argument with Annie Bett on the day she died. Annie was a volunteer at the HEM refuge, and clashed with volatile Lisa while there.

When police tracked Lisa down to talk to her, Lisa ran away. Probably not what an innocent person would do. Whether she's capable of killing two people in cold blood with an automatic pistol - described as a "serious piece of hardware" - remains to be seen, though.

And one thing is for certain, she won't be able to hide from the police for that long in that conspicuous white van!

Did Noah Bett kill his mum?

At the moment, there are some pretty wild theories about Annie and Anton's killer. Not least that her son Noah is the culprit.

After episode 1, one fan suspected the son of murdering Annie. They wrote: "This better not be another one of those 'the kid did it' whodunnits. #Shetland."

Another wrote: "Surely it's not the kid who killed her?"

Other theories about the killer in Shetland...

In the course of their investigation, Calder and Tosh spoke to Anton Bergen's employers Karin and Stefan Jakobson. They are a wealthy Swedish couple who arrived in Shetland six months before, along with Bergen who worked as a nurse to their chronically ill daughter Astrid.

It certainly looked like Astrid was attached to Anton. It's possible that dad Stefan suspected something was going on with his daughter and Anton, and set out to kill him? Annie could have been collateral damage, rather than the main target. It's a long shot, but why else introduce the family? They must be involved somehow.

We don't yet know how Annie and Anton were connected either. That is crucial information.

Meanwhile, we've also got our beady eye on old school Shetlander John Harris, the recently-widowed mussel farmer. He certainly seems cut up about Annie's death - enough to drive into Annie's ex-husband Ian. That probably means that he didn't kill Annie, but he's certainly hiding something...

Who or what is OCTO?

Of course, now we know that Annie was a spy who worked with OCTU - the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit which is part of Police Scotland's Counter Terrorism Unit.

When DI Ruth Calder asked Rossi what Annie Bett had been involved in, he replied ominously: "Something that got her killed."

So is Annie's murder nothing to do with the Shetland and its residents at all? Or is this all a ginormous red herring. Only episode 3 and beyond will tell us...

Shetland continues with episode 3 on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.