TV News: Coroner

Not to be confused with the BBC's The Coroner....Canadian series Coroner is based on MR (Matthew) Hall's series of books featuring Coroner Jenny Cooper. The action has moved from the Welsh-English border near Bristol, to Toronto.

Coroner has just begun its run of 8 episodes in Canada but we don't have to wait long here in the UK. The first episode is on the Universal Channel at 9pm on 21 January.

Here's some of the the official blurb from CBC:

Inspired by the best-selling series of books by M.R. Hall and created by Morwyn Brebner (Saving Hope), CORONER (8x60) is a character-driven one-hour drama about Dr. Jenny Cooper (SERINDA SWAN), a recently widowed new coroner who investigates suspicious, unnatural or sudden deaths in Toronto. The series reflects the rich diversity of Toronto, and each case brings Jenny into a new arena in the city, touching on buzz-worthy themes. Jenny taps into her intuition as much as her intellect and heart as she solves cases with the help of homicide detective Donovan McAvoy (ROGER CROSS), a man who isn’t afraid of challenging the status quo; pathologist Dr. Dwayne Allen (LOVELL ADAMS-GRAY) and his assistant River Baitz (KILEY MAY); and Alison Trent (TAMARA PODEMSKI), Jenny’s assistant who keeps it real. And while Jenny solves mysterious deaths, she also deals with clinical anxiety; a teenage son, Ross (EHREN KASSAM), who is still grieving the death of his father; and the prospect of starting a new relationship with the enigmatic Liam (ÉRIC BRUNEAU).

Coroners feature as the lead characters in three other British/European series to my knowledge:

Bernard Knight's Sir John de Wolfe series set in twelfth century Devon.
Priscilla Masters' Martha Gunn series set in Shrewsbury.
Jutta Profijt's Martin Gänsewein series set in Cologne.

(There are slightly more pathologists.)

Free TV Episodes on Amazon

Amazon.co.uk have updated their list of "first episode for you" choices where you can "buy" the first episode in a series for free.

The list includes one Scandi title - Dicte (NB. first episode of a two parter); British series include Sherlock, Death in Paradise, Inspector George Gently, Cuffs; also available is the New Zealand series The Brokenwood Mysteries, and the Australian series Rake, and Deep Water.

Browse the whole list at amazon.co.uk.

Free TV Episodes on Amazon (II)

It's back - Amazon.co.uk are repeating their offer of making the first episode available to "buy" for free, this time in 62 TV series - you can download as well as stream.

The list includes Scandi favourites such as Beck, Borgen, The Bridge, The Legacy, Occupied and additionally 1864, Modus, The Protectors, The Team and Follow the Money. Also included are: French series Braquo ; Israeli series Hostages; Polish series The Border; Belgian series The Outlaws and the Australian series The Code.

British series include Happy Valley, Hinterland, Luther, The Missing (II) and Shetland.

Browse the whole list on Amazon.

Free TV Episodes on Amazon

I've only just spotted this: Amazon.co.uk, have made the first episode available to "buy" for free in 93 TV series - you can download as well as stream.

The list includes Scandi favourites such as Beck, Borgen, The Bridge, The Killing and The Legacy as well as French series such as Braquo, Spiral and The Returned, and the original Israeli series Hostages.

British series include Broadchurch, Father Brown, Grantchester, Happy Valley, Hinterland, Line of Duty, Luther, River, Shetland and The Tunnel.

Browse the whole list on Amazon.

Next on Inspector De Luca: Carte Blanche

The second episode of Inspector De Luca is based on the first book in Carlo Lucarelli's De Luca trilogy, Carte Blanche, and is being shown on 29 March at 9pm on BBC Four:

In April 1945, having inadvertently been credited with 'saving Il Duce's life', De Luca becomes a reluctant hero and is promoted to a high-profile job in Bologna. He heads a murder investigation which will lead him to probe the private lives of the rich and powerful during the frantic final days of the fascist regime. The powers-that-be grant him carte blanche, just as long as he arrests the 'right' suspect.

TV News: Young Montalbano Ep.5 The Third Secret

The fifth part of the six-episode run of Young Montalbano - The Third Secret - is on Saturday 5 October at 9pm on BBC Four.

Montalbano receives an anonymous note predicting the death of a local construction worker, only to realise that the note has been delivered too late. Meanwhile, the public notice board announcing the town's forthcoming weddings is stolen. What at first appears to be an innocent prank gradually turns out to have more sinister overtones. Carmine Fazio's young son Giuseppe joins the investigating team following his father's retirement, but there are minor clashes between the enthusiastic new recruit and his boss.

The series is co-written by Andrea Camilleri and Francesco Bruni with the stories drawn from several short story collections.

TV News: Young Montalbano Ep.4 Mortally Wounded

The fourth part of the six-episode run of Young Montalbano - Mortally Wounded - is on Saturday 28 September at 9pm on BBC Four.

Some unusual posters appear around Vigata in which the moral status of one of its female inhabitants is questioned. This soon becomes the talk of the town and Montalbano finds himself attempting to navigate the local gossip and resulting squabbles. But a murder forces more serious events onto the agenda, as Montalbano investigates the private and business life of the victim, uncovering a string of unsavoury facts in the process. Fazio returns to Vigata police station asking to be reinstated in his job following a bout of serious ill health. Salvo's father makes the acquaintance of new girlfriend Livia.

The series is co-written by Andrea Camilleri and Francesco Bruni with the stories drawn from several short story collections.

TV News: More Shetland

The BBC announced yesterday that they have commissioned 3 more two-parters based on Ann Cleeves's Shetland series:

The crime drama Shetland is to return to television screens for three more two-part stories on BBC One.

Based on the novels of Ann Cleeves, the series features detective Jimmy Perez, played by Douglas Henshall.

The first series, aired earlier this year, attracted about 6m viewers for each episode.

Filming will begin in the coming months in Shetland and other locations on mainland Scotland.

According to Shetland News, the books next to be televised (Red Bones was the first tv show) are Raven Black, Blue Lightning and the recently published, Dead Water.

TV News: Arne Dahl's Intercrime series on BBC4

The first five books in Swedish author Arne Dahl's 'Intercrime' series have been adapted for television, two episodes per book. The series begins on BBC4 on Saturday 6 April at 9pm with the first part of The Blinded Man (aka Misterioso).

The Blinded Man tr. Tiina Nunnally, is available in English and the sequel Bad Blood is out in July.


High-flying financiers are being murdered and it is beginning to appear like the work of a serial killer. CID inspector Jenny Hultin puts together a team of top detectives to crack the case swiftly before there are more deaths and a national panic. One of the team, Paul Hjelm, is saved from a disciplinary hearing for shooting a hostage taker when he said he was unarmed. Together with his new colleagues he finds himself working 24 hours a day in shifts to find the killer quickly. They are 'A Unit' and their pursuit of the Fat Cat Killer will expose tensions within the newly-formed group and put some of them in fear of their lives. And what do the financier killings have to do with the Estonian mafia and the discovery of a dead robber in an empty bank with a dart in his eye?


There's more about the tv series on Arne Dahl's website.

Here's the Swedish trailer:

TV News: Inspector Nardone on True Movies 2

I've just received a press release telling me about a new Italian crime series, Inspector Nardone (Il Commissario Nardone) starring Sergio Assisi. It's already been on in the US (and is available as a R1 DVD) but will debut in the UK on Friday 15 March at 11pm on True Movies 2 (Sky 322, Freesat 303).
The series is twelve episodes long and is being shown in two-episode blocks every night from 15 to 20  March.

From the press release:
"A grey but optimistic post-war Milan is the ideal breeding ground for a new criminal scene, very
different from the one we are used to today: an old fashioned organized crime, made up of thieves and outlaws who share a specific moral code, which absolutely condemns homicide. Mario
Nardone as the new chief officer is assigned to the Milan Police Department, as if to settle a score for having exposed his corrupt colleagues.”

“Based on a real figure, a true legend in Milan during the 50s and 60s. Mario Nardone seems to be a character from Maigret creator Georges Simenon novel."

Trailer for Ann Cleeves' Shetland

Here's a short trailer for the tv series Shetland, coming soon to BBC One, starring Douglas Henshall and based on Ann Cleeves's Red Bones, the third in the Jimmy Perez series:

• Raven Black	2006	1
• White Nights	2008	2
• Red Bones	2009	3
• Blue Lightning	2010	4
• Dead Water	2013	5

TV News: Big Four reunite for Poirot's The Big Four

I'm pleased to see the return of Japp, Hastings and Miss Lemon!

From an ITV press release yesterday:

Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran are reunited with David Suchet for Agatha Christie’s The Big Four.

Last seen together in the television adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran are back to reprise their iconic roles as Captain Hastings, Inspector Japp and Miss Lemon alongside David Suchet as the legendary Hercule Poirot in The Big Four.

Adapted by award-winning screenwriter and actor Mark Gatiss and actor Ian Hallard, The Big Four plunges Poirot into a world of global espionage where he uncovers a theatrical tale of murder, secrets, lies and love, set against the backdrop of the impending World War II.

As a deadly game of chess unfolds, Russian grandmaster, Dr Ivan Savaranoff (Michael Culkin) meets a shocking end, sending the public spiralling into panic, as suspicion is cast upon Peace Party stalwarts Abe Ryland (James Carroll Jordan) and Madame Olivier (Patricia Hodge). In one of his toughest challenges yet, Poirot must work out who the good guys are from the bad, as a complex plot sees a host of international figures used like pawns by a gang of dangerous dissidents tagged “The Big Four”.

As the murders and disappearances stack up one by one, Poirot is joined in his investigations by his old friend Japp (Philip Jackson), the dogged journalist Tysoe (Tom Brooke), and struggling actress, Flossie Monro (Sarah Parish), in an attempt to snare the killer and shatter “The Big Four” for good.

TV News: BBC Dramas

The BBC have tonight announced some upcoming dramas (more details here):

New

Death Comes To Pemberley
3 x 60 serial
Adapted from P.D James' international bestselling novel in this 200th anniversary year of the first publication of 'Pride & Prejudice', P.D James' remarkably inventive homage to Austen brings the much-loved world to life in a dazzling and original way. Set six years after 'Pride & Prejudice' ends and centering on Austen's best-known characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, the three-parter combines classic period drama with a highly suspenseful and brilliantly crafted murder mystery plot.

Breakdown
8 x 60 series
When his son is snatched on holiday in France, Tony’s exhaustive search fractures his marriage and destroys his life. Exploring the emotional cost of hope and finding when to let go, this relationship thriller shows the impact of a child’s abduction.

The Interceptor
8 x 60 series
A new gripping and high-octane eight-part series about a top secret, state of the art law enforcement team whose unswerving mission is to hunt down some of Britain’s most dangerous and ruthless criminals.

Jamaica Inn
3 x 60 serial
A bold new adaptation of the classic Daphne du Maurier novel, set in 1820 against the foreboding backdrop of windswept Cornish moors, this highly charged, gothic romance follows young Mary Yellan as she becomes entangled in a dangerous criminal world ridden with smuggling and murder, testing her resolve and morality to the very core.

Remember Me
3 x 60 serial
A haunting three-part mystery, on the day a frail old Yorkshireman leaves his own home to move into residential care, he becomes the sole witness to a violent death. His teenage care assistant tries to unravel the riddle of his strange and secretive life, and is drawn into an eerie and dangerous world of lost love and betrayal.

Recommissioned

Death In Paradise - series 3
8 x 60 Series
The warm, witty and intriguing hit crime drama series, which is averaging almost 8 million consolidated viewers per episode in its second run is set to be filmed on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and will return to BBC One for a third series next year.

TV News: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Almost a year after I first mentioned Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, the series, which is based on Kerry Greenwood's novels, gets its UK premiere on Alibi. The first episode, Cocaine Blues, is on Monday 11th at 10pm:

The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher began life in 1989 as the daring lady detective protagonist of a series of 18 crime books written by Australian author, Kerry Greenwood, and now she's brought to life in this stunning series. Phryne (pronounced Fry-nee) is a glamorous and thoroughly modern woman of the 1920s. Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger sharp wit.

After many years abroad, Phryne returns to Melbourne, in part to start a new life in her home town, but to also ensure that Murdoch Foyle (Nicholas Bell), the man thought to be responsible for her younger sister's mysterious disappearance, never gets out of jail. But before her very proper Aunt Prudence (Miriam Margolyes), a well-known society matriarch, can drag Phryne off to attend her first soiree, she finds herself embroiled in a murder.

TV News: Father Brown on BBC1

A ten-part series of Father Brown begins on Monday on BBC1 at 2.10pm (daily Mon-Fri) with Mark Williams as G K Chesterton's priestly detective.

Euro Crime reviewer Rich Westwood interviews the producer over at Past Offences.

Episode 1 is The Hammer of God:

Father Brown (Mark Williams) attends a tea party to celebrate a new church clock tower, presided over by his friend Reverend Bohun (Adam Astill).

However, the serene atmosphere is shattered when his caddish brother Norman (Sam Hoare) arrives, riling most of the guests. Just after the bells sound for the first time Norman’s body is found behind the church, the back of his head hit by a hammer found lying nearby. The local blacksmith Simeon (Barry Sloane) is immediately suspected but his wife Elizabeth, (Bryony Afferson) guilty about having relations with Norman, confesses to the crime and is arrested by Inspector Valentine (Hugo Speer). Reverend Bohun implores Father Brown to find out the truth. At the police station Elizabeth confesses that she’s innocent, however until the real culprit is caught, she won’t speak up. Father Brown must find the killer before an innocent woman is sent to the gallows…

Favourite Discoveries 2012 (9)

Today's instalment of favourite discoveries of 2012 comes from Terry Halligan.

Terry Halligan's Favourite Discoveries of 2012

My favourite TV discovery of 2012 was Inspector Montalbano, which has been highlighted several times on this blog as being shown on BBC4. As I generally don't watch much TV apart from news bulletins, I neglected to watch it until one Saturday evening a couple of months ago when I saw it for the first time and I was totally blown away. It was brilliant, but also amusing and well plotted and it reminded me of Inspector Morse, but in Italian. It was half-way through the third series that I started watching, and after the series finished I viewed a few further programmes that were on the BBC iPlayer but then all of the remaining programmes were removed I suppose to make space for The Killing. So to get more fixes of Inspector Montalbano, before any more are shown in the future on BBC4, I've bought the box set of Series 1, which I'm currently viewing and enjoying immensely now. Hopefully, I'll be able to buy more DVDs in the January Sales.

Looking over the list of books that I've read during 2012, two American authors that I read as alternates to Euro Crime books stand out. The first is Brian Haig who is the son of Gen Alexander Haig who served as US Secretary Of State under President Ronald Reagan. Brian Haig was also in the US military and when he left he became a full time thriller writer and many of his books involve a Special Forces officer turned Army JAG lawyer Major/Lieutenant Colonel Sean Drummond. His books are very fast and fun and I see that I've read four this year starting with Private Sector (2005).

Another American author that I discovered this year is John J Nance who wrote the book Pandora's Clock (1995). Nance is an American pilot who served as an international airline pilot and knows what he is writing about when you read one of his thrillers as they always happen mainly aboard air-planes. Pandora's Clock is the first thriller by him that I read and it is about a 747 crossing the Atlantic to Europe but not being allowed to land as someone on board has a deadly virus!

For Euro Crime a favourite author that I discovered is Anne Perry who has written over 40 historical mystery books under that name and I read and I reviewed Dorchester Terrace, which is in her Inspector Pitt series. Whilst researching her books, I discovered that she was born in England but had a troubled childhood as her parents were always moving but she changed her name to the present one and after spending some time in the USA, moved to Scotland where she now lives as a very successful author. Since doing my review I have obtained her first four 'Inspector Pitt' books which start with The Cater Street Hangman. Her books are characterised by well observed period detail and very good plots. I hope to read more of them.

Read Terry's Euro Crime reviews here.

Favourite Discoveries 2012 (8)

Today's instalment of favourite discoveries of 2012 comes from Sarah Hilary who blogs at Crawl Space as well as reviewing for Euro Crime. Sarah has chosen two tv series which are now available on DVD.

Sarah Hilary's Favourite Discoveries of 2012

My favourite discovery of 2012 was Good Cop with Warren Brown on the BBC. I thought this four part drama was exceptional, multi-layered, superbly acted and beautifully filmed. Most notable for making Liverpool look gorgeous, and for showcasing the range of the frankly astonishing Warren Brown.

A close second was The Bletchley Circle on ITV1, terrific cast, period detail to die for and the promise of a second series in the offing.

Read Sarah's Euro Crime reviews here.

Favourite Discoveries 2012 (I)

As usual I have asked my fellow Euro Crime reviewers to come up with their top 5 reads of 2012 - these will be collated and announced in early January. Like last year, I have also asked them what their favourite crime fiction discovery of the past year - be it book, film or tv series - has been.

The first reveal comes from Amanda Gillies who chooses a DVD boxed set.

Amanda Gillies's Favourite Discovery of 2012

Following on from really rather enjoying reviewing Luther: the Calling, by Neil Cross, earlier this year, I decided to buy series 1 and 2 of the television series of the same name, and by the same author.

I absolutely loved it! Not having a TV, I was unaware of this series and fell in love with the tall, dark, tormented detective Luther, played incredibly well by the perfectly cast Idris Elba. I am delighted that there is to be a third series soon; Luther gets under your skin and I miss him now that I have finished watching both series.

Like most interesting TV policemen, Luther bends the rules a little in order to get the work done. The difference with Luther, though, is that he treads a very close line between "being a dirty cop and just getting his hands dirty", as one of his associates says when she discovers what he has done.

Luther's cases are rather on the dark side, and this appeals to me as well. They are never quite cut and dried and several span over a number of episodes. There is also more to the TV series than just Luther solving cases. His relationship with his ex-wife and her lover, for example, shows you more of the anguish locked up inside him. You frequently wonder what exactly it was that has made him into the person that he is.

If you have been given vouchers for Christmas and are still wondering what to do with them, I recommend purchasing this little beauty. You won't be disappointed.

Read Amanda's review of Luther: the Calling plus more of Amanda's reviews: crime and teenage/YA fiction.

Amanda blogs at Old Dogs and New Tricks.

TV News: Jack Irish on FX (UK)

Jack Irish starring Guy Pearce, based on the novels by Australian author Peter Temple begins on Friday 14 at 9PM on FX,with the first of two feature-length episodes: Bad Debts, followed a week later by Black Tide.

Jack Irish (Guy Pearce) is a man getting his life back together again.

A former criminal lawyer whose world imploded, he now spends his days as a part-time investigator, debt collector, apprentice cabinet maker, punter and sometime lover – the complete man really.

An expert in finding those who don’t want to be found – dead or alive, Jack helps out his mates while avoiding the past.

That is until the past finds him…

Find out more about the series at the ABC website.

It is likely that books three and four, Dead Point and White Dog will also get the same treatment.

As well as the 'Jack Irish' novels, Peter Temple has written the CWA Dagger Award-winning The Broken Shore, and Truth.

TV News: Trailer for The Spies of Warsaw (with David Tennant)

Alan Furst's The Spies of Warsaw is expected to be shown on BBC Four early in 2013 and BBC America in January.

It stars David Tennant and Janet Montgomery and is adapted by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. The supporting cast includes Ann Eleonora Jørgensen (Pernille from The Killing). From the BBC's website:

A thrilling spy story set in Poland, Paris, London & Berlin in the years leading up to the Second World War. French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield.

At the French embassy, the new military attaché, Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier (Tennant), a decorated war hero of the 1914 war, is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw.

At the same time, the handsome aristocrat finds himself in a passionate love affair with Anna (Montgomery), a Parisian lawyer for the League of Nations. Their complicated love affair intensifies as German tanks drive through the Black Forest.

Two 90-minute film adaptations of one of Furst’s most acclaimed novels will bring to BBC Four a combination of historically located, intelligent narratives, interlaced with flawed, romantic and utterly compelling characters.

BBC America have released a brief trailer: