If you are wondering why crime is such a big genre that doesn’t appeal to you because you prefer fantasy, romance, period drama or because you tried a Poirot once and didn’t get it (this was me, too), these might change your mind. They’re not just crime books—they’re good books. Best Book for Romance Readers…
Iconoclastic detective Jackson Brodie returns in Kate Atkinson’s long-awaited fifth book in the series, Big Sky, a triumphant new novel about secrets, sex, and lies. It’s been nine long years, but welcome back, Jackson Brodie! And, even more importantly to me, welcome back, Reggie Chase, who is all grown up and now a detective constable…
It’s dark, it’s foggy, and our man is buttoned into a pea coat and looking unsettled. In other words, Kurt Wallander (Kenneth Branagh) is back in Sweden where he belongs, and everything’s as it should be—for the moment. Then, a couple of thugs zoom up on a motorcycle, pummel him for no apparent reason, and…
Martha and Clive are preparing for their “silk” interviews, so we can rest assured that this episode will toss plenty of roadblocks in their way. Not to mention the roadblocks we know Martha will create for herself. ’Cause she wouldn’t be Martha if she didn’t make everything much more difficult than it needs to be.…
If life doesn’t provide you with good news, you stop waiting for it to arrive. You recalibrate, then you take the news life does provide and consider it good. Call it lowered expectations if you like, but it’s more than that—it’s a survival strategy. Survival is what this week’s episode of Case Histories is all…
Troubling events never seem to happen one at a time. They come in bunches, seemingly unrelated yet perplexingly intertwined if you examine them closely. For Jackson Brodie, that’s certainly true. He doesn’t just spot a dead girl floating in the Firth of Forth, he also witnesses a vicious road rage incident. (This is Scotland, by…
If I were to name my “favorite” authors, the list would be very short and Kate Atkinson would be on it. So it was with some trepidation that I approached this week’s Masterpiece Mystery presentation of Case Histories, based on the first of her Jackson Brodie novels. I needn’t have worried. The screenplay by Ashley…
