Grace

 

Based on the Roy Grace novels by Peter James, this series follows Detective Superintendent Roy Grace (played by John Simm) and his sidekick Glenn Branson (Richie Campbell) as they investigate cases in and around Brighton. Grace, whose wife Sandy disappeared years back, is battling demons of his own including having to deal with not-so-nice bosses at work.

Simm and Campbell share great chemistry and the cases are interesting. I've just started with Season 4 and there is a major plot twist that threatens to derail Grace's relationship with Cleo.

Book Within a Book

 

 

A man is murdered, shot dead with a crossbow bolt through his neck, in an upscale gated community and all his neighbours have a motive (surprise, surprise). The man in question was loud, uncouth and had managed to tick off almost everyone in the community including the dog. The police call in Daniel Hawthorne to help them solve the murder.

Anthony Horowitz excels in the book-within-a-book format. While I really enjoyed Magpie Murders, this one didn’t have the same feel. I found real-life Anthony’s intrusion into the fictional verse a bit tiresome especially at times when I really wanted to get on with the story and find out who the killer was. In spite of the tiny flaws, it was an enjoyable read and the cast of characters were quite fascinating – from the grandmaster to the little old ladies who ran a crime bookstore. Not to mention Daniel Hawthorne himself.

If you like cozy mysteries that blend fiction with fact, this one is for you.

A Puzzle of a Book

The Final Curtain is an absolute puzzle of a book by my favourite Japanese author, Keigo Higashino.

A woman is murdered in Tokyo and the police find similarities between her death and the mysterious demise of a woman nearly a decade back – Detective Kyochiro Kaga’s estranged mother. Now, it is up to Detective Kaga to join the dots and unravel the mystery.

The novel had plenty of twists and turns in true Higashino fashion with a pacy plot to keep you guessing right till the end. I found some similarities between this and the plot of The Devotion of Suspect X. When you read it, you should know what I’m referring to – no spoilers here. Kaga is an intriguing character and I like the relationship he shares with his cousin, Detective Matsumiya. The translation has a huge role to play in these books and this one was easy on the eyes, not clunky and unwieldy.

36 Days

 

Photo courtesy: IMDB

Enigmatic woman claiming to be an air hostess moves into a gated community in Goa and the residents’ dark secrets come tumbling out. Who is the woman and what does she want?

Indian adaptation of Welsh series, 35 Diwrnod, 36 Days is a bingeworthy thriller with an ensemble cast who keep the intrigue going and how. There’s Neha Sharma, Purab Kohli, Shruti Seth, Amruta Khanvilkar, Shernaz Patel, Keneth Desai, Faisal Rashid, Sushant Digvikar and Sharib Hashmi among others. A special word of praise for one of my favourite actors – Chandan Roy Sanyal. His portrayal of a sleazy, lascivious baddie made me squirm. 

The only thing that put me off about this series was the incessant swearing. Sadly, the new normal in most Indian series. Unnecessary and completely over the top. I have to get my hands on the Welsh original.

Streaming on SonyLiv