OLD TV HEAVEN - MURDER SHE WROTE

 Last night, lounging in front of the TV, aimlessly pushing buttons on the remote control I stumbled upon an episode of Murder She Wrote - this is not my usual type of show, though I have seen some episodes. Is there anyone who hasn't?  - but I watched it anyway. Drinking a smooth Penderyn malt, I just let the show run it's course. It's cozy style may be out of fashion - these days crime drama tend to be gritty, moody and introspective but there's a lot to be said for old school crime/mystery shows where the murder victims never bleed from gun or knife wounds, and fall to the ground without leaving an untidy mess.

12 seasons, 268 episodes and scores of murders - Cobot Cove, the fictional setting for the show, has a murder rate of 1,490 to the million which basically means that you are safer in a war zone than in the leafy New England town. The show was actually filmed in Mendocino, California and still today hordes of fans visit the area to walk the streets where Jessica Fletcher solved baffling crime after baffling crime. The show ended in 1996 but it remains a favorite of TV schedulers across the globe.

It may come as a shock to many to learn that the brilliant  Angela Lansbury was not the first choice to play Jessica Fletcher - originally the show runners approached Jean Stapleton, best known as Archie Bunker's long suffering wife, for the role. In fact the role had been created for the actress but she turned the producers down as she was going through a lot in her personal life having recently lost her husband. Looking for a replacement Angela Lansbury entered the scene - she had recently played Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the movie, The Mirror Crack'd and this made her a natural choice since the role of Jessica Fletcher is basically a transatlantic Jane Marple in any case.

'When I read the first script, I was immediately taken by Jessica Fletcher,' Lansbury told People Magazine back in 1984. ' I felt the script could have been written for me.'

As twee as the show is it must be remembered that when it first aired in 1984 it was a bit left field - at that time most TV cop shows were filled with car chases, colourful shirts and gun fights but this show featured a star in her 60's who favoured intellect over brawn. Yeah, it's the TV version of easy listening, like a celluloid version of  James Last and his orchestra performing Iron Maiden but it's all good fun and there are some curious episodes out there - like the Magnum PI/Murder she Wrote crossover in which Jessica is on vacation in Hawaii and trying to prove Magnum (Tom Selleck) was framed for two murders he's a been accused of. Now, that's a fun evening for anyone who loves old 80's trashy television.

The show had always been a big hit for CBS but when its 12th season was moved from its traditional Sunday evening slot and broadcast on Thursdays, putting it in competition with NBC's Friends, the ratings took a nose dive and it was decided to pull the plug before a 13th season.

Four TV movies followed and the show has never really gone away  -  there are the re-runs but there are also a series of books, credited to J B Fletcher but written by a series of ghost writers, that are still going strong today.

Book Reviews: The Hawks of Delamere by Edward Marston

 I've been reading a lot of historical fiction over recent months, but this is the first time that I've dipped into Edward Marston's works - the book is set in the historical mystery subgenre and is set in the 11th Century. 

This is actually the seventh book in the series set around the compilation of the Domesday Book, and featuring Ralph Delchard and Grevase Bret who have been tasked by William the Conqueror to look into serious irregularities that arise while engaging in the great survey.

Those who know their history know that the Doomsday Book, or to use it's Middle English spelling, The Domesday Book was the result of agents being tasked to survey every shire in England and a goodly part of Wales in order to secure taxes and discover the strength of power following the Norman conquest.

This being a crime novel rather than a straight historical book means that the reader gets a lot of the colour of the period, whilst the main thrust of the story is the mystery that unfolds with the historical landscape very much setting the parameters within which the fiction works.

The book opens with boastful Earl of Chester ( a vile tub of lard of a character) out with an hunting party when his beloved Hawk is shot out of the sky in Delamere Forest. Two poachers, a father and son are found nearby and with no evidence they are accused of killing the bird and cruelly lynched. Not long afterwards, Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive in Cheshire in order to carry out work related to Domesday. It is not long before another man is killed by an arrow and it becomes evident that the earl may have carried out his cruel justice in the woods on the wrong men.

The medieval slueths' are soon up to all manner of intrigue as they try and stop and killer and avert an all out war.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and followed the story easily without having read any of the other books in the series that preceded it, so I guess that each of the novels can be picked up and read in any order.

I'll certainly be reading more of this series and anyone who enjoys mystery with history will no doubt find a lot to like here.

Available both digitally and in print

     

9 Tips to write that Mystery/Thriller

Bestselling author, AJ Waines has some interesting advice on his to write a Crime/Mystery Thriller      HERE. 

AJ WAINES is a Number One Bestselling Author with over *450,000* copies sold worldwide. She writes Psychological Thrillers, has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Times and has ranked as a Kindle (KDP) TOP 10 'MOST-READ AUTHOR' in UK. She has publishing deals in France, Germany, Norway, Hungary and USA (audiobooks) and has recently signed a two-book deal with Bloodhound Books, UK.

Special Thriller Promotion

It's my first serious crime novel - previously I've worked within the cosy genre, mixing crime and gentle comedy but Down Among the Dead  marks my first venture into straightforward thriller territory. I'll still be working within the cosy genre - fans of my popular Granny Smith series will be pleased to see a new title in early summer - but I intend to alternate between series, and Down Among the Dead is the first Chief Inspector Frank Parade wartime mystery - I've already plotted out the second - working title, If Only the Dead Could Talk so I am hoping that readers take to the character of Frank Parade. My team of advance readers have given great reports on this book, calling it thrilling and a real page turner. And I do hope many of you take a chance on this book - you've got nothing to lose if you follow the special offer detailed below.


1940 – France has fallen and Britain stands alone against the might of the German war machine; a fierce battle for supremacy of the air rages in the skies as the Battle of Britain hits full stride.

For Chief Inspector Frank Parade, and his much depleted team there are many challenges to policing the small Welsh mining village of Gilfach Goch, for whilst miles away from the theatres of war the Home Front faces unique challenges of its own. The wartime demands thrown on the country mean that each officer in Parade’s team must do the work of two men – three even.

Soon the already overwhelming workload is increased when not one but two bodies turn up, and Parade finds himself having to investigate two murders as well as cope with everything else thrown his way.

‘Chief Inspector Frank Parade is going to become the new superstar cop. An excellent book.’ *****

The book is available in both paperback and eBook and for a short period you can download the eBook version for zilch - yep believe it or not, whilst the paperback will set you back several pounds you can grab a digital copy to be read on your eReader, computer screen , phone or tablet for free - all I ask is that you please leave a honest review on Amazon, Good Reads or, if you have one, a blog - reviews are the single most valuable tool to any writer - they help greatly to get a book noticed.

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Feel let down by the police?

Need something investigated, a crime solved?

Then you need Granny Smith Investigations.

It's actually Mary Alice Smith, despite what it says in the village newsletter. There were several other misprints within the issue and the most humorous being the advert that went - "Wanted: Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink." It is also worth noting that one of the First Aid Tips, written by the local ambulance driver, Fred Prendergast claimed that, "the first essential in the treatment of burns is that the patient should be removed from the fire."


It's a not so cozy crime  - available now for the Kindle and FREE  for two days only - go get it, folks.



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“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village and the police are stuck without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Alice Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the rock music loving, pipe smoking, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that sixty three is actually the new twenty three.

Murder's never been so much fun.