QUIRKY SCOTTISH DETECTIVE
Annika (PBS Passport)
The Chief Penguin and I were big fans of Unforgotten and Nicola Walker who played one of the two detectives researching cold crime cases. We were sorry to see that series end and delighted that Walker is starring in a new series. This one, based in Glasgow, features Walker as Annika, the head of a marine homicide team dealing with drownings and other suspicious deaths. This season has 6 episodes.
The first episode gave us pause as Annika talks to the screen and is often quoting from Norse legends or other literature. In addition to her professional duties, she also has a rebellious 15-year-old daughter. Between her ragtag team of colleagues and the challenges of parenting, it’s a series that grew on us and by the end of the second episode we were hooked.
A different Nicola Walker, but, ultimately, an engaging one! We binge watched all the episodes on PBS Passport, but the series will also be shown on Masterpiece later this year.
ROMANTIC CORNWALL
Four Seasons (Acorn)
This 4-part series made in 2008-2009 is based on several novels by British author Rosamunde Pilcher. She won world-wide popularity with her family saga, The Shell Seekers, published in 1987. Many years ago, I read a bunch of her novels. They were perfect bonbons for summer.
Julia, divorced wife of Stephen, returns to Endellion, the family estate which will one day become Stephen’s. Julia and Stephen’s daughter Charlotte died twenty years ago. Granddaughter Abby, who was raised by Stephen, is keen to learn more about her mother and her death. Add in the gentle patriarch Alex, Stephen’s warm and more laid-back younger brother Charles, Abby’s slick boyfriend Jamie, and you have the makings of conflict mixed with romance.
Filmed in Cornwall, the mansion and the scenery are stunning. The initial pacing is somewhat languorous, the background music heavy, and the dialogue pedestrian. It picks up in successive episodes as conflicts erupt. What happens is mostly predictable, but I’ve stayed with it as it’s good enough to keep me on the treadmill.
SUMMER READING
Every June, I start to take stock of which books I want to read over the summer and which ones I’ll pack or download for our Maine sojourn. This group of titles is mostly lighter fare, perfect for lazy afternoons.
MYSTERY
Something to Hide by Elizabeth George
I’m reading this now and it’s the latest Thomas Lynley and Elizabeth Havers mystery. At more than 600 pages, it’s a tome and not one for reading in bed!
***
NOVELS
The American Fiancée by Eric Dupont
A family saga of the 20th century translated from the French.
The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed
A Booker Prize finalist recommended by my favorite local bookseller, it’s a historical novel about a Somali man in Wales accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Libraries and librarians are very popular in fiction now. This historical novel is about a librarian at the American Library in Paris in 1939.
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray
A historical novel about a real French castle through the years and wars from the 18th century to the 20thcentury.
Vigil Harbor by Julia Glass
The latest novel by one of my favorite authors, this one is set in the future around characters dealing with climate change. I’ve seen no review or publicity about it, so it’s a gamble.
***
NONFICTION
The Gilded Edge by Catherine Prendergast
A 20th century love story laced with cyanide set in Monterey and San Francisco.
The Women I Think about at Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes by Mia Kankimaki
I received this title through a book exchange. Translated from the Finnish, it’s the account of one woman’s worldwide journey to the places where artists and explorers she admires have lived.
Note: Header photo of book stack ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
