For a change of pace this week, I’m profiling three works, a mystery novel by the clever and creative
Anthony Horowitz, and two TV crime series in which the Chief Penguin and I have been immersed. One set in coastal Denmark and the other in the remote Shetland Islands
DEATH BY WINE BOTTLE
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
Anyone who’s ever watched Foyle’s War or Midsomer Murders has been exposed to Anthony Horowitz’s writing. Both are excellent series and imbued with compassion and warmth. The Sentence is Death is Horowitz’s second featuring Detective Daniel Blackwell and himself as characters. I haven’t read the first Blackwell mystery (The Word is Murder), but several years ago, I enjoyed Horowitz’s popular and puzzling Magpie Murders.
Prominent London divorce lawyer to the rich and well-connected, Richard Pryce is found dead having been struck with an expensive wine bottle. Retired Detective Blackwell is called in to assist since it seems to be a complex case, and he asks his friend Tony (Horowitz) to tag along. Tony is writing a series of novels about Blackwell and his cases, and there are many suspects here. They range from Adrian Lockwood, Pryce’s most recent client, Akira Anno, Lockwood’s ex-wife, and two Oxford classmates who were involved in a caving incident some years before.
The book begins slowly as the various characters are introduced and as the reader becomes familiar with how Tony and Blackwell interact with each other. Neither is always as forthcoming with information as the other would prefer. There are glimpses of Tony’s other life involving the filming of the latest episode of Foyle’s War which add color and reality to this fictional piece. Tony is convinced he has figured out who the killer is, but the reader will have to wait to find out—unless he or she has also guessed. (I did). It’s an intriguing crime novel and a fun one!
For more about Anthony Horowitz and why he puts himself into these mystery novels, here’s an article from New Statesman.
DANISH TRIANGLE—LOVE, CRIME, & FRENDSHIP
Sommerdahl Murders (Season 3, Acorn)
This is the third season of a crime series set on the coast of Denmark in the small city of Elsinore, not far from Sweden. There are eight episodes. Detectives Dan Sommerdahl and Flemming Torp are partners and longtime friends who seamlessly work together, always intuiting and anticipating each other’s moves. Yet Dan is divorced from Marianne, a technician who is part of the crime team, and she is now involved with Flemming.
How these relationships impact the work environment and their colleagues is one of the main focuses of this season. Yes, it’s a crime series, and there are multi-layered murders to solve, but it’s also a study in friendship. The Chief Penguin and I very much enjoyed the previous seasons and quickly got caught up in this one as well. According to the press, Season 4 is in the works. Recommended!
MURDER IN REMOTE SCOTLAND
Shetland (Season 6, Acorn)
Shetland, featuring Douglas Henshall as Detective Jimmy Perez, is another favorite series of ours. This season was actually released in the U.S. beginning in early November 2021. For some reason, the Chief Penguin and I watched the first two of 6 episodes last winter, but had never finished the rest. This week we rectified that.
When a successful and seemingly well-liked trial lawyer, Alex Galbraith, is murdered in his own home, there seem to be no obvious suspects. Simultaneously, a woman who murdered the sister of a Shetland resident, is given compassionate release from prison due to advanced cancer. Donna’s return stirs up anger, bitterness, and even demonstrations.
As Jimmy Perez and the members of his team, Tosh and Sandy, begin digging, there are affairs, unexplained expenses, and an event from twenty years ago that may be a link to what happened to Mr. Galbraith. With its many twists and turns and the secondary plot involving Donna, it is a totally absorbing and suspenseful season. Highly recommended!
Season 7 is already being aired in Britain, and there will be a Season 8 in 2023, but with a new lead. For avid fans, it’s disappointing that Douglas Henshall is bowing out as DI Perez after this year.
