British TV Mysteries

 

For those of us who still enjoy watching things on DVD, the library has a good selection of British mysteries. While all of these may have on-going story lines, the mystery is usually wrapped up in a single episode.  Here are a few of my favorite series:

Death in Paradise: The premise of this long-running series has a very British police detective being sent to the French Caribbean island of St. Marie to handle murder investigations.  There have been four of these inspectors so far, and a new season will introduce a fifth.  The first was Detective Inspector Richard Poole, played by Ben Miller, who hates the heat, the sand, the sea, the food, and pretty much everything except his co-workers.  The cast is excellent, the mysteries intriguing, and the scenery (filming is in Guadeloupe) is gorgeous.  We also have the first season of a spin-off series, Beyond Paradise, which picks up the story of Detective Humphrey Goodman who has taken up a post in Devon, England. The series has a wonderful sense of humor about it as well.

Madame Blanc Mysteries: When Jean Blanc’s husband is found dead in France while on an antiques buying trip, she must travel there to tie up his affairs. Complications ensue when she suspects her husband was murdered and ends up staying and solving mysteries. It’s a wonderful cozy series with a bit of romance, good friends, and an intriguing storyline.

Shakespeare and Hathaway: When hairdresser Lou Shakespeare invests in a financially struggling detective agency run by ex-police officer Frank Hathaway, the last thing Frank expects is that Lou is going to want to take an active part in the investigations.  This is a fun series with some improbable crimes and delightful detectives.

My Life is Murder: Okay, so this one is Australia/New Zealand instead of English but it’s still very watchable.  Lucy Lawless of Xenia fame plays Alexa Crowe, a detective who retired after the death of her husband. She’s taken up a hobby of bread-making and sells loaves to a local café as well as continuing to (reluctantly) consult with the police department. She’s a complex character. The first season was shot in beautiful Melbourne, Australia while the later season are set in equally beautiful Auckland, New Zealand.  Bonus: she has a cat!

Professor T:  Ben Miller stars as the prickly and obsessive criminologist Professor Jasper Tempest, a teacher at Cambridge.  He has little respect for regular detectives and even less for his students.  It’s a darker show than most of the others, but well written.  Jasper’s artist mother is a gem of a character, played to perfection by Frances de la Tour. 

If anyone else has favorites, let us know in the comments!