Mystery

Henning Mankell Update: PBS’s Wallander

PBS Mystery Series: Wallander

 

The new series coming to PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery Series is one that I was initially skeptical about: the work of a Swedish mystery writer (Henning Makell) being filmed in English, in Sweden, starring British actor Kenneth Branagh. As strange a concoction as this might seem—at least to people who have read any of the Kurt Wallander books—it must be said that it’s also a strategic move on the part of PBS. There are no Swedish actors who have big enough names to attract a real American (or English) audience to this program, so from a commercial standpoint, it is best to go for a well-established actor like Branagh. Also, if the dialogue were in Swedish, well, then it would have to be subtitled, most people who watch T.V aren’t used to that, it might cost a lot of money… So I’ve decided, due to these purely practical considerations, that I have no qualm with this particular miniseries. After all, Branagh is a great actor and as long as the spirit of Mankell’s books are retained, then the miniseries should work out well.

I wrote a separate blog post about Henning Mankell’s book Firewall, which is an immensely entertaining read, last fall. That book and his children’s story Secrets in the Fire are both available in the Snell fiction stacks. It seems that the PBS miniseries will be lumping a few Wallander books together in one series, and whether Firewall will be one of them or not, I do not know. But it should be interesting regardless

MYSTERY!

One of my favorite summer traditions has started up again with MYSTERY! on PBS.  This summer they seem to be featuring Inspector Lewis, Foyle’s War and the Inspector Lynley Mysteries.  And it looks like it will be the final season for both Foyle’s War and Inspector Lynley.  I’m not crazy about their credits redesign and Alan Cumming as host, but I always love a good British mystery.  I also find that most British productions feature the same rotating crew of about 80 actors, so there’s always a familiar face. The Inspector Lynley and Lewis mysteries are also based on literary detectives-Elizabeth George writes the popular Lynley mysteries and Inspector Lewis is a spin-off of Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse series.  You can pick up one of these at Snell Library today!

Curling up with a good mystery

Picture this, cup of tea, piece of cake, and you curled up on the sofa!  Doing what, you asked?  Reading a great mystery, that’s what!  Haven’t heard of any good titles?  Well do I have one for you!  Heard of James Patterson’s Alex Cross series? No? You don’t know what you’ve been missing.  One of my favorites is The Big Bad Wolf.  While this wolf won’t blow your house down, you may want to lock your doors and check your windows after reading.  Patterson’s characters jump off the pages right into your scary heart.  Enter in Dr. Alex Cross, detective and psychologist all rolled into one.  He’ll need both those skills to help solve the murders he encounters.  Will he be able to? I can’t give away much more of the storyline, but you can read all about the adventures of Alex Cross.  Where, you asked?  Snell Library that’s where.  Check him out, you won’t be disappointed.