# Seeking British Mystery Series Suggestions



## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Hello all. Anyone out there have some good suggestions for British Mystery Series (TV) to try? The DH and I love police procedurals, esp if they are set in the British Countryside. I started watching Inspector Morse, on Masterpiece Mysteries, then Inspector Barnaby and the Inspector Lewis series. From there DH found Foyle's War (WWII set brit police procedural - much darker than the others, and amazing!), as well as Pie in the Sky (quirky English cop becomes chef whilst consulting for his old boss so the old boss can continue to advance his career on the detective's brilliance. VERY FUN!) and The Last Detective (this is a real oddball and yet very enjoyable). We tend to like a little bit of quirk in them, and not overly politicized. Anyone have any further suggestions of stuff you've seen? I also love reading them, so if there are some good authors out there or stories you've read that you can suggest, please let me know. Thanks in advance!!!!!!


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

I love the PBS series Rumpole of the Bailey.  It is an English series that leans more toward legal procedure than police, but it was very entertaining.


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

I don't know if they're available on DVD, but I remember loving Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren.


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Margaret said:


> I love the PBS series Rumpole of the Bailey. It is an English series that leans more toward legal procedure than police, but it was very entertaining.


Sounds promising, I will definitely look into it. I love the title! Thank you!!!


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

LaRita said:


> I don't know if they're available on DVD, but I remember loving Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren.


Thanks LaRita! I will take a look. It's really hit or miss, but lately Netflix has been stocking some unusual stuff, so fingers crossed!!!!


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm not sure if you're looking for books or television, and this isn't exactly British, per se, but I've fallen in love with the Murdoch mysteries which are set in late 19th century Canada. I believe they are based on novels, so you might want to look them up.

I really enjoy them.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I've started watching MI-5 and I like it, but it's not quite like Morse or Lewis with the English countryside.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I tend to like anything based on Agatha Christy books. The Miss Marple series is good and the Poirot series shown on Masterpiece Theatre (the David Suchet series).


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Not a TV series if that's what you're looking for.... but I love the Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George.


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## Daphne (May 27, 2010)

I too have been re-watching the Inspector Morse series recently and also reading some of Colin Dexter's original novels which are available on Kindle here in the UK, but not in the US as far as I know. Another BBC mystery series - well, two of them - was that of Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey. Ian Carmichael played Wimsey in a series which ran from 1972-75 and the Wimsey/Vane books were made into a brilliant series with Edward Petherbridge in 1987 - I have both on video and have nearly worn the tapes out. The jury is out on which man makes the better Peter Wimsey. Oh, and lots of beautiful Oxford in Gaudy Night.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

All these - and especially Agatha Christie!
Also, series based on PD James mysteries with Adam Dalgliesh:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00199PPCO/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003OEYMU8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1A484ZV25QK2TGF882AG

(PD James' books are a bit hit or miss for me - some are very good (Death in Holy Orders), some are less so.)

And - my recent discovery - _George Gently _ with slightly aged but still very handsome Martin Shaw:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_George_Gently


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## Chuck Heintzelman (Feb 18, 2011)

Give "A Touch of Frost" a try.  It ran for about 15 years and finished up last year, although a few years only had an episode or two.

My wife and I watched the entire series streaming on Netflix.  (Hmm, since the Brits call a season a series, I should say specifically we watched the entire run.)

The main character, DI Frost, is a cantankerous old fart who fights with his superiors every chance he gets.  He's a mess, but he does care and tries desperately to get the villains.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

PraiseGod13 said:


> Not a TV series if that's what you're looking for.... but I love the Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George.


I second Lynley series! It's does have it moment is rural settings if I recall correctly. I saw it on PBS Mystery! and decided to read the series.

Though I thru this board I have discovered Hamish MacBeth. I saw the series via DVD from the library and it was fun. It's about PC Hamish MacBeth in a small town in the Scotland Highlands called Lochdubh (spell check needed here). It doesn't seem like a specific police prodecural per se, but I've only seen the DVDs. I have yet to get my hands on a book from the library...which I hear is a bit different from the book series. There isn't a full Kindle version of the book series, but it seems decent.

Tris


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

PraiseGod13 said:


> Not a TV series if that's what you're looking for.... but I love the Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George.


This is BBC-TV (or one of the British TV networks) that aired on PBS. Excellent.


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## easyreader (Feb 20, 2011)

Elizabeth George's series.  Cracker is brilliant.  Luther was wicked.


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## Julia Knight (Dec 12, 2009)

The Wexford series (Books by Ruth Rendall) Set in Sussex right by me  They did a really good job on the series. 

Also Dalziel and Pascoe (Books by Reginald Hill). Yorkshire IIRC. Worth it for Warren Clarke  

ETA: I second Frost. Oooh and what about New Tricks? Three retired police officers using their old-fashioned know how to investigate cold cases. I LOVE this series.


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## Tux Toledo (Mar 27, 2011)

I always enjoyed "Bergerac". It was not set in the English countryside but on the isle of Jersey which I think gave the series a unique flavor.


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## manou (Sep 5, 2010)

anguabell said:


> All these - and especially Agatha Christie!
> Also, series based on PD James mysteries with Adam Dalgliesh:
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00199PPCO/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003OEYMU8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1A484ZV25QK2TGF882AG
> 
> ...


I second the George Gently recommendation - love the series.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

I second the suggestions already made especially New Tricks, Hamish Macbeth and all the Poirot and Miss Marples.  Great shows and they all have that "quirk" factor.


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## Daphne (May 27, 2010)

Also, if you liked John Thaw in *Inspector Morse* you might enjoy him in the harder hitting 1970s police drama *The Sweeney* - this is available in the UK on DVD and I re-watched it a couple of years ago. I did enjoy it, but it had dated. The new series *Life on Mars* (2006), which comes under the improbable category of science fiction/ police procedural, recreated the 1970s backdrop.

anguabell - I liked Martin Shaw in *George Gently* but I _loved_ him in the BBC series *Judge John Deed*. And, yes, still very handsome.


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## SuzanneTyrpak (Aug 10, 2010)

I'm not sure if this is dark enough for you, but I love the Brother Cafael series.


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## padowd (Jan 14, 2010)

My husband and I both love British tv series. Our favorite is Midsomer Murder starring John Nettles. They are based on books by Caroline Graham. It has been on since 1997 and there are like 14 series and it is great. I am so upset that John Nettles is retiring and leaving the show but I think it will continue on with another character taking his place. Netflix has many of them. Also another really good one is Wire In The Blood and also Prime Suspect. These are our favorites. We also love Touch Of Frost and Hamish Macbeth. My husband has been reading the books and alot of them are on the Kindle. The thing I like about these series is that many of them are based on books so you can look up the author and read the books to see how they compare to the movies.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Daphne said:


> anguabell - I liked Martin Shaw in *George Gently* but I _loved_ him in the BBC series *Judge John Deed*. And, yes, still very handsome.


What? What? [panting greedily] I've had no idea about this series! Thank you Daphne!


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## fictionwriter (Nov 2, 2010)

Love Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series, also a PBS treat that includes Have his Carcass, Gaudy Night, and a few others. Terrific acting, great dialogue and just classy all the way!

Best,

Carolyn


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## Daphne (May 27, 2010)

anguabell said:


> What? What? [panting greedily] I've had no idea about this series! Thank you Daphne!


Ooh, anguabell, if you haven't encountered this yet, you are in for _such_ a treat - there are some wonderful moments. Have fun.


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## Chris L (Mar 28, 2011)

The Inspector Lynley series, starring Nathaniel Parker and Sharon stone, has been on British Telly. I noticed Amazon have it as a DVD. Wire in the Blood with Robson Green was also good, plus New Tricks. A new series of Midsomer Murders has just started featuring Neil Dudgeon who has replaced John Nettles. He plays Nettles' cousin who takes over when Barnaby retires.


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

Did any Elizabeth George readers hate the Mystery! series Inspector Lynley as much as I did?  The man who played Lynley was all wrong, and the woman who played Havers was too pretty.  Why can't TV ever have women on it who aren't models?  Plus, when the Mystery! writers branched out into their own story lines, I thought they became too disturbing.  

TV spoiler alert below!


After seeing the one where the woman drugged woman so that her boyfriend could molest them, I decided to cut the strings forever!  I'm still haunted by that one and wish I'd never even seen it!  Esp since I'd loved that actress when she played the lovely red headed driver on the Fowler's War series.


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Amy Corwin said:


> I'm not sure if you're looking for books or television, and this isn't exactly British, per se, but I've fallen in love with the Murdoch mysteries which are set in late 19th century Canada. I believe they are based on novels, so you might want to look them up.
> 
> I really enjoy them.


Thank you! I've been reading a lot of historical set mystery lately. I'm a big fan of the Ian Rutledge series, set in post WWI England, and I just finished The Distant Hours, which went back and forth from current to WWII. This sounds really interesting and having novels and series makes it best of both worlds!!!!!!!


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

mlewis78 said:


> I've started watching MI-5 and I like it, but it's not quite like Morse or Lewis with the English countryside.


MI-5, that's more like the spy stuff, right? I saw some previews for it last year, it looked like a lot of action going on. Thanks!


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Wow, this is AMAZING!!!! thank you all so much, now I have a ton of fun things to look into and some of them have books tied to them, which is even better.

I was a huge Elizabeth George fan, until What Came Before. I read the next two books but her last one just fell flat for me. I really liked the series, but they seemed to be in a different universe, so I treated them they way I do a lot of alternate universe material.

I love some of the titles of these.

And the Agatha Christies rule, We've been collecting them to go through at our leisure. 

I find I really enjoy the difference in story telling you get with the British Approach (though I loved American Life on Mars - I'm a NYC native so seeing NYC in the 70's was too cool for words). I don't feel 'bum rushed' with pacing and when there's historical aspects, the details are so precise. Even in a non-mystery show, Being Human, there's this deft handling of seemingly unrelated things like black comedy and serious drama and you never feel you're being hit over the head with things. Not to say I don't enjoy my own country's entertainment offerings, I'm an omnivore in that respect, but there is this element I see in the British products that resonates with me on a 'story telling craft' level. Just can't be beat!


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Chuck Heintzelman said:


> The main character, DI Frost, is a cantankerous old fart who fights with his superiors every chance he gets. He's a mess, but he does care and tries desperately to get the villains.


LOL!!!!!!! Brilliant description!
I can't wait to see this. I have to admit we're hooked on Netflix and all they have to offer!


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Dara England said:


> I tend to like anything based on Agatha Christy books. The Miss Marple series is good and the Poirot series shown on Masterpiece Theatre (the David Suchet series).


I love Poirot. David Suchet is amazing. I saw a show recently where he was himself, on the Orient Express, and at first I did not recognize him. Then it was so strange to watch and listen, expecting the Belgian accent and all and instead it's just regular old David.


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Daphne said:


> I too have been re-watching the Inspector Morse series recently and also reading some of Colin Dexter's original novels which are available on Kindle here in the UK, but not in the US as far as I know. Another BBC mystery series - well, two of them - was that of Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey. Ian Carmichael played Wimsey in a series which ran from 1972-75 and the Wimsey/Vane books were made into a brilliant series with Edward Petherbridge in 1987 - I have both on video and have nearly worn the tapes out. The jury is out on which man makes the better Peter Wimsey. Oh, and lots of beautiful Oxford in Gaudy Night.


I'm going to have to grab some of those novels. Both Whimsey and Gaudy Night sound fun. Thank you!!!!!!


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Julia Knight said:


> The Wexford series (Books by Ruth Rendall) Set in Sussex right by me  They did a really good job on the series.
> 
> Also Dalziel and Pascoe (Books by Reginald Hill). Yorkshire IIRC. Worth it for Warren Clarke
> 
> ETA: I second Frost. Oooh and what about New Tricks? Three retired police officers using their old-fashioned know how to investigate cold cases. I LOVE this series.


Totally agree with New Tricks - much fun! Saw the first one the other night, where for half the show they think one of the guys sitting with them is just someone who came down to sit at a desk and not part of the team. Then the brawl at the end. I really liked the old v new!

Definitely will check out the other stuff! Sussex, nice!!!!


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Oh, my favorite series is Rebus, based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin and set in and around Edinburgh. I consider it one of the better detective series ever done. Of course, I'm a huge Ian Rankin fan so I'm prejudiced. Rankin is dark, no fluffy-haired little lady detectives. 

Um... However, it is not British. It is Scottish so it may not be what you are looking for.


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

The wife and I both absolutely loved Sherlock. We rented Season One from Netflix. Season Two is scheduled to air this Autumn.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

JRTomlin said:


> Oh, my favorite series is Rebus, based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin and set in and around Edinburgh. I consider it one of the better detective series ever done. Of course, I'm a huge Ian Rankin fan so I'm prejudiced. Rankin is dark, no fluffy-haired little lady detectives.
> 
> Um... However, it is not British. It is Scottish so it may not be what you are looking for.


Oh, how could I've forgotten Rebus?! I haven't read but a couple of chapters of the first book in the series before I had to return it to the library. It's definately on TBR list.

Rebus still fits because Scotland is part of Great Britain... I don't remember the original poster specifically said which part of Britain he/she was looking for.

I love the new Sherlock as well. I have Doyle's work to be re-read on my TBR pile as well. In reviewing my favorite authors and books...they strangely are 85-90% Scottish. Strange how that works out.

Tris


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## bluetiger1941 (Mar 20, 2011)

The wife and I enjoyed a short British tv series, _Hetty Wainthropp Investigates_ featuring Patricia Routledge in the title role. (She's much better known for _Keeping Up Appearances_.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Tris said:


> Oh, how could I've forgotten Rebus?! I haven't read but a couple of chapters of the first book in the series before I had to return it to the library. It's definately on TBR list.
> 
> Rebus still fits because Scotland is part of Great Britain... I don't remember the original poster specifically said which part of Britain he/she was looking for.
> 
> ...


Scotland is a member nation of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to be specific.

I don't think the OP said specifically what he/she was looking for but if they're looking for Oxford accents and nice clean-cut English schoolboys and white-haired elderly ladies, you don't find that in Rankin. 

I understand the DVDs are subtitled.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

I second the choice of Lynley and the PRIME SUSPECT/Helen Mirren series--fantastic drama and suspense.

If you're willing to go back a ways, THE AVENGERS were terrific--loved Diana Rigg as Emma Peel.  And Patrick McGoohan was a terrific Danger Man/Secret Agent Man (depending on the country it was released in, I think).

Also, it's not mystery, but my all-time favorite PBS series is James Herriott's ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL.  Rent Season One and you'll fall in love.

Julia


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

Thanks All. Scotland's fair game. I'll take elderly ladies right up to cantankerous contemporary detectives and all in between. I have some fantastic choices now, much appreciated!!!!


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## JMCornwell (Apr 1, 2011)

I just finished an Ian Rutledge mystery and it was very good. Well rounded, good dialogue, post WWI and characters that have heft and intelligence and aren't there just to solve the murders but to live and continue to solve murders. It's a good balance. The series is written by Charles Todd. I highly recommend it.


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

Elizabeth wasn't too thrilled with the casting of her series either, but she didn't have control.  She will have a YA series coming out next year set here on Whidbey Island, where we both live.  Some interesting stuff.


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