Best Crime Books

Best Novel
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman (Busted Flush Press)
Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie (Wm. Morrow)
Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, translated by Don Bartlett (HarperCollins)
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Shanghai Moon by S.J. Rozan (Minotaur)

Best First Novel
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Delacorte)
Running from the Devil by Jamie Freveletti (Wm. Morrow)
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur)
The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Picador)

Best Nonfiction
L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City by John Buntin (Random House: Harmony Books)
Talking about Detective Fiction by P.D. James (Alfred A. Knopf) Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations About the Writing Life by Craig McDonald (Bleak House Books)
The Line Up: The World’s Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives, edited by Otto Penzler (Little, Brown & Co)
Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo (Penguin Press)
Dame Agatha’s Shorts: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion by Elena Santangelo (Bella Rosa Books)

Sue Feder Historical
A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge)
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur)
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd (Wm. Morrow)
Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear (Henry Holt)

Best Short Story
“Last Fair Deal Gone Down” by Ace Atkins in Crossroad Blues (Busted Flush Press)
“Femme Sole” by Dana Cameron in Boston Noir (Akashic Books)
“Digby, Attorney at Law” by Jim Fusilli, (AHMM, May 2009)
“Your Turn” by Carolyn Hart in Two of the Deadliest (Harper)
“On the House” by Hank Phillippi Ryan in Quarry: Crime Stories by New England Writers (Level Best Books)
“The Desert Here and the Desert Far Away” by Marcus Sakey in Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can’t Put Down (Mira)
“Amapola” by Luis Alberto Urrea in Phoenix Noir (Akashic Books).

Crime Books, Macavity, Macavity Awards. Macavity Awards 2010, Mystery, Mystery Writing Aweard

AKA 50 Mystery Writers to Read Before You Die
In February 2008, London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper published their list of “50 Crime Writers To Read Before You Die”. There were actually 51 in the list as they concluded the list with an interview with Robert B Parker (1932-2010), who they describe as “an unrivalled pulp stylist who may be the best crime writer you’ve never read “.
This might suggest that the list is intended for people with little or no knowledge of crime and mystery fiction.

GK Chesterton 1874-1936
Read: The Complete Father Brown (1986)

Arthur Conan Doyle 1859-1930
Read: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)

Edgar Allan Poe 1809-1849
Read: The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841)

Ed McBain 1926-2005
Read: King’s Ransom (2003)

Kyril Bonfiglioli 1929-85
Read: The Mortdecai Trilogy (1991)

James Ellroy 1948-
Read: The Black Dahlia (1987)

Janwillem van der Wetering 1931-
Read: Outsider in Amsterdam (1975)

Carl Hiaasen 1953-
Read: Double Whammy (1987)

Dashiell Hammett 1894-1961
Read: The Maltese Falcon (1930)

Dan Kavanagh 1946-
AKA Julian Barnes
Read: The Duffy Omnibus (1991)

Margery Allingham 1904-66
Read: The Tiger in the Smoke (1952)

Charles Dickens 1812-1870
Read: Bleak House (1852-3)

Georges Simenon 1903-1989
Read: The Yellow Dog (1931)

Agatha Christie 1890-1976
Read: Peril at End House (1932)

Wilkie Collins 1824-1889
Read: The Moonstone (1868)

Jonathan Latimer 1906-83
Read: The Fifth Grave (1941)

Ruth Rendell 1930-
Read: The Water’s Lovely (2006)

Ngaio Marsh c. 1895-1982
Read: Vintage Murder (1937)

Benjamin Black 1945-
(AKA John Banville)
Read: Christine Falls (2006)

John Dickson Carr 1906-77
Read: The Hollow Man (1935)

Michael Innes 1906-94
Read: The Weight of the Evidence (1943)

Raymond Chandler 1888-1959
Read: Farewell, My Lovely (1940)

Friedrich Dürrenmatt 1921-90
Read: The Pledge (1958)

Michael Gilbert 1912-2006
Read: Even Murderers Take Holidays and other Mysteries (2007)

Donald Westlake 1933-
AKA Richard Stark.
Read: What’s So Funny? (2007)

Colin Bateman 1962-
Read: Wild About Harry (2001)

Frances Fyfield 1948-
Read: The Art of Drowning (2006)

Reginald Hill 1936-
Read: Good Morning Midnight (2004)

Andrea Camilleri 1925-
Read: The Patience of the Spider (2007)

Henning Mankell 1948-
Read: Sidetracked (1999)

Patricia Highsmith 1921-1995
Read: The Talented Mr Ripley (1955)

James Lee Burke 1936-
Read: Black Cherry Blues (1989)

Jim Thompson 1906-1977
Read: The Getaway (1959)

Walter Mosley 1952-
Read: Devil in a Blue Dress (1991)

Denise Mina 1966-
Read: Garnethill (1999)

Steig Larsson 1954-2004
Read: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008)

Ronald Knox 1888-1957
Read: The Viaduct Murder (1925)

EC Bentley 1875-1956
Read: Trent’s Last Case (1913)

Lawrence Block 1938-
Read: All the Flowers Are Dying (2005)

Edmund Crispin 1921-1978
Read: Holy Disorders (1945)

William McIlvanney 1936-
Read: Laidlaw (1977)

George V Higgins 1939-1999
Read: The Rat on Fire (1981)

Dorothy L Sayers 1893-1957
Read: Five Red Herrings (1931)

Anthony Boucher 1911-68
Read: The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars (1940)

Mickey Spillane 1918-2006
Read: I, the Jury (1947)

James Grady 1949-
Read: Six Days of the Condor (1974)

George Pelecanos 1957-
Read: The Big Blowdown (1996)

Robert Crais 1954-
Read: The Watchman (2007)

John Lawton 1949-
Read: Black Out (1995)

Elmore Leonard 1925-
Read: Maximum Bob (1991)

Best Novel Nominees

• The Missing by Tim Gautreaux (Random House – Alfred A. Knopf)

• The Odds by Kathleen George (Minotaur Books)

• The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books)

• Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston (Random House – Ballantine Books)

• Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, translated by Don Bartlett (HarperCollins)

• A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)

Best First Novel By An American Author

• The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano (Grand Central Publishing)

• Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley (Simon & Schuster – Touchstone)

• The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf (MIRA Books)

• A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur Books – Thomas Dunne Books)

• Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (HarperCollins)

• In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Best Paperback Original

• Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)

• Havana Lunar by Robert Arellano (Akashic Books)

• The Lord God Bird by Russell Hill (Pleasure Boat Studio – Caravel Books)

• Body Blows by Marc Strange (Dundurn Press – Castle Street Mysteries)

• The Herring-Seller’s Apprentice by L.C. Tyler (Felony & Mayhem Press)

Best Fact Crime

• Columbine by Dave Cullen (Hachette Book Group – Twelve)

• Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn (Simon & Schuster)

• The Fence: A Police Cover-Up Along Boston’s Racial Divide by Dick Lehr (HarperCollins)

• Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo (The Penguin Press)

• Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti (Random House – Alfred A. Knopf)

Best Critical/Biographical

• Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James (Random House – Alfred A. Knopf)

• The Lineup: The World’s Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives edited by Otto Penzler (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)

• Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak (Thomas Dunne Books)

• The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith by Joan Schenkar (St. Martin’s Press)

• The Stephen King Illustrated Companion by Bev Vincent (Fall River Press)

Best Short Story

• “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” – Crossroad Blues by Ace Atkins (Busted Flush Press)

• “Femme Sole” – Boston Noir by Dana Cameron (Akashic Books)

• “Digby, Attorney at Law” – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Jim Fusilli (Dell Magazines)

• “Animal Rescue” – Boston Noir by Dennis Lehane (Akashic Books)

• “Amapola” – Phoenix Noir by Luis Alberto Urrea (Akashic Books)

Best Juvenile

• The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

• The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf)

• Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn (Hougton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books)

• Creepy Crawly Crime by Aaron Reynolds (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)

• The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer (Penguin Young Readers Group – Philomel Books)

Best Young Adult

• Reality Check by Peter Abrahams (HarperCollins Children’s Books – HarperTeen)

• If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)

• The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford (Penguin Young Readers Group – Viking Children’s Books)

• Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low (Hougton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books)

• Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)

Best Television Episode Teleplay

• “Place of Execution” – Place of Execution, Teleplay by Patrick Harbinson (PBS/WGBH Boston)

• “Strike Three” – The Closer, Teleplay by Steven Kane (Warner Bros TV for TNT)

• “Look What He Dug Up This Time” – Damages, Teleplay by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman (FX Networks)

• “Grilled” – Breaking Bad, Teleplay by George Mastras (AMC/Sony)

• “Living the Dream” – Dexter, Teleplay by Clyde Phillips (Showtime)

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award

• “A Dreadful Day” – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Dan Warthman (Dell Magazines)

Ellery Queen Award

• Poisoned Pen Press (Barbara Peters & Robert Rosenwald)

Raven Awards

• Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, PA

• Zev Buffman, International Mystery Writers’ Festival

Grand Master

• Dorothy Gilman

The Simon & Schuster – Mary Higgins Clark Award

• Awakening by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur Books)

• Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof by Blaize Clement (Minotaur Books)

• Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

• Lethal Vintage by Nadia Gordon (Chronicle Books)

• Dial H for Hitchcock by Susan Kandel (HarperCollins)

Bestselling author Val McDermid has been named as the recipient of this year’s prestigious CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing. The announcement has been made by the Crime Writers’ Association in recognition of Val’s work over more than 20 years.

Margaret Murphy, chair of the CWA, said: “The CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger award acknowledges the work of an author who has made an outstanding contribution to the genre.

“Val McDermid is a worthy winner whose work has entertained and thrilled millions of readers as well as many more who have enjoyed the TV adaptations her books have inspired.”

The CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger is the latest accolade in a highly successful career which last year saw Val inducted into the Hall of Fame at the ITV3 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards, whose partners include the CWA.

In 1995 she won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year for The Mermaids Singing, which first introduced her readership to Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, and went on to become an international bestseller. Fever of the Bone is the sixth novel of this series which inspired the popular ITV series Wire in the Blood.

Val is a top 10 bestseller who has been translated into 40 languages, with more than two million copies sold in the UK and 10 million worldwide. She has written 23 bestselling novels.

The Crime Writers’ Association is pleased to announce that:

William Brodrick wins the CWA Gold Dagger for A Whispered Name

John Hart wins the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for The Last Child

Johan Theorin wins the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger for Echoes from The Dead

Philip Kerr wins the Ellis Peters Historical Award for If The Dead Rise Not.

The CWA Dagger Awards are the longest established literary awards in the UK and are internationally recognised as a mark of excellence and achievement. In winning the Gold Dagger and the £2500 prize, William Brodrick joins a long and illustrious line stretching back to 1955 and The Little Walls by Winston Graham, now best known as the author of the Poldark novels.

The judges described A Whispered Name as ‘A moving novel that stretches the parameters of the crime genre, intertwining past and present and throwing light on a neglected aspect of World War One.’ In accepting his award, William Brodrick said “I find myself in the hinterland of speechlessness… I would like to dedicate the award to the memory of Harry Patch and the generation he came to represent.”

John Hart, the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and a £2000 cheque is the Edgar-Award winning author of two international bestsellers, The King of Lies and Down River. The judges said that The Last Child, his third book, was “Accomplished and ambitious piece of southern gothic. It is beautifully rendered, with a cast of memorable characters – full of pathos, atmosphere and mystery. A cracking and original story.”

Johan Theorin, the winner of the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and a £1000 cheque, said “Britain is home to most of the greatest mystery writers in the world, from Conan Doyle, Christie and Creasey and up to all the fine writers who are still alive and active today – and as a Swede I couldn’t dream of competing with them. But to my big surprise and honour, I guess I have.” The judges described Echoes from The Dead as “a finely written intrigue … in which the island where the action takes place is as much a player in the drama as the people are.”

Philip Kerr, the author of the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award winning If The Dead Rise Not is the author of five other acclaimed Bernie Gunther novels and is acknowledged as one of today’s finest thriller writers. He learned of his success at a presentation ceremony held at Six Fitzroy Square, London on 29 October 2009.

The Crime Writers’ Association is delighted to announce the shortlists for a number of this year’s Daggers – the prestigious awards that celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing in 2009.

The CWA Dagger Awards are the longest established literary awards in the UK and are internationally recognised as a mark of excellence and achievement.

The winners will be announced at a drinks reception held at the Tiger Tiger nightspot in London on the evening of July 15. At that event, the shortlist will also be announced for the Gold, John Creasey (New Blood) and Ian Fleming Steel Daggers.

CWA Chair Margaret Murphy said: “The strength of the Daggers shortlists, and even those writers who missed out, shows that crime writing remains in good shape.” 

The first phase of shortlists are as follows:

THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER

For crime, thriller, suspense or spy novels which have been translated into English from their original language, for UK publication. £1000 prize money for the author and £500 for the translator

Shortlist

Karin Alvtegen, Shadow, translated from the Swedish by McKinley Burnett, Canongate 2009 [2007]

Judges’ comments: This well-crafted novel of damage repeated from generation to generation infuses melodrama with a meditation on the cost of writing.

Arnaldur Indriðason, Arctic Chill, translated from the Icelandic by Bernard Scudder & Victoria Cribb, Harvill Secker 2008 [2005]

Judges’ comments:  Indriðason employs a recognised police-procedural form to transcend a familiar Scandinavian gloom into something more interesting – an insistent examination of Iceland’s discovery that its apparently tight little island is implicated in a world-wide social problem.

Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played With Fire (MacLehose Press, Quercus), Trans. From the Swedish by Reg Keeland, MacLehose Quercus 2009 [2006]

Judges’ comments: This second novel of the Millennium trilogy interweaves an unusual range of characters in a plot of remarkable complexity.

Jo Nesbø, The Redeemer, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett, Harvill Secker 2009 [2005]

Judges’ comments: Harry Hole, Nesbø’s series detective, dominates an impressively twisty plot which ranges from his own career to Norway’s past.

Johan Theorin, Echoes from the Dead, translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy, Doubleday 2008 [2008]

Judges’ comments: Working within the genre, Theorin evokes place and social history as well as character, while mastering the balance of clues and plot-twists.

Fred Vargas, The Chalk Circle Man, translated from the French by Siân Reynolds Harvill Secker 2009 [1996]

Judges’ comments: This first Adamsberg novel is already a remarkable demonstration of Vargas’s ability to open with an odd event and follow it into an unhappy past.

Judging Panel:

Ann Cleeves, non-voting chair, is an award-winning crime writer.

MaiLin Li works for Kirklees Libraries and is a freelance literature specialist and promoter.

Ruth Morse teaches English Literature at the University of Paris. She is a frequent contributor to the Times Literary Supplement. 

John Murray-Browne is a bookseller. 

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

Any crime short story first published in the UK in English in a publication that pays for contributions, or broadcast in the UK in return for payment, between 1^st June, 2008 and 31^st May, 2009.  Prize money £1500.

Shortlist

Speaking of Lust by Lawrence Block from Crime Express series (Five Leaves Publications)

Judges’ comments: Four tales of lasciviousness and its fatal aftermath by one of the godfathers of the genre.

One Serving of Bad Luck by Sean Chercover from Killer Year, Lee Child, ed. (Mira)

Judges’ comments: Neat, tight and economical, this is a new take on the private eye; the auguries are good for a major crime writing career for this writer.

Cougar by Laura Lippman from Two of the Deadliest, Elizabeth George, ed. (Hodder & Stoughton)

Judges’ comments: A serrated knife in the gut of gender politics by an expert practitioner of the genre.

The Price of Love by Peter Robinson from The Blue Religion, Michael Connelly, ed. ( Back Bay Books) 

Judges’ comments: A boy finally understands the brutal criminal implications of an incident in his childhood.

Served Cold by Zoë Sharp from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Maxim Jakubowski, ed. (Constable & Robinson)

Judges’ comments: Justice, revenge, danger. All elements of a tale of lost love and its tragic consequences.

Mother’s Milk by Chris Simms from The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Maxim Jakubowski, ed. (Constable & Robinson)

Judges’ comments: A deceptively low key story of a thief and a conman who has the tables painfully turned on him.

Judges

Simon Brett is a radio presenter, man of the theatre and writer of civilized and witty crime entertainments.

Ayo Onatade – not content with running the lives of senior judges, she is also a well-connected crime journalist.

CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Sponsored by The Random House Group

Authors are nominated by UK libraries and Readers’ Groups and judged by a panel of librarians. It is  awarded to an author for a body of work, rather than a single title. Prize money: £1,500, plus £300 to a participating library’s readers’ group.

Shortlisted

Simon Beckett

Judges’ comments: His books are gripping right from the opening line and notable for descriptions of dead and decaying bodies. Excellently hidden twists and turns. Very sympathetic lead character. Bantam

Colin Cotterill

Judges’ comments: An unusual hero in an unusual setting. Quirky, funny and very appealing. His books are a truly beautiful read. Publisher: Quercus

R J Ellory

Judges’ comments: Sensitively written. Full of depth. Multi-layered and with a real sense of place and an understanding, in the widest sense, of political manoeuverings. Orion

Ariana Franklin

Judges’ comments: Original, lively and colourful. Her novels allow the reader to learn effortlessly about little-known historical backgrounds. Harper Collins

Peter James

Judges’ comments: Very authentic police procedurals with realistic settings. Dark and pacy. Pan Macmillan

Michael Robotham

Judges’ comments: Has an ability to write convincingly as varied, authentically-drawn characters. Sphere

Judges’ general comments:
A very strong and varied list from which it was difficult to select the short list – reflecting the vigour and range of contemporary crime writing.

Judging Panel:
Chair: Mark Benjamin, formerly Team Librarian with Northumberland County Council
Vice-Chair: Cheney Gardner, Reading Development Manager, London Borough of Richmond on Thames
Wendy Molyneux, Community Access Librarian, Warrington Borough Council
Jonathan Gibbs, I.T. & Operations Librarian, Barbican Library, City of London
Karen Fraser, Customer Services Librarian, Shetland Library
Helen McNabb, Bibliographic Services Officer, Vale of Glamorgan Council
Deb Ryan, Senior Librarian Reader Services, RNIB National Library Services

CWA DEBUT DAGGER 

Sponsored by Orion

The Debut Dagger is a new-writing competition open to anyone writing in the English language who has not yet had a novel published commercially. First prize is £500 plus two free tickets to the prestigious CWA Dagger Awards and night’s stay for two in a top London hotel. All shortlisted entrants receive a generous selection of crime novels and professional assessments of their entries, and are also be invited to the Dagger Awards presentations.

Shortlisted

Frank Burkett – A View from the Clock Tower (Australia)

Judges’ comment:  An interesting first-person portrayal of a murder mystery set in Australia… family betrayals and dark secrets from the past.

Aoife Clifford – My First Big Book of Murder (Australia)

Judges’ comments:  A crime caper with witty prose and funny visual jokes.

CJ Harper – Backdrop (USA)

Judges’ comments:  A likeable PI protagonist and a solid time slip plot… the 1950 Hollywood setting is sexy…

Madeleine Harris-Callway  – The Land of Sun and Fun  (Canada)

Judges’ comments:  A strong sense of place throughout, coupled with good characterisation and a sense of horror.

Renata Hill – Sex, Death and Chocolate (Canada)

Judges’ comments:  An entertaining read with witty dialogue and a quick-moving plot.

Mick Laing – The Sirius Patrol (UK)

Judges’ comments:  The enclosed feel of the small Greenland community, the characters and tensions within, make fascinating reading.

Susan Lindgren – Forgotten Treasures (USA)

Judges’ comments: Atmospheric, spooky,  and absorbing – the heroine is an interesting character with an intriguing background.

Catherine O’Keefe – The Pathologist (Canada)

Judges’ comments:  An uncomfortable, sophisticated,  read that also manages to be suspenseful.

Danielle Ramsay – Paterfamilias  (UK)

Judges’ comments:  Strong plot with good red herrings and a clever twist.

Germaine Stafford – A Vine Time for Trouble (Italy)

Judges’ comments:  Nicely written cosy-style murder mystery…with the added enticement of the Italian setting.  

Martin Ungless – Idiot Wind (UK)

Judges’ comments:  A clever and ambitious story tackling challenging issues.

Alan Wright – Murder at the Séance (UK)

Judges’ comments:  Convincing settings, atmospheric and with an air of authenticity.

Judging panel 

Emma Beswetherick – Senior Fiction Editor, Piatkus
Julie Crisp – Senior Commissioning Editor, Macmillan
Sara O’Keeffe – Senior Commissioning Editor, Orion
Euan Thorneycroft – Authors’ agent (A M Heath)
Julia Wisdom – Publishing Editor, HarperCollins

Chair: Margaret Murphy, Chair of the CWA

Yet another TV serial killer saga from La Plante, who must have slaughtered more prostitutes in her career than  you or I have had warm goats cheese tarts. ‘Above Suspicion’ features the doziest female copper ever seen on the small screen, in the tightest skirt and tightest blouse ever seen in Scotland Yard, all corseted up like some Victorian heroine who actually dates the prime suspect and puts herself in mortal danger.  A right dodgy boiler in fact, but, who you know in the end will solve the case which much smarter police officers haven’t managed to do after twelve years. The  best acting award surprisingly enough was the ex-copper out of ‘Heartbeat’. Above Suspicion? Beneath contempt, more like it. Elvis McBeth

copper, goats cheese tarts, heartbeat, la plante, police officers, prime suspect, prostitutes, saga, serial killer, skirt, suspicion, twelve years, victorian heroine