Ed. Martin Edwards: Serpents in Eden

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This new volume of shorts from the British Library celebrates the rural mystery with stories written over a 50-year period by authors as diverse as Arthur Conan Dole, Ethel Lina White, G. K. Chesterton, Margery Allingham, Gladys Mitchell, and Leo Bruce. … Continue reading →

Father Brown series 4

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News has reached Past Offences that, fresh from their victory at the Royal Television Society Awards (Birmingham branch), the Father Brown team is airing series four beginning on the 4th of January. The BBC episode guide only looks at the first … Continue reading →

‘Crack out the railway timetables’: #1922book results

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Every month at Past Offences is devoted to a particular year from the history of crime and mystery fiction – it’s called Crimes of the Century. This month Bev from My Reader’s Block nominated 1922, at the dawn of the … Continue reading →

E. C. Bentley: Trent’s Last Case

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Trent’s Last Case E. C. Bentley First published in the UK 1913 by Nelson This edition possibly 1928* 325 pages Source: My own collection G. K. Chesterton called Trent’s Last Case ‘the finest detective story of modem times’. Short story maestro … Continue reading →

Father Brown series 3 starts on Monday

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The third series of the BBC’s Father Brown begins next week in the UK. All ten episodes are on BBC One in the traditional early-afternoon slot: 2:15. The core cast, led by Mark Williams as Father Brown, remains unchanged. Only two of the episodes … Continue reading →

‘It was fun to find a reason for him to throw soup at the wall.’ An interview with the creators of the BBC’s Father Brown

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Well, Father Brown is over for another year (in the UK at least). Series 2 continued to generate heat on Past Offences – for a daytime TV drama, it manages to be quite controversial! I’ve been lucky enough to bag … Continue reading →

Father Brown series 2 so far – and a poll

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Well, we’re half-way through series 2 of Father Brown (they don’t hang around in Kembleford). Some things are the same as always. There is the obligatory daily mention of Mrs McCarthy’s prize-winning strawberry scones. Fans of the anachronism will like … Continue reading →

Father Brown series 2

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Another classic detective series is returning this month. The BBC’s Father Brown will be back for ten episodes in mid-January, with a further 15 already commissioned for next year. Judging by the comments on Past Offences, the series disappointed fans … Continue reading →

A new look for Father Brown from Penguin

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Just spotted in the Creative Review: Penguin is reissuing five volumes of G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown stories with striking new covers by their in-house designer Matthew Young. He says: On each cover Father Brown is deliberately isolated to give … Continue reading →

A bumper crop: Classic crime in the blogosphere, August 2013

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Well good grief, I was swamped with classic crime entrants this month. I’m sure I’ve missed some, but I’ve done my best to read them all. Obviously the blogosphere has been awash with tributes to Elmore Leonard, one of the … Continue reading →