DVD Box Sets: More International Mysteries

More international mysteries are available on DVD. One of the more original is Anno 1790, from Swedish television. This one is set in the eighteenth century, so don't expect DNA tests or car chases. There is also Vera, starring one of Britain's best actresses, Brenda Blethyn. Many people have seen the BBC adaptation of the Kurt Wallander series, but not the original Swedish version. Life on Mars is a crime series with a serious twist; a modern-day policeman regains consciousness after an accident to find it's 1973; his coworkers are thugs, his boss is corrupt, and his wardrobe is really tacky. BBC America's Copper is set even earlier, in the 1850s, and looks at the beginnings of the NYPD.

You can find additional titles in this posting.

DVD Box Sets: International Mysteries

A number of internationally successful mystery series are now available in America on DVD. The Bridge features an unusual pair of detectives from different countries forced to cooperate when a dead body is found on a bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark, while Broadchurch spends multiple episodes on the efforts of English detectives to solve a murder in a small English town. Top of the Lake, directed by Jane Campion and starring Elisabeth Moss, is set in rural New Zealand, while Spiral reveals a side of Paris few tourists see or wish to see. The Fall, set in Belfast, stars Gillian Anderson, while Hinterland is a BBC series filmed in the valleys of Wales. Two good series are set in the 1950s; The Bletchley Circle, in which several women who worked as wartime codebreakers unofficially investigate unsolved cases, and The Hour, centering on early television journalists in the UK.

You can find additional suggestions in this posting as well.

Mystery Writers Of Note: Donna Leon

Guido Brunetti is a happy man. He has a wonderful wife, two well-adjusted kids, eats well and loves Venice, the city where he lives and serves as a police inspector. Still, his life is not perfect; his boss is an idiot, his children can't find work and he begins to suspect that the Italian justice system is more effective at protecting the guilty than the innocent. Brunetti is the protagonist of over twenty mystery novels by Donna Leon;  some are available as ebooks as well. 

Willful Behavior will also be the first choice of the new Golden Gate Valley Mystery Book Club this September. Please consider joining us!