I quite liked the YA books — but wasn’t sure I’d want to watch the TV adaptation.

WHEN it turned out to be Emma Myers playing Pip Fitz-Amobi, I was 100% in.

And it is excellent TV.

Darker than the book, seems to me.

Emma Myers played my favourite character on Wednesday.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a British mystery thriller television series based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Holly Jackson …

Pip Fitz-Amobi is not satisfied that the killing of a local school girl has been investigated sufficiently and takes matters into her own hands …

Rotten Tomatoes 84%

I expect it will be renewed for season 2.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Entertaining.

I’m no particular fan of Vince Vaughn — but he’s well suited to the annoying role of Andrew Yancy, a one-time detective turned restaurant inspector in this comedy.

I AM a huge fan of author  Carl Hiaasen who wrote the 2013 novel of the same name.

A severed arm is discovered by a fishing boat off the coast of the Florida Keys.

Ex-detective Andrew Yancy, suspended for having assaulted the husband of his lover, is tasked to deliver the arm to the Miami morgue.

The arm is identified by Dr. Rosa Campesino as having belonged to Nick Stripling and is returned to his wife Eve.

Eve’s step-daughter Caitlin believes she killed her father for his money. …

There’s a parallel story on Andros Island, where fisherman Neville Stafford consults with the local Obeah, the “Dragon Queen” to put a curse on the developers trying to replace his home with a resort. 

Plenty of humour. Quite a few very likeable characters.

Scott Glenn as Jim Yancy, Andrew Yancy’s father, is hilarious.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

In general, Patterson is the junk food of murder mysteries. Easy to follow. LOTS of action and romance. And very little reality. 😀

Women’s Murder Club is a series of mystery novels by American author James Patterson.

The books are set in San Francisco and feature an ensemble of lead characters.

I’d enjoyed a couple of the recent books — so went back to the beginning.

1st to Die is a 2001 crime novel by American author James Patterson … the first book in the Women’s Murder Club series.

… four friends who pool their skills together to crack San Francisco’s toughest murder cases.

The women each have different jobs: Lindsay Boxer, a homicide inspector for the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn, a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt, an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas, a reporter who just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle. …

Actually, it’s not bad. I’d not agree with this Kirkus Reviews: “bargain-basement plotting, fewer thrills than a tax audit, and cardboard sleuths poised to return for a sequel.” 😀

It’s was adapted for a TV miniseries. 2007–2008.

Cancelled after one season. You can watch the 1st episode free on YouTube.

Actually, Angie Harmon was a terrific pick to play Lindsay Boxer.

In advance of Cross, an Amazon Prime TV adaptation dropping November 14, 2024, I read another of the many books.

Like most Patterson, this one has a plot full of holes. Real murder mystery writers must laugh when reading (the much more successful) Patterson.

If you can suspend belief, this one is more complicated and interesting than most.

Two serial killers. Or is it three?

Alex Cross, Run is the 20th novel in the Alex Cross series written by American author James Patterson. The novel focuses on the protagonist, detective Alex Cross, who must solve three cases at once with the whole city in a frenzy.

Slough House (2021) by Mick Herron is terrific.

I never tire of the hilarious dialogue.

Jackson Lamb is one of the great characters of fiction, all time.

… an unsparing look at the corrupt web of media, global finance, spycraft, and politics that power our modern world.

“This is a darker, scarier Herron. The gags are still there but the satire’s more biting.

The privatization of a secret service op and the manipulation of news is relevant and horribly credible.”—Ann Cleeves, author of the Vera Stanhope series

At Slough House—MI5’s London depository for demoted spies—Brexit has taken a toll. The “slow horses” have been pushed further into the cold, Slough House has been erased from official records, and its members are dying in unusual circumstances, at an unusual clip. No wonder Jackson Lamb’s crew is feeling paranoid. But are they actually targets?

With a new populist movement taking hold of London’s streets and the old order ensuring that everything’s for sale to the highest bidder, the world’s a dangerous place for those deemed surplus. Jackson Lamb and the slow horses are in a fight for their lives …

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Season 4 of Slow Horses is underway as I post, one of the best TV shows today.

Books and television are both excellent.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

This looks good.

Aldis Hodge has the chops to pull off the role.

Cross is an upcoming American crime thriller television series, based on the Alex Cross novel series written by James Patterson, set to drop all 8 episodes on Amazon Prime Video November 14, 2024.

TV series based on James Paterson’s Alex Cross novels.

Alex Cross uses forensic psychology to analyze killers’ minds, delving into victims’ psyches to identify murderers and bring them to justice.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry have played Cross in the past.

Harlan Coben’s Shelter is an American mystery drama television series. I got through it — but wouldn’t recommend.

It is based on the 2011 young adult novel Shelter by Harlan Coben. The series was released on Amazon Prime Video on August 18, 2023 … canceled after one season.

I kinda enjoyed the show in a way. It is cheesy. Too much unnecessary profanity. But I was cheering for these kids, against the cliche bullies and bad guys.

Jaden Michael is the good looking, believable lead Mickey Bolitar.

Myron Bolitar is his much more famous (literary) uncle.

Abby Corrigan compelling as an Emo teenager.

Best — really — is Adrian Greensmith as Spoon, the geek.