Latest news with #Poirot
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Crime chronicles: Harini Nagendra's best-selling series gets new instalment
An elderly woman lies bleeding out on the floor of her ramshackle hut – an intruder turning her home inside out in search of something she refuses to surrender. As this mysterious killer discovers the object and flees, she clutches a picture of Bengaluru's famous female detective Kaveri. Thrusting it into the hands of a boy who discovers her, she breathes her last with a plea on her lips – find the killer. Into the Leopard's Den (`499; Hachette), the fourth volume of writer Harini Nagendra's best-selling cosy mystery series, Bangalore Detectives Club, dives straight into the tangled knots of this mystery, with the now pregnant 21-year-old detective, Kaveri, determined to unravel them all. This time, the case leads her to the lush coffee plantations of Kodagu, leaving her motley crew of inquisitive neighbour aunty Uma, street urchin Venu and housemaid Anandi to investigate in Bengaluru. 'While staying in the house of coffee plantation owner Lakamma, she learns of stories of a ghost leopard terrorising the place and scaring the workers away. At the same time, an exploitative British plantation owner's life is in danger from multiple attacks,' explains Nagendra. As an ecologist, the author's environmental concerns come to the forefront stronger than in the previous three instalments, addressing colonialism's ecological destruction alongside the murder mystery. 'You get an insight into the time – the British expanded coffee production into the forest a lot but at a huge cost – the exploitation of labour, but also an ecological cost to the landscape,' she explains. The Bengaluru of a century ago comes alive in these pages as the reader is transported to places that are familiar yet different. Nagendra explains her fascination with the period, nestled between two world wars and intimately associated with detective fiction from Agatha Christie's Poirot stories to Miss Marple, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay's popular Byomkesh Bakshi series, and more. 'The 1920s were a very interesting period in Bengaluru because while the rest of India was actively involved in the independence struggle, the Mysore Maharajas had a mediating influence here. While most books about the period have focused on Bombay, Delhi, and Kolkata, I wanted to talk about what it was like to live in Bengaluru at the time.' she explains.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bookish review: Mark Gatiss is brilliant in this series - just don't call it cosy crime
Many a fictional detective has an extracurricular talent that feeds into their work; Sherlock Holmes and his violin; Inspector Morse and his crossword skills; Columbo's fluency in several languages. In Mark Gatiss' new crime series Bookish, the co-creator and co-writer of Sherlock stars as Gabriel Book, for whom the detective work is the extracurricular talent. Mark Gatiss as the eccentric Gabriel Bookl in Bookish. Credit: © Toon Aerts Book is an eccentric antiquarian bookshop owner who is also adept at solving mysteries. He draws on his encyclopaedic literary knowledge to help figure out motives, methods and the psychology behind all manner of crimes. Book regularly helps out the local police, led by the affable Inspector Bliss (Elliot Levey), and if anybody queries his involvement, he tells them he 'has a letter from Churchill'. (A bit like Doctor Who's psychic paper, the mere mention of it seems to satisfy anybody who asks). Bookish is set in London in 1946, a less common setting for period drama; Gatiss, a long-time detective fan (as well as Sherlock he has adapted several of Agatha Christie's Poirot stories for British TV, and starred in the series Marple), has said it's a favourite time period of his, given the state of the world: women suddenly empowered (although expected to return to their kitchens), lots of weapons brought back by soldiers, a radical government, and a sense of hope. But no shortage of criminal activity. Gatiss with his 'wife' Trottie (Polly Walker). Credit: Max We first meet Book when a young man, Jack (Connor Finch), freshly released from prison, shows up for a job he's been given at the bookshop. Jack moves in with Book and his wife Trottie (Bridgerton's Polly Walker), who runs a specialty wallpaper shop next door to the bookshop. Gabriel and Trottie seem very much in love – but they have a secret: theirs is a 'lavender marriage', the term given to a marriage where one or both parties are gay, when such a thing is illegal. The pair have long been best friends, having met as children, and Trottie is aware of Book's 'proclivities', which must be kept secret. Especially from the police he spends so much time with. Jack is initially daunted by both Book and his books (all of which are 'catalogued' in a manner as oddball as the man himself), and understandably baffled that the local coppers defer to Book on criminal matters. But he soon comes around – and learns that he hasn't been taken in by the couple by coincidence.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Mark Gatiss is brilliant in this series – just don't call it cosy crime
Bookish ★★★★ Many a fictional detective has an extracurricular talent that feeds into their work; Sherlock Holmes and his violin; Inspector Morse and his crossword skills; Columbo's fluency in several languages. In Mark Gatiss' new crime series Bookish, the co-creator and co-writer of Sherlock stars as Gabriel Book, for whom the detective work is the extracurricular talent. Book is an eccentric antiquarian bookshop owner who is also adept at solving mysteries. He draws on his encyclopaedic literary knowledge to help figure out motives, methods and the psychology behind all manner of crimes. Book regularly helps out the local police, led by the affable Inspector Bliss (Elliot Levey), and if anybody queries his involvement, he tells them he 'has a letter from Churchill'. (A bit like Doctor Who's psychic paper, the mere mention of it seems to satisfy anybody who asks). Bookish is set in London in 1946, a less common setting for period drama; Gatiss, a long-time detective fan (as well as Sherlock he has adapted several of Agatha Christie's Poirot stories for British TV, and starred in the series Marple), has said it's a favourite time period of his, given the state of the world: women suddenly empowered (although expected to return to their kitchens), lots of weapons brought back by soldiers, a radical government, and a sense of hope. But no shortage of criminal activity. We first meet Book when a young man, Jack (Connor Finch), freshly released from prison, shows up for a job he's been given at the bookshop. Jack moves in with Book and his wife Trottie (Bridgerton 's Polly Walker), who runs a specialty wallpaper shop next door to the bookshop. Gabriel and Trottie seem very much in love – but they have a secret: theirs is a 'lavender marriage', the term given to a marriage where one or both parties are gay, when such a thing is illegal. The pair have long been best friends, having met as children, and Trottie is aware of Book's 'proclivities', which must be kept secret. Especially from the police he spends so much time with. Jack is initially daunted by both Book and his books (all of which are 'catalogued' in a manner as oddball as the man himself), and understandably baffled that the local coppers defer to Book on criminal matters. But he soon comes around – and learns that he hasn't been taken in by the couple by coincidence.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Victoria Coren issues career news after husband David Mitchell's confession
Victoria Coren delighted fans with a major announcement about her BBC2 show - following her husband David Mitchell's emotional confession about their relationship Victoria Coren excited quiz enthusiasts everywhere with an urgent update on social media this Saturday. The 52-year-old presenter, who has been hosting the mind-boggling programme Only Connect since 2008, shared details about the release of new episodes with her fans. Victoria informed her 665,000 followers on X: "We are past the mid-point of July, the air is warm, the dahlias are flowering. Is it time to start relaxing for the summer, winding down and having some fun? NO IT ISN'T. She then added: "Only Connect returns on Monday night, 8pm @BBCTwo." Her announcement was met with a flurry of messages from fans thrilled by the news that the quiz show would be back on screen in just a few days. One enthusiastic fan tweeted: "Thank heavens, you've answered my wife's question of last Monday, or quiz night on BBC2 as we know it, 'when is Only Connect back?' Well now we know - thank you." Victoria then responded: "Did they not mention it last week? Understandably embarrassed, perhaps, as another fan noted: "This feels early, reports the Express. Fans were overjoyed with the announcement, as another penned: "Whoop whoop , Monday night's bbc 2 back to normal, I'll sleep well tonight. While another chimed in: "Always chuffed when I get a connection or a sequence right." Victoria's announcement follows a heart-wrenching revelation made by her husband David Mitchell. In his autobiography Back Story, the Peep Show actor revealed that he harboured deep feelings for his now-wife, Victoria, for years before they got together, but concealed his emotions from those closest to him. In a heartfelt and honest confession, the 50 year old comic disclosed that his one-sided love for Victoria left a profound impact on his life following her initial rejection. "I was hopelessly in love. I told no one about it," he reveals in his memoir. "I didn't tell my closest friends or my parents of the enormous sadness that overshadowed my life." Recently, Victoria shared a rare glimpse into her home life. The Only Connect host has two daughters - Barbara, 10, and June, two - with David, 51, and they have always shielded them from the public spotlight. She told the new issue of Radio Times magazine: "My 10 year old loves The Masked Singer and old episodes of Poirot, just like her mother. The baby doesn't have any screen time; she's only 18 months old. "She loves Bluey - an excellent TV show - but she doesn't know it's a TV show. She just thinks it's a source of really great plastic dog Weebles."
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Victoria Coren says her daughter with David Mitchell is 'just like her' in rare update
Only Connect host Victoria Coren has shared a rare family update on her two children with actor and comedian David Mitchell as she says her daughter is 'just like her' Victoria Coren Mitchell has shared a rare glimpse into her home life with husband David Michell and their children. The Only Connect host has two daughters - Barbara, 10, and June, two - with David, 51, and they have always shielded them from the public spotlight. But Victoria, 52, has revealed their bundles of joy have TV programmes they never want to miss - including one that Barbara loves just like her mum. She told the new issue of Radio Times magazine: "My 10 year old loves The Masked Singer and old episodes of Poirot, just like her mother. The baby doesn't have any screen time; she's only 18 months old. "She loves Bluey - an excellent TV show - but she doesn't know it's a TV show. She just thinks it's a source of really great plastic dog Weebles." Victoria writes a weekly television column in the Saturday Telegraph, but she will never criticize bad actors because they are trying their best to entertain people. Asked how she stays unbiased when she has to review a programme that Peep Show star David, 51, has been in, such as the BBC One detective dramedy series Ludwig, Victoria explained: "Well, I'm not a critic. "When Ludwig came out, I just wrote a column about puzzles, but I knew it was a great series. I tend not to write about bad shows - I can't see any joy in attacking people who are trying to entertain. "Mind you, I hated Squid Game and said so. But they seem to have soldiered on without my approval." Victoria has received lots of feedback from viewers who watch the BBC Two game show Only Connect, in which teams compete by finding connections between unrelated clues. However, one letter criticising her comments on "a man's bottom" has stuck with her. Asked what her most memorable piece of feedback has been, Victoria said: "I've never forgotten a letter from a few years ago. "We get all sorts of feedback - be it on a translation, or a clarification of parliamentary procedure. This chap asked, 'Why is it acceptable for Victoria Coren Mitchell to comment on a man's bottom?' I'm not even sure I had." Last summer, Victoria and David were all smiles on a rare night out together without their children. It marked one of their first public appearances together since their surprise baby announcement 10 months earlier. Victoria had shared the couple's happy news on social media back in November 2023. Taking to X, Victoria posted: "Many people are assuming my tweet yesterday was a Halloween costume. "Not at all; last week I had a baby and nothing currently fits me except cloaks. Luckily, Only Connect is a pre-record. Happy All Saints Day." David also addressed their new arrival in a short but sweet comment on the social media platform, posting under a tweet that read: "A huge congratulations to @RealDMitchell and @VictoriaCoren on the birth of their second child," he said: "Thank you! We're very happy."
