Andalusia

November promises to be a hectic month, with two anthology launches (Motives for Murder, a Detection Club book of short stories) and Crimson Snow (a British Library collection of classic winter crime stories) as well as some events and plenty of writing tasks. So I decided to warm up for it with a short break in the south of Spain, where at this time of year, the weather is usually quite lovely.

Our companions on the tour of Andalusia were fellow crime author Kate Ellis and her husband Roger, and an assorted group of British and Irish travellers, one of whom, by a startling coincidence, had attended a talk of mine about Dr Crippen's criminal career a few years back. The itinerary was a mix of guided tours and free time, and the balance was good, enabling us to appreciate some terrific destinations.

The main stop was Seville, with its incredible Alcazar, and magnificent cathedral. I was also very struck by the dramatic modern Metropol Parador, constructed mainly of wood, designed (no doubt at great cost, but I think it was worth it) as a "cathedral without walls". You pay three euros, go up in a lift, and are able to walk up and down the undulating walkways, taking in the marvellous views all around. And a free glass of wine is thrown in. This is the life, I reflected, as I drank my wine in the shade. Four years ago I reviewed the TV version of Robert Wilson's The Blind Man of Seville, and said that I really ought to get around to reading the book. I still haven't done so, but now that I've seen the city for myself, and liked it enormously, I have an added incentive.

Other destinations included Mijas, Ronda (I'd never heard of it, but was very impressed; an old bridge spanning a dramatic ravine, shown in the photo at the top of this post, is a highlight, and lunch in a garden commanding great views was also great fun), Corduba (with its Mesquita, originally a mosque but converted by the Christians, and with an alcazar that's not on the scale of its spectacular Seville counterpart but is still impressive), and finally Granada. It was a great pleasure to walk along the paths of the Alhambra, where once Washington Irving strolled, in his days as US Ambassador; his Tales of the Alhambra is now on my ever-lengthening books-to-read list as well.

Falcon - TV review (episode 2)

The Blind Man of Seville, the first story in Sky Atlantic's new series Falcon, came to an end last week and I've just caught up with the second of the two episodes. I mentioned in my review of episode 1 that the source of the story is a book by Robert Wilson, but I should add that the screenplay is by Stephen Butchard, and even though I haven't read the book, I thought Butchard did a extremely good job in producing an entertaining and watchable show.

I've touched before on the thorny issue of what length works best for a TV cop show. The truth is that (as was depressingly stated on the cover of one of my student law books) there are no "right" answers, but it can be argued that the Morse/Lewis/Vera formula of two-hour stories is more appealing than two parts of one hour each. But the latter format seems to be gaining popularity (DCI Banks is another example) and as long as the screenplay holds the attention throughout, with no sagging (or rushing to cover all the plot elements) in the second episode, it can work very well.

Butchard succeeded so well that I found the second episode even more gripping than the first, despite the unlikely nature of the plot. Suffice to say that the eponymous Falcon was confronted with some unpleasant truths concerning his family, and especially his late parents, as he battled to find the truth about the murderer of three men, two of whom he was close to.

It was all a bit of an endurance test for poor old Falcon, but Marton Csokas performed the role with aplomb and plenty of charisma, and he did have the considerable consolation that one of the suspects, played by Hayley Atwell, fell for him big style. I was amazed, by the way, to discover that Csokas is a New Zealander. It was as much a surprise to me as the solution of many a whodunit!

Falcon: The Blind Man of Seville - TV review

Falcon is Sky Atlantic's version of Robert Wilson's novel about the eponymous Spanish cop, and I've just caught up with the first episode of The Blind Man of Seville. This is a book which I haven't read, but I do have a confession; I have possessed a copy for quite a while, but still haven't as yet got round to it. Possibly because I've been intimidated by the sheer bulk of the hardback edition.

Spain is a fantastic country, and the cinematography captures its dazzling colours in vivid fashion. It's a good show simply to look at, except for the gory bits. At the start of the story, a man is bound and gagged, and horrible things are done to him. Before long, our hero Falcon is called in to a murder scene. The victim, Jiminez, is a rich man whose eyelids have been removed. It seems that, before he died, he was forced to watch a home movie.

The obvious suspect is Jiminez's much younger wife, played by the glamorous Hayley Atwell. The marriage wasn't a success; he was a bad man, and consorted endlessly with prostitutes. She was having an affair with a chap who worked for her. When Falcon interviews her, she starts interrogating him about his own marriage. It had collapsed six months earlier. Yep, Falcon is yet another of those dysfunctional loners we mystery fans love rather more than their nearest and dearest do. "Cold-blooded", his (also glamorous) ex-wife calls him.

There is clearly a link between Jiminez and Falcon's deceased father, an artist famous for painting Falcon's mother in the nude. I'm not quite sure how wealthy Falcon is supposed to be, but one would assume he's rich enough not to need to work such long hours. Fortunately, he's devoted to crime investigation, and at the end of this episode he had another mutilated corpse on his hands - this time the last girl Jiminez played around with. Verdict: a very watchable show, and well-paced,with the added bonus of Bernard Hill in the supporting cast.. I really ought to get round to reading the book.