British Mystery Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The Ladies of The Bletchley Circle Return

Turn to West Virginia PBS for a new season of mystery and intrigue with the code breakers of The Bletchley Circle, beginning April 13 at 10 p.m.!

The Bletchley Circle returns, following four ordinary women with the extraordinary ability to break codes, a skill honed during World War II when they worked undercover at Bletchley Park, site of the United Kingdom’s main decryption establishment. The women use their code-breaking skills to solve crimes in post-war London.

Premiering on April 13 (part 1) and 20 (part 2) Blood on Their Hands opens with former Bletchley Park girl Alice Merren in prison awaiting trial for murder. Jean stands behind her innocence and tries to reunite the circle in an attempt to help one of their own. Lucy is now getting on well in a clerical job at Scotland Yard and keeping her head down, and Millie is working as a German translator. Susan is reluctant to get involved after her experience with the twisted serial killer Malcolm Crowley and the danger it posed to her family.

Premiering April 27 (part 1) and May 4 (part 2), Uncustomed Goods finds Millie branching out into what she believes to be a harmless sideline of dealing in unaccustomed goods. This endeavor leads to her being kidnapped and held in a seedy hotel by some gangsters. On discovering this, Alice goes to Jean and Lucy to help. The girls start to investigate in order to save their friend and, as they do so, uncover a much darker, hidden world of crime.

Death In Paradise, Season 2

Season 2 begins Thursday, February 6 at 9 p.m. on West Virginia PBS

Death In Paradise Season 2 brings more sun and sand to the West Virginia PBS Thursday night detective lineup. DI Richard Poole is still trapped on the stunning Caribbean island paradise of Saint-Marie – and for him the sun, sea and sand still continue to irritate, just as he irritates his long-suffering colleagues. But, he’s also as brilliant as ever. His eye for detail, relentless logic and stubborn refusal to leave anything unexplained works seamlessly with the instinctive and insightful knowledge of the beautiful Sergeant Camille Bordey. She has much to teach him about human behavior. With the often unorthodox assistance of Dwayne and Fidel, they tackle a baffling array of unique murders, from pirate curses to nuns killed in locked rooms – even solving cases with a hurricane bearing down on them. Most seem impossible, but Richard and his team always get to the heart of the mystery.

Father Brown Joins British Detectives on WV PBS

Set in the 1950s in the heart of the beautiful English countryside, Father Brown stars Mark Williams as the Catholic priest who also has a talent for solving crimes. See the series Saturdays at 9 p.m. on West Virginia PBS.

Based on the short stories by G K Chesterton, Father Brown follows the kindly cleric as he solves crimes in his community. It is a quintessentially English world: drawing rooms in large country houses, miles of countryside, village halls and secret gardens, as well as country fairs, railway stations and rural parish churches.

Each episode sees the enigmatic priest investigate a crime in his own particular way, using intuition and psychology. Father Brown discovers the truth of a crime by looking into the truth of the soul – the passions, dark secrets, hidden desires. Many years spent hearing his parishioners’ confessions have given him an uncanny insight into the origins of evil and the workings of the criminal mind. But the stories
are not concerned with judgement – Father Brown is more interested in saving souls than in bringing the
guilty to justice.

Vera joins Thursday night mysteries on WV PBS

Thursdays at 9 p.m. beginning Nov. 7 on WV PBS

Academy Award nominee and BAFTA Brenda Blethyn (Secrets and Lies; Atonement) stars as Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope in the new detective series Vera.

Vera is an experienced and brilliant murder investigator in the North East England county of Northumberland. Kind-hearted but an inherent loner, Vera freely admits she can become obsessed with her job; driven by her own demons, the detective faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage.

Episodes this month:

Nov. 7 — “Poster Child” —
When respected surgeon, Dan Marsden, is shot dead days before his retirement and his teen daughters, Mira and Karen, abducted, DCI Vera Stanhope and her team, Sergeant Joe Ashworth and DC Kenny Lockhart, face a race against time to track down the killer and save the sisters. Joined by new addition, DC Barry Kelman, it’s not long before the case takes a violent and unexpected turn.

Nov. 14 — “Castles in the Air” —
DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the brutal murder of young physiotherapist, Lizzie Faulkner, gunned down at a luxury country retreat. In a story of betrayal, guilt and the need for atonement, Vera must move quickly to avoid another tragedy while Joe finally makes amends with the demons from his own past.

Nov. 21 – “Young Gods” — DCI Vera Stanhope delves into the tangled past of extreme sports fanatic, Gideon Frane, when he plunges from a Northumberland cliff top in a ball of flames. Aided by new recruits DC Rebecca “Shep” Shepherd and DC Mark Edwards, Vera and her team, Sergeant Joe Ashworth and DC Kenny Lockhart must track down Gideon’s gang to uncover a lifetime of bullying and an unexpected story of tested loyalties and rough justice.

Nov. 28 –”Prodigal Son” — DCI Vera Stanhope and Sergeant Joe Ashworth investigate a fatal stabbing outside a busy Newcastle nightclub. Identifying the victim as ex-Met Officer, John Warnock, the only clues are an empty flat and an unregistered car with 6,000 pounds hidden in the trunk. Vera must ultimately retrace John Warnock’s final steps to uncover the truth behind a web of lies spanning 25 years.