A Brit mystery TV series / a US mystery book series

12 years ago

I just heard about Bletchley Circle, a British mystery series on Netflix, described as

Four ordinary women with an extraordinary flair for code breaking and razor-sharp intelligence skills are the focus of this murder-mystery drama.

I'm told it's a very good show. Has anyone seen it?

Also, do we have any fans of Julia Spencer-Fleming's series of mystery books set in the Adirondacks and featuring the Chief of Police and the female Episcopal priest? I read one sort of in the middle of the series, and immediately bought the first one, plus another.

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Comments (15)

Shelgal
12 years ago
I began to watch the Bletchley Circle and found it a little boring. Didn't continue.
mare_wbpa
12 years ago
I watched it on PBS. From what I recall, it was just a few shows. It was fairly good. Very suspenseful, as I remember, all the episodes revolved around catching 1 serial killer. If you haven't already watched it, I highly recommend "Prime Suspect " starring Helen Mirren.

This post was edited by mare_wbpa on Sat, Apr 5, 14 at 21:40
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sheilajoyce_gw
12 years ago
Ditto
mary_c_gw
12 years ago
I found Bletchley Circle fascinating. It's very well done and well worth the time.

The principal characters are women. Women did form the majority of the staff at Bletchley Park and provided significant intellectual contributions to the success of the decryption effort of the Nazi military cryptographic systems in WWII.

I loved the way these female characters, with very disparate personalities and abilities, came together and used their particular skills honed in the wartime efforts to solve a serial murder crime.

This, despite the male police saying "There, there, dear, go home and change some nappies.", which absolutely would have happened in the real world, back then.
maire_cate
12 years ago
I started to watch it last year on PBS last year. It was interesting and well acted but it didn't hold my interest enough and so I didn't watch all of them.

The Season 2 premier is on April 13 on PBS. It looks like it's in 2 parts. The title is "Blood on Their Hands" and the show "finds Jean attempting to reunite the circle in order to prove the innocence of a former Bletchley Park colleague who's accused of murder."
Dash2
12 years ago
It's a story based in fact. The code breakers were used during WWII. The women signed oaths of non-disclosure and as far as everyone ever knew, none of them broke their oaths. The series was filmed on location. Just for the historical value, I found the series worthwhile.
gabriell_gw
12 years ago
I enjoyed this show when it was on last year. The new series begins tomorrow night on PBS.
Fun2BHere
12 years ago
I enjoyed Bletchley Circle last year. I recorded the whole series and then watched it all over one weekend rather than watching it week by week. I'm looking forward to seeing this year's episodes.

I love Julia Spencer-Fleming's books. I've been reading them from the very beginning. I think that the protagonists are well-written and interesting characters. Who can resist a helicopter-flying clergy woman?
nanny98
12 years ago
I watched the first one, found it "hard to 'get'", but the second one was very good and if there were more I must have missed them. I will catch the new season...thanks for the heads up. Perhaps the first one I saw was out of sequence. And thanks for the "Spencer-Fleming" author,
( related to Ian Fleming maybe, author of the James Bond books?)
alisande
Original Author
12 years ago
I don't think so, Nanny. If she were, I'm sure her bio on the book cover would have mentioned it. She lives with her husband and three children in Maine.

Nice to read so many good reports on the TV series.
pam_25f
12 years ago
I really enjoyed The Bletchley Circle. Have you found The Bomb Girls? This is a Canadian series about the women who went to work in a bomb factory. Also, I love Julia Spencer Fleming and I am anxiously waiting for her latest. I am also a huge fan of Deborah Crombie.
sheilajoyce_gw
12 years ago
Loved The Bomb Girls even more than BC.
chisue
12 years ago
DH and I liked Bletchley and "Bomb Girls". Any day now we are going to start speaking Received English from overexposure to Masterpiece Theater. We are watching "Mr. Selfridge" and "Call the Midwiife" and about to begin "Father Brown". "Breathless" was also just promoted on our PBS station. Oh, and we just finished Season 6 of "Doc Martin".

Ta-ta! Time to sound the gong an hour before dinner is served. (I'll be changing into my robe and slippers.)
nanny98
12 years ago
Something must have 'changed'. We have been members of PBS forever, but only recently I have found the PBS offerings just 'over the top" good. As I type this, my brain is telling me "our TV programing is so bad". Just to say.... these last few seasons have really captured me as never before and I've been catching up on Dr Martin and others via Netflix.
marygailv
12 years ago
I've read all the Julia Spencer Fleming books in order and liked them.